The new strategy has been developed to help bring small scale renewable technologies into homes, businesses and communities across the country, moving microgeneration from a niche market to the high street and helping to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.
The Strategy includes actions to improve the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) process, making it work more effectively for SMEs while continuing to protect consumers – for example by allowing greater flexibility in the treatment of micro hydro installations. This will be taken forward through the Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) comprehensive review launched later this summer.
Other actions include ensuring consumer protection is maintained across the microgeneration sector, and developing the skills and knowledge needed that are needed as it expands.
“I want to see a revolution in energy generation at a local level, giving genuine power to the people. We want to help people who are enthusiastic to generate their own energy matched by an industry with the desire, creativity and tenacity to grow in a sustainable and responsible way,” commented Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. “That’s why we have worked with industry to develop a clear way forward which includes cutting red tape for micro hydro projects helping this industry to prosper.”
The new plan has been welcomed by the British Hydropower Association (BHA), which says the government is finally acknowledging that micro hydro is substantially different from other technologies such as wind and solar.
“Micro hydro has been around for millennia – the most common form being the watermill, the rural and industrial powerhouse of the world prior to fossil fuel power and grid systems. Mills are now electricity generators exporting power to the grid and mill and landowners, farmers and communities can now develop clean and efficient projects and the Government’s Feed-in Tariff is the ideal incentive to do this,” said David Williams, Chief Executive of the BHA. “That is, apart from schemes up to 50kW which were required to qualify under the MCS accreditation system designed for all renewable energy technologies.
“Unfortunately MCS just was not appropriate for hydro developments which are already rigorously regulated under environmental and planning consenting requirements,” he added. “The assumption that a householder could just visit his local supermarket and buy a water turbine generating unit and then get it installed and therefore had to be protected from rogue manufacturers and installers is not appropriate. This was causing potential developers extra angst and uncertain costs from a system which was supposed to remove these barriers. As a result, projects were being shelved.
“It is therefore with great relief that the new Government strategy states that it is to “withdraw the exclusive link between micro hydro and the MCS for the purpose of Feed-in Tariff eligibility.”
There will have to be an alternative system that DECC is addressing in its imminent comprehensive review, Williams added, with the association hoping to be closely involved with this process to enable stagnant hydro projects to get developed.
