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3.8% of the UK’s energy is now produced from renewable sources, and the sector is worth £12.5 billion a year to the UK economy. And this industry is only set to grow.

Here at CO2Sense, we want to give you an insight into the world of renewable energy. So we’re setting up this monthly blog to give you updates on the projects we have invested in, new developments in technology, and the latest from DECC and the government on legislation.

Renewable energy is a high profile, and often divisive, topic these days. This is your place to find out more about the realities of building and working with renewable energy.
Esk Energy
Some of you will have read in our last newsletter that Esk Energy has now broken ground on the hydroelectric scheme in Ruswarp, North Yorkshire. Construction is now well under way.

The Esk Energy installation is a community-owned scheme, which will produce enough clean electricity to power 55 homes and save 80 tonnes of CO2 each year. The project will also earn payments through the Feed-in Tariff. CO2Sense invested £60,000 in the project.

The fish pass in the scheme has now been completed. The fish pass will allow marine life to safely avoid the Archimedes screw that will be used to generate power.

The screw itself is due to arrive during the first week of August. The screw that will be installed in the river is 2.9 metres in diameter. Water from the river will flow down this vital component, generating electricity.

Preparing the ground for the Esk Energy hydroelectric scheme

Renewable Heat Incentive – Update on metering issues
The RHI has been open for seven months now, and has received over 600 applications. But DECC and Ofgem have acknowledged that one of the issues for applicants has been making sure that they are reporting accurately.

Monitoring heat is more complicated than electricity, and so difficulties have arisen in making sure measurements are accurate. There have been problems in ensuring that enough meters have been installed on a site, that they have been installed correctly, and that reporting is being done accurately.

In a recent letter, DECC and Ofgem have highlighted these problems, and are now taking steps to address them. This will include developing training materials so that installers can be trained properly for renewable heating systems. They are also developing best practice guidance and contacting those developing installations directly to discuss using properly trained installers.

As well as this, DECC are carrying out a consultation in July to review the metering requirements of receiving the RHI.

You can see the full letter here, for more detail about this issue and how DECC and Ofgem are tackling it.Renewable Heat Incentive – Open Letter – Heat metering and providing the necessary information with your application
DECC announces Feed-in Tariff changes
DECC announced changes to the FiT last week, with rate changes alongside other alternations to the scheme for technologies other than solar PV.
The new tariffs are set to come in from December 1st, rather than October, as was expected. The new tariffs are:

As well as these changes to the tariffs, DECC also announced that preliminary accreditation is going to be introduced. Developments will now be able to be registered for FiT rates once they have planning approval and have accepted a grid connection offer. This means that developers can be more certain of the level of payments they will receive from their installation.
See DECCs full press release.