To watch this event, you can rent or buy the video here.
Thursday 10th September 2020 saw The Future Economy Network run their first interactive webinar in September – “Funding Low Carbon Heating”. The topic and our fantastic panel brought FEN and non-FEN members alike to join us on the day to discuss the topic from multiple angles. With a “back to work” attitude, all participants were engaged and lively despite the early hour!
The team introduced everyone to the virtual events space and gave quick training on how to make the most out of the interactive webinar and networking opportunities. Once everyone had gotten used to the space and enjoyed the novelty of something brand new, the seminars began. Katherine Piper, Director of The Future Economy Network, welcomed attendees, highlighting the benefits of joining the Network and also sharing updates about The Future Economy Network’s Carbon Neutral Hub in Bristol, Future Leap. Katherine also briefly ran through the plans for The Festival of Sustainable Business, and you can check out the video here.
First up, we welcomed Raja Hannah, Policy Lead for Clean Heat Grants at the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Raja advised that with the heating and powering of buildings accounting for 40% of UK energy demand, low carbon heat plays an important role in the government achieving against its net zero carbon by 2050 target. He stressed that there will be a need for nearly all buildings to decarbonise to meet these targets and one option to achieve this will be to grow the heat pump market in the UK. The Clean Heat Grant will support increased heat pump installations and provide market certainty for businesses to scale up and attract private investment. The shift from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to the Clean Heat Grant will reduce the barrier of large up-front costs experienced with the RHI tariff programme and will ensure a simpler, more attractive framework. The Clean Heat Grant will be operated via a 2-stage voucher system; the first stage being consumer-led, ahead of the installation and the second stage being installer-led after the heat pump installation. Raja stressed that the flat rate grant of £4k and other aspects of the scheme are currently under review following the government consultation.
Next up, we welcomed Chris Whiteford, Residential Installer and Sales Account Manager for Mitsubishi Electric. Chris explored the history of the RHI from its launch by DECC in 2011. The RHI aimed to support the generation of renewable heat and to ensure there was a level playing field with other traditional technologies. Chris explained the RHI design and calculations considerations, the importance of sizing and the need for metering and reporting in non-domestic buildings. He also discussed the various tariffs and gave examples of the applications Mitsubishi has been involved in. In March 2021, the RHI is likely to end (with some caveats) and in its place, there will be the Future Homes Standard. He stressed that heat pumps are a key future technology but we also need to improve energy efficiency in buildings and upskill installers in green technology to help achieve against net zero carbon targets. Chris recommended reading The Carbon Trust's "Heat Pump Retrofit in London" report and suggested that their initiatives could be considered in other areas of the UK.
Our final speaker was George Gillow, Sales Manager for Kensa Contracting. Kensa is a single technology company which started over 20 years ago and is now the largest manufacturer of Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHPs) in the UK. Kensa's heat pumps are manufactured in the South West which reduces the carbon footprint of their installations. George stressed the importance of mentioning comfort rather than heating, since the heat pumps can both heat and cool. He quoted the Committee on Climate Change's report that emphasized the need for a huge scale up in the deployment of heat pumps. Kensa are ready to enable this via their factory in Cornwall which has the ability to produce 30,000 heat pumps a year. George spoke about the whole life cost and carbon savings associated with installing GSHPs and also the changes taking place within SAP metrics meaning that carbon intensive options are becoming less viable. With the closure of the RHI, Kensa are looking at providing heat/comfort as a service. They are also looking at the future-proofing opportunities that GSHPs present, with them aiding grid balancing through load shifting in accordance with the carbon intensity of the grid.
We continued with mini Q&A’s after every speaker, which created a continuous buzz throughout the event. The seminar finished with some insightful and high-level questions to the panel as a group after the mini Q&A’s. Everyone was very keen to understand more; the debate continued well into the networking at the end.
Finally, Network members Future Leap, Skylark Media and Mitchel and Dickinson/Carbon Savvy gave a 60 second pitch - a popular opportunity at these events. Everyone was then able to network in different groups using facilitated break out rooms, before the event finished. A huge thank you to the speakers and attendees of this event, without which our events calendar would not be possible.
