The Heat Pump Association (HPA) has requested that air to water heat pump technology be reconsidered for the RHI ahead of the creation of a revised document.
Following the delay in the start of the commercial RHI due to the European Commission's demands for revision of the biomass tariff, the HPA hoped the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) would reconsider the technology that is eligible.
However, the DECC has rejected the request to include this technology prior to the entire scheme being represented to Parliament for approval once again.
The HPA received a statement from DECC stating that the inclusion of air to water was not possible because a) The modelling from the air to water data supplied has not yet been completed, and that no tariffs could therefore be included; b) A further notification to the Commission regarding State Aid would have to be made, requiring a two month consultation period.
However the statement from DECC concluded saying, 'we feel confident that we have sufficient data on commercial Air to Water heat pumps to present the option to Ministers of including them under Phase 2.'
The HPA sees this as a huge missed opportunity for a majority of the supply chain, including many specifiers, who were very vocal in their disappointment when the technology was not included in the original legislation for phase 1.
