Pictured above: Charles Houston

Businesses keen to switch to renewable energy systems could be deterred by the Government's dithering over the announcement of a new scheme to reward consumers for reducing their carbon footprint.

That's the view of Charles Houston, partner at Going Solar, who has written to Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, to urge him to finalise and publish details of the Renewable Heat Incentive, which is set to come into effect next April.

The RHI, a government-backed plan which allows individuals, companies and organisations to earn money for the heat generated from their renewable energy systems such as solar thermal panels and heat pumps, is set to replace the Low Carbon Building Programme ph2 grant, which was suddenly closed to new applications in May.

To date, the Government has yet to release details of the new scheme, stating that it is committed to meeting its renewable heat energy targets, but wants to review the proposals in view of the current economic climate.

"Many companies like Going Solar have been working hard to communicate to businesses the benefits of switching to renewable energy systems. We're so far behind in this country but, in the past year or so, momentum has been gathering towards a critical mass with interest growing rapidly not only from the commercial area, but also from organisations in the private and educational sectors," he explained.

"However, the Government's dithering on the RHI announcement has created uncertainty in the minds of consumers. We're in a hiatus. It's very hard to make a case for a change to renewables without an idea of payback. 

"Earlier this year, the Feed in Tariffs were announced only two months before they came into force which was far too late; why not give us a good lead-in by an early announcement of the RHI so that the wheels can start turning again now?

"Any eligible renewable energy system installed after July 2009 will qualify for the scheme, but the tariffs cannot be backdated and will only apply when the subsidy comes into effect," said Charles.

The RHI scheme would hopefully remain an attractive proposition as the average yearly return was predicted to be between 8-12% with a payback period of less than 10 years, and it should do for heat what the Feed in Tariff has done for solar PV, he added.

Going Solar, based in Worcestershire, specialises in providing renewable energy solutions for medium-to-large businesses and organisations. It offers a range of services including grant advice, system design, project commissioning and maintenance. Its installation division, EZ Solar, is accredited to the standards of MCS, the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.