Over the last 15 years, our energy system in NI has been transformed, and in the 12-month period from July 2020 to June 2021, 45.4% of total electricity consumption in NI was generated from local renewable energy sources.

With Economy Minister Gordon Lyons recently setting a target for at least 70% of electricity to come from renewables by 2030, we can expect new schemes to come forward to encourage more people, and in particular landowners, to consider wind, solar, etc.

An NI energy strategy is expected to be published soon, and Economy officials are understood to be currently working on a new renewable energy support scheme for NI.

Cautious

However, no matter what does materialise, there is no doubt that the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme has left behind an unwanted legacy that will make farmers and landowners cautious about any government-backed renewable energy scheme.

First opened in 2012, the big mistake was made by civil servants designing RHI who failed to put in place a cap on payments as existed in the scheme in Britain. Many farmers, especially those in the poultry sector, signed up in good faith, and have been badly treated by the debacle that has followed since then.

However, it is still worth remembering that the initial uptake of RHI was low in the first two years, even though the tariffs in place at the time are now viewed as being totally exorbitant.

So the difficult challenge for civil servants will be to create a new renewables scheme that has sufficient incentives in place to encourage uptake, while at same time giving enough confidence to political masters that it will stand up to all forms of scrutiny.

Perhaps the best option might be to take schemes from elsewhere and substitute in the words “Northern Ireland” where appropriate.

Read more

RHI claimants press for further legal action

NIRO can’t become the next RHI