The Renewable Heating Incentive was created in 2014 to help businesses, the public sector and non-profit organizations meet the cost of installing renewable heat systems by paying an invoice for each unit of heat produced from renewable sources. A parallel system was created for the houses. However, the National Audit Office expressed concern, which concluded that, although the systems had good potential to reduce the UK carbon footprint, “the department did not achieve value for money”. The NAO also expressed concerns about policing the system and the risk of it being played. Currently, 22,000 companies have registered with the RHI, which is projected to cost 23 23 billion by 2042. An Open Democracy survey has now found that several wealthy landowners and MPs are among the beneficiaries of the grant. These include International Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP Philip Dunne, who chairs the environmental audit committee, and Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who chaired the selection committee for the British RHI system. They also include the Duke of Devonshire, Peregrine Cavendish. and Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester. Peter Geoghegan, editor-in-chief of openDemocracy, said: “At a time when energy prices are skyrocketing and millions are struggling with the cost of living crisis, we have discovered that a dark heating system of dubious quality costs billions – and that Conservative MPs and even a minister of the government, they benefited “. Two biomass boilers. Photo: Liam McBurney / PA In 2015, Trevelyan and her husband installed two biomass boilers, with a total capacity of 198 KW, on the family estate, Netherwitton Hall. OpenDemocracy has been edited using numbers from Ofgem based on the number of boilers and the size of the property, which according to the program would probably receive less than .000 20,000 a year. Their boiler is powered by wood of the estate. It is estimated that the property will receive a total of .000 400,000 at prices from 2015 to 2035. Trevelyan divorced her husband in 2019 and no longer lives in the family home. Large landowners have received significant income as a result of the grant. Chatsworth, home of the Duke of Devonshire, installed two boilers to heat its 300 rooms, as well as its garden, stables, shops and restaurants, in 2013. Data provided by their installers indicate that they produce income 69 69,758 a year through the RHI – that 1.3 95 1,395,160 in 20 years at current levels, although this will increase with inflation. Based on their power ratings, the two boilers on Lord Coke’s Holkham Hall estate are likely to generate 63 63,221.79 per year – a number that will rise with inflation, creating the equivalent of 26 1,264,435 for 20 years of RHI payments. There is no indication that any of the people who benefited from the grant have broken any law or rule. However, Mark Sommerfeld, head of energy and flexibility at the Association of Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA), defended the RHI, saying it remained “a strictly regulated system, with strict rules to ensure the proper use of renewable energy sources”. and carefully designed invoicing mechanisms that actively reduced the level of support that new applicants received as the cost of the systems decreased. “During the life of the system, it was also regularly reviewed to ensure that the sites provided value for money to the taxpayer.” A spokesman for the Biofuelwatch campaign team said: “The RHI was a poorly planned subsidy program that failed to prioritize real climate mitigation and contributed significantly to air pollution at the expense of public health. It has left the United Kingdom with one of the worst records in Europe for heat pumps, one of the most important ways to get rid of carbon in the heat sector. And far from providing incentives for energy efficiency and conservation, RHI has rewarded the useless and wasteful energy consumption of recipients. Trevelyan said: “My ex-husband founded the Netherwitton Heating Company of which I was the manager until our divorce in 2019. This was a common biomass system that would provide clean energy from local wood on about 20 properties and our family home. “It provided an opportunity for all these families to move away from oil or coal-fired heating systems, significantly reducing their costs.” Clifton-Brown said: “I chaired a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, in absentia – due to family reasons of the elected president. I did not receive the report through the committee, which was made by the president-elect. The family farming company of which I am a member is fully registered in the register of financial interests of the members. The partnership successfully applied for an RHI grant in 2015 on a holiday rental property to install a green pellet boiler. “I did not participate in the grant application and I had no personal use of this boiler. “The partnership has received grants, but these have been overshadowed by operating costs and capital costs, but it wants to do what it can to reduce carbon emissions.” A government spokesman said: “These allegations are a blatant exaggeration. “The incentive for renewable heat in the UK has strict cost controls, budget ceilings and other mechanisms to avoid overspending and tackling potential gambling.” Coke, Philip Dunne and the Duke of Devonshire were invited to comment.
