Renewable Energy
Ice Energy has been advocating the implementation of renewable energy systems as an alternative to expensive, dangerous and dwindling fossil fuel supplies for over a decade. But to some, renewable energy is still an unknown quantity with many wrongly believing that renewable energy products such as Heat Pumps and Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems are simply too expensive or ineffective. This could not be more wrong, but in order to understand how renewable energy can work for you, it's important to firstly understand what it is.
What is renewable energy?
Put simply, renewable energy is energy obtained from natural resources and which is naturally replenished such as sunlight in the case of Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems, or geothermal energy in the case of Heat Pumps.
The term renewable energy also covers energy produced by the wind, rain or tides.
Why renewable energy?
There are many arguments as to why people should consider renewable energy; spiralling energy costs, climate change and dwindling gas and coal reserves being some of the clearest examples. The simple fact is that renewable energy products such as Heat Pumps for example are safer, cleaner and more efficient than traditional oil or gas fired boiler systems.
Funding for renewable energy
As well as the efficiency gains and cost savings which can benefit owners of renewable energy systems, the past few years have seen the development of initiatives specifically designed to reward adopters of products such as Heat Pumps and Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems to further encourage take up.
Feed-in-Tariff
The Feed-in-Tariff rewards owners of Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) systems by paying them for each unit of electricity they generate. This has proved an extremely popular way of promoting this particular type of renewable energy because the payments owners receive not only help cover the initial cost of the system, thereafter they can also provide additional annual income for the duration of the scheme.
Renewable Heat Incentive
In 2011, the UK Government launched the first phase of the
Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) aimed at the non-domestic big heat users, provides the first commercial renewable energy grants in the world. This initiative rewards businesses using renewable energy systems by paying them for the energy these systems generate. What’s more, these payments are guaranteed by the Government for 20 years.
Although at the time of writing, full details of the domestic RHI are yet to be finalised, early indications are that Homeowners will also receive payments based on the amount of heat output their system provides and that these payments will also be paid for a specific number of years. Heat Pumps are one of the renewable energy systems expected to qualify for these payments which again strengthens the case for renewables.
While both the RHI and the Feed-in-Tariff provide an extra incentive for adopting renewable energy, one simple fact remains which comprehensively states the case for renewables and cannot be ignored; unlike fossil fuels which are exhaustible, renewable energy sources regenerate and can be sustained indefinitely.