The UK government is planning to suspend the fuel quality requirement for operators claiming the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) amid fears of a biomass supply shortage.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is consulting on a 12-month suspension to the ‘ENplus A1′ standard for wood pellets, which only came into effect in April to improve fuel efficiency and reduce air pollution.
Biomass operators must currently meet this standard of wood pellet to claim the RHI subsidy.
However up to 40% of Enplus pellets used in the UK are imported from Russia and Belarus, and imports of wood products from either country has been banned since 23 June following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
BEIS said: “We recognise that the suspension of wood pellets coming from these countries is likely to have an impact on the availability, and consequentially on the prices of wood pellets in the coming months and through the next winter.”
The rule change would apply to both non-domestic and domestic RHI subsidy schemes and will allow operators to source lower quality wood.
“While we recognise that this could have some short-term negative impact on fuel efficiency and air quality in some cases, on balance it is judged as acceptable so that homes heated by biomass do not experience significant price rises or a lack of fuel supply altogether during this period,” BEIS noted.
The consultation will run until 11 September.