Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Middleton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the use of biomass boilers supported financially by the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic renewable heat incentive on (i) air quality and (ii) levels of (A) morbidity and (B) mortality in (1) urban and (2) rural areas.
Answered by Claire Perry
Biomass Boilers supported under the RHI scheme must meet strict air quality and feedstock sustainability rules. The air quality requirements ensure applicants for both RHI schemes with a biomass boiler (including CHP) will need to have emissions levels no higher than 30 grams per gigajoule (g/GJ) net heat input for particulate matter (PM) and 150g/GJ for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are the two main pollutants. Currently no data is available on levels of morbidity and mortality.
We are currently consulting on making new biomass installations in urban areas ineligible for the RHI. The consultation also contains an assessment of the impacts of this policy change. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-heat-incentive-biomass-combustion-in-urban-areas
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Middleton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the use of biomass boilers supported financially by the (a) domestic and (b) non-domestic renewable heat incentive on (i) air quality and (ii) levels of (A) particulate emissions, (B) morbidity and (C) mortality.
Answered by Claire Perry
Biomass Boilers supported under the RHI scheme must meet strict air quality and feedstock sustainability rules. The air quality requirements ensure applicants for both RHI schemes with a biomass boiler (including CHP) will need to have emissions levels no higher than 30 grams per gigajoule (g/GJ) net heat input for particulate matter (PM) and 150g/GJ for oxides of nitrogen (NOx), which are the two main pollutants. Currently no data is available on levels of morbidity and mortality.
We are currently consulting on making new biomass installations in urban areas ineligible for the RHI. The consultation also contains an assessment of the impacts of this policy change. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/renewable-heat-incentive-biomass-combustion-in-urban-areas
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Middleton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much (a) PM2.5, (b) ammonia, (c) nitrogen oxides, (d) sulphur dioxide, (e) benzene, (f) formaldhyde, (g) acrolein and (h) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is emitted annually by sources supported financially by the (i) domestic and (ii) non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.
Answered by Claire Perry
Government recognises the scale of the challenge on national air quality. That’s why DEFRA will be publishing a Clean Air Strategy in 2018. The Government’s long-term strategy is to see households move away from polluting fuels towards cleaner technologies.
Technologies supported by the Renewable Heat Incentive must meet strict air quality rules. Biomass boilers are likely to replace oil boilers, reducing pollutants overall as a result. Work is ongoing to assess the air quality impact of the RHI scheme, and this will feed into future policymaking.
Asked by: Graham Stringer (Labour - Blackley and Middleton South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for the publication of the analysis of the UK’s off-grid housing stock deemed suitable for using heat pumps as referenced in the Future Framework for Heat in Buildings consultation.
Answered by Claire Perry
We have been carrying out analysis to get a better understanding of the off grid housing stock using current available evidence and data from the English Housing Survey and the devolved equivalents. The analysis aims to understand the proportion of off gas grid homes in which heat pumps could provide sufficient levels of comfort. It will form the basis of further research and analysis later this year, which we intend to publish once complete.