Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to ensure that payments made under the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme are provided to biomass boilers using wood fuel that meet certain (a) sustainability and (b) additional legal requirements.

The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme was introduced in 2011. In 2015, the Government introduced new legislation which required all biomass boilers on the scheme to adhere to certain land and sustainability criteria. The Government has also introduced a new fuel quality standard and annual maintenance checks for biomass boilers on the scheme, in line with its 2019 Clean Air Strategy. Both requirements came into force on 01 April 2022.

The scheme is administered by Ofgem who carry out frequent audits to ensure compliance.