Geothermal International Welcomes the Government's Renewable Heat Incentive

LONDON, March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Geothermal International has welcomed the Government's commitment to give financial help to businesses, public sector stakeholders, landlords and home owners who want to switch over to more environmentally sustainable forms of heating.

The Government's GBP860 million Renewable Heat Incentive ( http://www.geothermalint.co.uk/funding.php) scheme is expected to increase green capital investment by GBP4.5 billion up to 2020, stimulating a new market in renewable heat. The number of industrial, commercial and public sector installations is expected to rise seven-fold by 2020.

Businesses that install low-Carbon forms of heating such as Ground Source Heat Pumps (http://www.geothermalint.co.uk/ground-source-heat-pumps/index.php ) will be paid the RHI at 4.3p per kW hour of renewable heat produced for systems less than 100kW and 3p per kWh for systems above 100kW in quarterly instalments over periods of up to 20 years.

Award-winning Geothermal International, the UK market leader which has installed more than 80 per cent of the UK's commercial GSHP systems (http://www.geothermalint.co.uk/gi-commercial.php), believes the RHI tariffs now confirmed by the Government have the power to truly transform the market The RHI tariff will reduce the payback period to between 6-9 years on commercial heat pump installations.

Patrick Sherriff, Marketing Director of Geothermal International, said: "We are delighted the Government has committed to encouraging a national switch to low-Carbon heating.

"Ground Source Heat Pumps have a vital role to play in meeting targets to reduce the UK's carbon emissions by 2050 - the technology is a proven renewable energy heating and cooling solution ( http://www.geothermalint.co.uk/) for the 21st century.

"By committing to the Renewable Heat Incentive the Government has given a very welcome green light to businesses to move away from traditional carbon-hungry forms of heating.

"GSHP systems can cut a building's carbon footprint by up to 50 per cent and its heating and cooling running costs by up to 60 per cent - provided the systems are correctly sized, designed and installed and linked up to an appropriate controls system. There are many factors which can impact on the efficiency of a system and an intelligent and experienced approach is vital to get the best results."

Geothermal International has unrivalled experience in delivering bespoke ground source heating solutions for a board range of new and existing buildings. The company is able to warrant the output of the system and therefore if a system is correctly operated, high levels of heating and cooling efficiencies are achieved resulting in significant run costs savings

Geothermal International has installed more than 160MW of GSHP systems in the UK, including Europe's largest lake loop at Mansfield Hospital and the UK's largest closed loop system at the One New Change building in the City Of London Typical customers include offices, retail developments, police headquarters, schools, hospitals, community centres, sports centres and even the UK's first carbon-neutral church at Little Walsingham, Norfolk.

The Renewable Heat Incentive offers businesses an income over periods of up to 20 years which will help to offset initial installation costs.

GSHP systems of under 100 kW will receive 4.3p for every kW hour of heat produced over 20 years. Systems over 100 kW will receive 3p per kW hour of heat produced for 20 years. There is no limit to the size of the scheme to attract the 3p kW tariff.

The second stage of the RHI will be aimed at homeowners and landlords and Geothermal International has a specialist housing division, GI Housing (http://www.geothermalint.co.uk/gi-housing.php). The RHI tariff for housing will be launched in October 2012 in line with the Government Green deal. To stop the impasse in the market the government has re-iterated its commitment to the sector by backdating the eligibility to installations post July 2009. It has created a premium payment as a stop gap - which is likely to be around GBP1,250. This will be replaced in October 2012 by a tariff for residential. GI Housing offers a complete turnkey service to landlords, from initial assessment through to maintenance for heat pumps and other renewable products, including PV and heat recovery systems

Geothermal international has extensive experience in sizing, designing, installing and commissioning all types of systems, from 6kW up to 5MW, and has pioneered the use of Energy Piles (TM) with Cementation Skanska Ltd, a solution for spatially constricted sites, which incorporates part of the GSHP in the foundations of a building.

GSHP systems work by extracting the natural warmth stored in the ground all year round. A typical system consists of a buried earth loop connected to a heat pump. Liquid is pumped down the loop, where it gathers warmth from the earth, and is then compressed, raising its temperature high enough to be used in space heating a building. For cooling, the process is reversed.

Working on a similar principle, a typical ASHP system draws heat from the air outside a building then uses a pump to concentrate the heat which in turn warms water for radiators. ASHP systems can supplement GSHP systems and can be readily retro-fitted.