UK Government decision re Feed in Tariff scheme

RNS Number : 5033J

Inspirit Energy Holdings PLC

18 December 2015

 

18 December 2015

Inspirit Energy Holdings plc 

("Inspirit" or the "Company")

UK Government decision regarding the Feed in Tariff scheme

Inspirit Energy Holdings plc, the AIM listed developer of micro combined heat and power boilers, notes the announcement on 17 December 2015 by the Department for Energy and Climate Change ('DECC') in response to the consultation on the Feed in Tariff (FiT) scheme.

The Government has confirmed that it will retain the FiT scheme and no changes have been made to the support for micro combined heat and power ("microCHP") technologies at this point. The original consultation document on 27 August 2015 set out a number of options for the FiT scheme. Inspirit welcomes the DECC's decision to continue with the scheme.

The Company also notes a decision of the consultation response document to hold a separate, joint consultation on support for microCHP and anaerobic digestion "in early 2016". The Company considers this to be a positive development and an opportunity for the DECC to tailor the tariff structure for microCHP to better reflect the stage of development of the various microCHP technologies and how Government support can help to boost uptake of microCHP appliances, such as the Inspirit Charger. The Company will continue to engage on this matter with the DECC both directly and via its trade association, the HHIC (Hot Water and Heating Industry Council).

Until the result of that proposed consultation, the generation tariff rate for microCHP remains at 13.45p per kilowatt hour generated and the applicable export tariff rate for microCHP remains at 4.85p per kilowatt hour. In contrast, the generation tariff rate for solar photovoltaics will reduce for installations registered on or after 15 January 2016 to 4.39p per kilowatt hour generated for sub 10 kilowatt peak capacity systems, approximately 33% of the microCHP tariff.

Inspirit notes that, subject to the result of the proposed consultation on microCHP, the Inspirit Charger 2.0 is expected to be eligible for FiT support, once it has reached the point of commercial launch and has been fully accredited under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.

For commercial customers it is expected that the Inspirit Charger 2.0 would act as the first boiler to fire in a typical commercial boiler array and as such could achieve annual run hours in excess of 7,000 hours per year in our target market segments. The greater the number of run hours, the higher the payments from the FiT scheme would be.

Paddy Thompson, Sales Director of Inspirit Energy, commented:

"The Inspirit Charger 2.0 is currently in development. Today's announcement by the DECC confirming the continuation of the scheme supports the development of this product. The additional consultation on microCHP 'in early 2016' gives us the opportunity to propose improvements to the scheme and the timing is in line with our continuing development path."

John Gunn, the company's CEO, commented:

"Today's announcement by the DECC is a boost for the industry and hence for the Company and for shareholders. We will continue to communicate our belief to the Government that microCHP will become a key part of the UK energy mix and that Government support can accelerate this. I look forward to providing additional updates to shareholders on progress with the Inspirit Charger 2.0 in the near future."

ENDS

	Inspirit Energy Holdings plc	www.inspirit-energy.com
	David Lenigas, Chairman John Gunn, Executive Director Nilesh Jagatia, CFO	[phone] [phone] [phone]
	Westhouse Securities Limited
	Antonio Bossi / David Coaten	[phone]
Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited
Lucy Williams / Duncan Vasey		[phone]
	Public Relations:
	Square1 Consulting
	David Bick/Brian Alexander	[phone]

 

About Inspirit Energy Holdings plc: 

Inspirit Energy Holdings plc, is developing and commercialising a highly efficient micro combined heat and power (mCHP) boiler for the commercial and residential markets. The boiler is specifically designed to meet the challenge of reduced carbon energy supply and is capable of running on natural gas, LPG and Bio Fuels. The appliance produces hot water (for tap water or central heating) and electrical output simultaneously. The installation can be of single or multiple configuration and its high operating efficiency together with the off-set of electricity costs provides a very attractive investment payback proposition.  

Inspirit intends to explore opportunities to licence out the underlying technology and the Directors believe that, in some instances, the patents owned by Inspirit may be also used in the development of products other than a mCHP appliance. A prototype of the appliance has been independently tested and shown to be capable of simultaneous generation of up to 15kW thermal and up to 3kW electrical output. Once development of the appliance has been completed and commercialised, the Directors expect that the appliance will initially be marketed in the UK and Europe and eventually worldwide. Additional revenue streams may be possible through product licensing, sales of warranties and further development of the product. 

 

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