Biomass RHI

[Chalmers7]

Afternoon folks,

advice needed, I want to head my company down the biomass install market at the moment, I've been involved in district heating and biomass install but I want to be able to certify and be involved in the whole project rather than just parts, what's required by my company to complete the RHI paperwork?.

any comments would be gratefully appreciated.

Rob

 

[Gray0689]

Thought you needed MCS

 

[Chalmers7]

Thought you needed MCS

My apologies I meant mcs. Is that all I need accreditation as a mcs company?

 

[SimonG]

Is that all

Have a search on the forum about mcs.

 

[Gray0689]

Yes that's all you need but as Simon says it's not a small thing and it's expensive
There is a couple of the boys who have it you would be better asking them

 

[Nostrum]

It depends on what size installations your looking at as MCS only covers biomass up to 45kw. That said with the release of the domestic RHI they are allowing installations up to 70kw to be eligible for domestic RHI and MCS will be required for those installs. A little bit confusing.

Non domestic RHI eligible installs 45kw and under will require MCS compliance I believe, over 45kw and you go through building control and MCS is not required.

If you go down the MCS route you'll need to be a member of RECC (previously REAL) which is an annual fee of £240 I think this year.

MCS is largely a paperwork exercise and auditing your own companies procedures etc

 

[Worcester]

You can get a copy of all the MCS requirements from here: Microgeneration Certification Scheme - Installer Standards

Understanding them and how they all cross link and interact is a nightmare, the biggest thing and the driver behind the whole scheme and your business processes will be a cradle to grave (from enquiry to signing off) quality management system. Most of the off the shelf QMS's are carp, though some of the certification bodies e.g. Napit will give you a skeleton template for free, then expect at least 3 weeks solid work just putting that together.

You'll need to prove competence in the various technologies (requirements listed in the appropriate standards) and you will get audited on your processes regularly. Typical costs including time, QMS development training etc about £6k and then you'll also need to show them a full MCS installation BEFORE you are certified to get it certified, so you have to find a customer prepared to be your guinea pig and wait the three months that it will take you to get certified.

And then each job will consume between 4 and 8 hours of paperwork just to comply and prove compliance and your audit trail.

Come on in the waters fine

Oh and then check out the big cock up on Air quality for the new DRHI ........ only 144 out of 1000 listed biomass boilers and variations are currently eligible, so choose your products carefully.

Based in Scotland though, biomass will be a growing opportunity until you go for independence and scrap the RHI and start bathing in your own cheap oil again

 

[solarelectrix]

dont know if this is any use to you, but I'd give give the guys a call at pclip.net who help you through mcs and provide the software. I use the PV software but I know they do biomass as well.

 

[voivod]

Mcs is written by lawyers......and snake oil salesmen.
Been trying to sort stuff for my office...jees
Why couldn't a plumber or a human have wrote it ...grr

 

[missplumb]

because that would make life far too easy for the plumbers.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SimonG]

Here's a prediction.

In the next three years wood pellets will increase in price, much greater than inflation. Oil will reduce in cost. Wood pellet cost today is £240.00 per ton. https://www.woodpellets2u.co.uk/premium-wood-pellets-for-sale-6mm . Oil cost today is 50.98p per litre. Heating Oil Prices UK Chart | Home Heating Oil Prices

Interesting to revisit this over time to see which way things go.

 

[missplumb]

my prediction is, in the next 2 years, the backside will drop out of biomass. All the big commercial and larger domestic systems will have been done when the Rhi is high. That leaves the domestic market - there arent enough oil boilers coming to the end of their life to sustain the high amounts of incentive take up that the government needs to fulfil its european targets for carbon output. I think they will pull the DRhi within the next 5 years,they are already making big drops in the commercial Rhi.