Micro-CHP industry stakeholders - Calor Gas, Ceramic Fuel  Cells, Flow Energy and Viessmann – recently met with the Scottish  minister for energy, enterprise and tourism, Fergus Ewing, in Edinburgh  to discuss the potential of diverse micro-CHP technologies in Scotland.  On the same day, the group also met with Iain Gray, Labour shadow  secretary for finance, employment and sustainable growth, and  representatives of Scottish Enterprise.

At both meetings the industry showed that micro-CHP has a significant  role to play towards meeting Scotland’s policy objectives while making  efficient use of its ample resource assets, mainly gas and LPG, at  household and local level. With the right policy framework, Scotland has  the potential to place itself at the forefront of micro-CHP innovation  while deriving significant strategic as well as manufacturing benefit;  indeed some companies noted their plans to make manufacturing investment  in Scotland given the right support.

The minister, as mentioned in the Microgeneration Strategy for  Scotland, supports energy generation in Scotland’s building stock as a  means of ‘transitioning to a low carbon economy…reducing energy costs  and taking more households out of fuel poverty’. The variety of  micro-CHP products (commercially available or close to  commercialisation) can readily deliver such bills reductions and  decarbonisation gains in Scotland while readily benefitting from the  substantial industrial and service boiler infrastructure in place.

To achieve these benefits, widespread deployment of micro-CHP  technologies is necessary. This will require policy recognition, on par  with other low carbon solutions, as well as mechanisms to provide an  initial commercial boost to enable economies of scale. The minister  recognised the potential of micro-CHP and agreed with the group of  stakeholders to work together on the following issues towards enabling  the range of micro-CHP technologies in Scotland:

  • Enabling micro-CHP - on par with other low carbon solutions - via a mandate under the Building Regulations;
  • supporting a structured discussion on a wide fuel cell micro-CHP  demonstration project in Scotland and to this end backing collaboration  with Scottish policy, industry and local stakeholders;
  • working with the group of micro-CHP stakeholders during the  development of a Heat Generation Policy Statement to capture the role of  diverse micro-CHP technologies in the on-gas and off-gas grid sectors  in Scotland.

The minister’s support has reinforced the industry’s perception that  there is a bright future for microCHP in Scotland.  Stakeholders plan to  deliver detailed proposals on the aforementioned range of issues raised  during the October meeting to ensure that, with the right support  framework in place, microCHP delivers its true strategic potential.