The Northern Ireland non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was introduced in November 2012. Its aim was to incentivise the uptake of renewable heating technologies by providing participants with subsidies to generate heat from renewable sources, such as biomass.
Despite its best intentions, the failings of the NI RHI are now well known. A loophole in the scheme’s legislation meant participants’ payments were not capped. In addition, it has been argued that the level of available subsidy was greater than the cost of the fuel, prompting many to nickname the scheme “cash for ash”.
In this week’s blog, we look back at the applications that were received under the scheme and link them to some of the key milestones that have been revealed in the ongoing public inquiry.