Amendments Made to Requirements for Energy Performance Certificates

New legislation: The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2010
Amended legislation: The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007
Who does this affect: England and Wales - Those involved in the sale of residential property
When does this take effect: 21 May 2010

The new coalition Government has acted on its manifesto promise to abolish the requirement to provide a Home Information Pack when marketing a residential property and has suspended The Home Information Pack (No.2) Regulations 2007 pending their repeal by Act of Parliament.

However, suspension of the Home Information Pack duties requires some necessary amendments to The Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations 2007 as a consequence to prevent requirements relating to energy performance certificates (EPCs) from also being suspended.

The amendments Regulations make the following changes:

• Sellers of residential property in England and Wales have a duty to obtain an EPC before putting the property on the market
• Persons such as estate agents acting on behalf of a seller of residential property are not to market the property unless an EPC has been commissioned
• Where a residential property is to be sold, once a valid EPC has been obtained, persons providing written particulars of the building are to include within them either an asset rating of the building or an EPC
• The period of validity of all EPCs is now ten years

The full text of the Regulations can be found here.

REMINDER - New Powers Enable Civil Sanctions for Environmental Offences

New legislation: The Environmental Civil Sanctions (England) Order 2010; The Environmental Civil Sanctions (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2010
Who does this affect: England
When does this take effect: 06 April 2010

Under new legislation, regulators (currently the Environment Agency and Natural England) now have the power to impose civil sanctions for a range of environmental offences.

The Order sets out the basis on which civil sanctions may be used. It also sets out

the civil sanctions which are available for offences under specific Acts of Parliament such as the Environment Act 1995 and Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Similarly, the Regulations set out the civil sanctions which are available for offences under specific pieces of secondary legislation such as the Control of Pollution (Oil Storage) (England) Regulations 2001 and the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.

The full text of the Order can be found here.

The full text of the Regulations can be found here.

REMINDER - The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

New legislation: CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order 2010
Who does this affect: UK - Public and private sector organisations that are consumers of large amounts of electricity; further public sector organisations that are mandated to participate
When does this take effect: 22 April 2010

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order 2010 has come into force with the intent of helping the UK to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, both domestic and international.

The Order requires participating organisations to monitor their emissions and, for organisations who qualify fully, purchase allowances for each tonne of CO₂ they emit.

Participation in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is mandatory for organisations who had at least one half hourly meter (HHM) settled on the half hourly market in 2008, and organisations whose 2008 annual electricity supply through all HHMs was at least 6,000 MWh will be required to participate fully.

The scheme has been designed to improve energy efficiency in public and private sector organisations that are consumers of large amounts of electricity. It is expected that the Order will come into force in April 2010.

The full text of the Order can be found here.

A user guide for The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme can be found here.

REMINDER - Feed-in Tariff Scheme Launched

New legislation: The Feed-in Tariffs (Specified Maximum Capacity and Functions) Order 2010
Who does this affect: Great Britain - Organisations, businesses, communities and individuals using renewable technologies
When does this take effect: 01 April 2010

With the coming into force of the Feed-in Tariffs (Specified Maximum Capacity and Functions) Order 2010 on 1 April 2010 the Government has launched its Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Scheme which will allow organisations, businesses, communities and individuals to receive payment from Licensed Electricity Suppliers for electricity that they produce using qualifying renewable technologies that were installed on or after 15 July 2009.

Installations using photovoltaic (solar PV), wind and hydro technologies of a total capacity of between 50kW and 5MW are eligible to apply for the FIT Scheme through Ofgem’s accreditation process. Anaerobic digestion installations are also supported through this method up to a total capacity of 5MW.

Installations of solar PV, wind and hydro of up to 50kW are eligible to apply for the FIT Scheme if they use Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MSC) approved products which have been installed by MCS approved installers. A total of 30,000 micro combined heat and power (mCHP) installations of up to 2kW capacity will also be supported as a pilot programme.

The full text of the Regulations can be found here.

Further information on the Feed-in Tariff Scheme can be found on the Ofgem website here.

Information on the Microgeneration Certification Scheme can be found on the scheme’s website here.

You may also find information on MCS approved products and MSC approved installers by contacting the NICEIC by the following means:

     General Helpline: 0800 519 5190

     Fax: 01246 269 049

     Email: mcs@niceic.com

     Web: www.niceic.com

REMINDER - Changes to the Renewables Obligation

Who does this affect: UK - Licensed electricity suppliers and renewable electricity generators
When does this take effect: 01 April 2010

The Renewables Obligation (RO), which requires licensed electricity suppliers to source a proportion of their electricity from renewable sources, has been amended. Under the RO, suppliers demonstrate compliance by presenting Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) which are issued to renewable electricity generators for their output.

In England and Wales, the Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2010 has amended the Renewables Obligation Order 2009 to increase the end date of the RO by ten years to 2037, removed the 20% cap on the obligation, increased the headroom from 8% to 10% from 2011 and increased support for certain types of offshore wind generation. The Renewables Obligation (Scotland) Amendment Order 2010 has implemented the same provisions for Scotland.

The England and Wales Regulations and Scotland Regulations also take into account the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Scheme by removing all microgeneration technologies that are eligible for the FIT Scheme from the RO, while certain small generators will able to choose between the RO and the FIT.

In Northern Ireland the Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010 has amended the Renewables Obligation Order (Northern Ireland) 2009 to make changes to the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO). Similar to the Regulations for England, Wales and Scotland, the Northern Ireland Regulations have increased the end date of the NIRO, in this instance by 6 years to 2033, removed the 20% cap and increased the headroom from 10% from 2011.

However, as the FIT Scheme is not applicable in Northern Ireland, the revised Regulations have also provided measures for increased support for small-scale generators by providing additional Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROC) to new generating stations accredited from 1 April 2010.

The full text of the England and Wales Regulations can be found here.

The full text of the Scotland Regulations can be found here.

The full text of the Northern Ireland Regulations can be found here.

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