One year anniversary of RHI sustainability criteria – are you ready for your audit?

Posted in: bioenergy

05/10/2016
Have you organised your audit yet? NNFCC can help.

Since 5th October 2015, new regulations required all those claiming support under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to demonstrate they were meeting sustainability criteria. One year on, all those claiming RHI for biomethane injection or large-scale biogas- or biomass-combustion (1MWth and above) have 3 months from their anniversary date to submit an independent audit report.

Have you organised your audit yet? NNFCC can offer independent auditing services for your AD or bioenergy business. We prepare your audit by verifying records, scrutinising your calculations, and reviewing evidence submitted to Ofgem.

You may have been relying on default values or inputting your data into Ofgem’s B2C2 tool to determine your supply chain emissions this year. But as BEIS funding for the technical support has come to an end its future is uncertain and development of the tool is unlikely to continue.

Lucky for you, NNFCC are here to help. We offer advice on this topic and have developed a bespoke Biogas and Biomethane Carbon Calculator to calculate your supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions enabling you to demonstrate compliance with the criteria. Our tool will be updated regularly responding to any policy changes and we offer the option of continued support, to ease your mind about qualifying for RHI payments and how to strengthen the sustainability of your supply chain.

Our tools and sustainability consultancy are built on years of providing practical bioenergy, sustainability and LCA advice to investors, developers and generators.

 

What are the benefits of using NNFCC’s Biogas and Biomethane Carbon calculator?

  • Excel-based, so more transparent, user-friendly and easier to visualise a complex supply chain
  • Bespoke to a complex multi-input, multi-output AD to biomethane or biogas supply chain which it is not possible to represent using B2C2
  • Follows RED methodology, and complies with Ofgem’s RHI scheme guidance
  • Highlights emissions at each step of the chain, to illustrate where action is required
  • Uses familiar units, requiring less manual conversion by generators, making data gathering and record keeping easier and eliminating errors

Once your emissions have been calculated and your audit reports prepared, we can help you take action and reduce risks for future years which is essential as GHG limits may tighten and additional feedstock restrictions limiting payments for crop feedstocks have been proposed. By working together with Amur, the AD business within AB Agri we are in an unrivalled position for reviewing feedstock strategies, understanding the true economic and environmental value of certain feedstocks and sourcing alternatives where necessary.

Article written by Dr Caitlin Burns, Bioeconomy Consultant NNFCC, and Lucy Hopwood, NNFCC’s Lead Consultant on Bioenergy & AD​

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For more information about these services, please contact NNFCC’s Lead Consultant on Bioenergy & AD, Lucy Hopwood on l.hopwood@nnfcc.co.uk or 01904435182.