HCA bans use of grant to access feed-in tariffs
Housing associations cannot take advantage of the feed-in tariff scheme if they have bought their renewable energy technology using capital grant.
The Homes and Communities Agency has issued advice to social landlords saying they cannot use National Affordable Housing Programme money to pay for photovoltaic panels and other technologies if they plan to earn money from the FiTs.
FiTs give social landlords and other property owners payments for generating electricity from renewable energy installations, such as solar panels, which can be located on their properties.
The HCA guidance follows a ruling by the European Commission last July which said the FiT counted as ‘state aid’. Housing associations have been seeking clarification on this ever since, and will now need to demonstrate that they have not used NAHP money when installing renewables.
Alison Mathias, strategy manager at the Homes and Communities Agency, said: ‘While one of our funding requirements is that partners achieve level three of the code for sustainable homes on their schemes, this is very possible to achieve without the use of micro-renewables.
‘We do emphasise though that grant recipients should ensure that they obtain independent legal advice where necessary.’
