Renewable energy policy database and support

New buildings are required to comply with renewable energy requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations, contributing to the renewable heat target. According to S.I. 259/2011 and S.I. 538/2017, for new dwellings, a reasonable proportion of the energy consumption to meet its energy performance shall be provided by renewable energy sources (regulation 5 L3 (b) S.I. 259/2011 and regulation L5 (b) S.I. 538/2017). Additionally, requirements in Part L shall be met by "providing energy efficient space and water heating systems with efficient heat sources and effective controls" (regulation 5 L3 (d) S.I. 259/2011 and regulation L5 (b) S.I. 538/2017). New buildings are also required to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate, which assesses the energy performance of the building.

The Building Regulation Technical Guidance Document 2017 refers to the minimum level of renewable technologies to be used in order to comply with regulation L3 (b) as follows:

• 10 kWh/m2/annum contributing to energy use for domestic hot water heating, space heating or cooling or
• 4 kWh/m2/annum of electrical energy or
• a combination of these, which would have an equivalent effect.

According to the Technical Guidance Document, renewable technologies means "products or equipment that supply energy derived from renewable energy sources, e.g. solar thermal installations, solar photovoltaic installations, biomass installations, installations using biofuels, heat pumps, aero generators and other small scale renewable installations".