Microgeneration certification scheme shows potential for rapid expansion
Peta Hodge
19th August 2009
The certification scheme for installers of small renewable energy systems in the UK, which recently issued its 343rd certification, has the potential to expand rapidly – not just in this country, but internationally too.
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) was designed by BRE Global, on behalf of the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), to ensure microgeneration products and installers meet robust quality and performance criteria.
BRE – until recently the only certification body under the scheme – has accredited 320 of the 343 installers certified so far, and says another 180 are going through its scheme.
The company says the certification process is having a real impact on the quality of small renewable energy systems being installed in the UK.
This impact is only likely to increase as the number of accredited certification bodies increases, following the recent transfer of the MCS’s administration from BRE Global to Gemserv Limited.
At least four other organisations have now received UKAS accreditation to act as MCS certification bodies in addition to BRE, and more are in the pipeline.
A spokesperson for Gemserv said that, while the company had not made any specific growth forecasts, the number of installers seeking certification is expected to increase markedly in the future.
He added that other countries in Europe had shown considerable interest in the standards set by the MCS and there was even potential for it to become a European scheme.
Although BRE says the assessment process can be “challenging”, it claims the MCS encourages good business practices, which many small companies have found helpful and a useful base from which to grow their business.
Crucially, microgeneration installers are increasingly likely to find that, in order to get work, they will have to be certified under MCS. More and more, customers will be looking for certification as an assurance of quality and – more importantly – grant money is unlikely to be available without it.
According to BRE: “MCS will underpin the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, and grants will be available to applicants using both products and installers certified under MCS or equivalent schemes. Other initiatives, such as the proposed stamp duty land tax relief for new zero carbon homes, are also likely to use MCS in the future.”