The Merton rule website has now been closed down as the policy has largely been superseded by The Code For Sustainable Homes and now the Feed-in Tariff or 'Clean Energy Cashback' scheme provides a far greater incentive for developers and home owners to install on-site renewable energy systems.
History
The Merton rule, which was named after the London borough that established it in 2003, requires any new residential development of more than 10 units or any commercial building over 1000 square maters to reduce its carbon emissions by a certain percentage through the use of on-site renewables.
Around half of UK’s local authorities introduced the Merton rule, however, each one applies it to a different degree – for example, some might “expect” a developer to enforce a 10% rule, some will “require” 20% or more.
On 18 December 2007 changes to the planning system were published requiring all councils to set out rules in their local plans to back on-site renewable energy and local community energy schemes. The new planning rules [PPS Climate Change] expect all councils to put policies in place that will give a major push for locally-distributed energy schemes in their plans.
Current drivers for renewables:
The Code for Sustainable Homes
The Code measures the sustainability of a new home against nine categories of sustainable design, rating the 'whole home' as a complete package. The Code uses a one to six star rating system to communicate the overall sustainability performance of a new home. The Code sets minimum standards for energy and water use at each level and, within England, replaces the EcoHomes scheme, developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE).
The Code supports the government target that all new homes will be zero carbon from 2016 and the step changes in Building Regulations Part L leading to this. The code is more stringent than the Merton Rule, so it is likely to supersede it in the residential sector. See more on The Code by Solarcentury.
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is a proposed mandatory cap and trade scheme in the UK that will apply to large non energy-intensive organisations in the public and private sectors. The scheme is currently under consultation and is expected to start in April 2010. It is unclear whether it will actually help reduce carbon emissions from the built environment and there are also still problems with the scheme e.g. businesses that have already invested in on-site renewables are not allowed to claim that the energy from these is zero carbon!
Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) are required whenever a building is built, sold or rented. The certificate provides 'A' to 'G' ratings for the building, with 'A' being the most energy efficient and 'G' being the least. The average up to now has been 'D'. This is part of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which all EU member states must adopt.