People working in the green power sector - such as tradesmen who have taken renewable energy courses - have been told they should be grateful for the government's decision to introduce the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme.

Dr John Constable, director of policy and research at the Renewable Energy Foundation, explained that the tight economic circumstances mean that the industry could easily have received nothing in terms of incentives.

"It's something - it's a lot better than nothing. You might say it was limited. In principle there are grave doubts about using subsidies or grants to meet targets," he said.

In his view, the grants will make a significant difference to those people that receive them and will prove to be an interesting "experiment" for the coalition to learn from.

The opening date of the RHPP is August 1st 2011, with up to 25,000 installations of renewable energy heating systems set to be funded by the