A GREEN energy group which was paid to process applications to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme warned against the introduction of cost controls in response to a public consultation.
The RHI inquiry heard yesterday that Action Renewables described a potential change to bring in a 'trigger method for subsidies' as "a disincentive to the biomass heating sector" which would cause "further uncertainty in a difficult market".
The Belfast-based charity earned almost £250,000 advising on around 550 applications to the scheme.
In the public consultation of July 2013, its chief executive Michael Doran said any change would be "catastrophic for smaller installers" and could result in "the entire market collapsing part of the way through the financial year".
Last year the Charity Commission concluded a probe into Action Renewables by stating that its decisions had been "within charity law" after it faced criticism for not warning Stormont of flaws in the scheme.
In the public consultation, another company wrote of the potential for 'gaming' of the scheme, whereby several small boilers are installed rather than one large unit in order to receive a higher payment.
Biomass Energy Northern Ireland said that previous warnings were "now very apparent on the ground" with people installing smaller boilers "just to stay within the higher rate tariff".
In the consultation document, the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Deti) said it expected to replicate cost control measures introduced in Britain "in the future" but was proposing a "simpler system" for the time being.
Junior counsel Joseph Aiken said the inquiry may wish to examine who came up with this proposal and why.
A draft submission sent a year into the scheme in November 2013 to Arlene Foster, the then Deti minister, noted that the majority of 41 registered participants were in the "20kW to 99kW thermal band", the more lucrative rate.
Another report by Ofgem to Deti in December 2013 outlined that many of the 78 applications approved were for boilers which were in use 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The inquiry was also told how three key members of the energy team at Deti who had oversaeen the development of the RHI scheme, all left the department within a short period of time.
A handover document prepared for John Mills, who took over as head of the team in January 2014 from Fiona Hepper, contained just three pages on RHI and no mentions of "problems, cost controls or reviews".
Mr Aiken said that the departures "raise very serious questions about the handover process" for new staff coming in.
Inquiry chair Sir Patrick Coghlin observed: "One would have thought that it was the worst possible time to split up people who had been there from the beginning."
The inquiry heard that Janette O'Hagan, who ran an energy efficiency company and raised concerns about the abuse of the scheme, requested a meeting with Mrs Foster but this was declined.
She instead met Deti officials, but was despondent after the meeting, recalling: "It was clear that my concerns would not be further investigated."
