The Feed In Tariff Is Here!
The Government has just announced the rate at which businesses and householders will be paid to generate their own electricity and sell back any excess electricity to the National Grid.
The Feed in Tariff (FIT) has been eagerly awaited and will become operational in April 2010. The rate ranges from 29.3p to 41.3p per KWh of electricity self generated by your home or premises and in addition you will receive a minimum of 3p per KWh of electricity exported back to the National Grid.
Sol2o who are the North East’s renewable Energy experts and one of a small number of businesses within the region to be Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) Accredited which enables them to fit Photovoltaic (PV) Systems that will be eligible for the FIT.
PV will enable homes and businesses to take advantage of this opportunity. Generating your own electricity will help you cut your energy costs, reduce your CO2 emissions and therefore cut your carbon footprint.
Solar electricity systems capture the sun’s energy using Photovoltaic (PV) cells which convert daylight into electricity. PV cells are panels you can attach to your roof or walls. Daylight is free so once you have installed the equipment your electricity costs will be greatly reduced. A typical home PV system can produce up to 40% of the electricity a household or building uses in a year.
Head of Operations at Sol2o, Steve Wigham, said: “For many people the range of products and language around renewable energy is confusing. At Sol2o we offer the complete range of services and can advise customers in a way which is simple and easy to understand.
“From April 2010 the Government has announced that you will be paid for any electricity you generate and the excess electricity can be sold back to the national grid. If you install a Photovoltaic panel to your home or business you will be eligible to be paid money back to you from your utility company. You can receive money for firstly generating your electricity and secondly for any surplus energy you export.
The Feed In System is designed as an incentive for energy producers to move from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The exact government figures for the rate of the tariffs have now been announced and we can provide customers with a clear indication of the amount of money they could save.”
We think the PV industry will grow significantly this year as a result of the Feed In Tariff being introduced and we hope to see the benefits that other European countries have experienced.
The announced rates are;
| Description | Scale | Scheme Year | Tariff Lifetime (years) | ||
| FiT Year 2 22/11/2012 | FiT Year 3 2012/2013 | FiT Year 4 2013/2014 | |||
| Anaerobic Digestion | ≤ 250kW | 12.1 | 14 | 14 | 20 |
| Anaerobic Digestion | > 250 - 500kW | 12.1 | 13 | 13 | 20 |
| Anaerobic Digestion | > 500Kw | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 20 |
| Hydro | ≤ 15kW | 20.9 | 20.9 | 20.9 | 20 |
| Hydro | > 15 - 100kW | 18.7 | 18.7 | 18.7 | 20 |
| Hydro | > 100kW - 2MW | 11.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 20 |
| Hydro | > 2 - 5MW | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 20 |
| MicroCHP Pilot | ≤ 2kW | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10 |
| PV (newbuild) | ≤ 4kW | 37.8 | 34.6 | 31.6 | 25 |
| PV (retrofit) | ≤ 4kW | 43.3 | 39.6 | 36.3 | 25 |
| PV | > 4 - 10kW | 37.8 | 34.6 | 31.6 | 25 |
| PV | > 10 - 50kW | 32.9 | 30.1 | 27.5 | 25 |
| PV | > 50 - 100kW | 19 | 17.4 | 15.9 | 25 |
| PV | > 100 - 150kW | 19 | 17.4 | 15.9 | 25 |
| PV | > 150 - 250kW | 15 | 13.7 | 12.6 | 25 |
| PV | > 250kW - 5MW | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 25 |
| PV (autonomous) | Stand Alone | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 25 |
| Wind | ≤ 1.5kW | 36.2 | 34.2 | 32.3 | 20 |
| Wind | > 1.5 - 15kW | 28 | 26.7 | 25.5 | 20 |
| Wind | > 15 - 100kW | 25.3 | 24.2 | 23.1 | 20 |
| Wind | > 100 - 500kW | 19.7 | 19.7 | 19.7 | 20 |
| Wind | > 500kW - 1.5MW | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 20 |
| Wind | > 1.5 - 5MW | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 20 |
| Existing microgenerators transferred from the RO | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | to 2027 | |
| EXPORT TARIFF | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.1 | ||
There has also been an announcement about ‘the renewable heat incentives’ which is expected to be introduced in April 2011 and will provide generation tariffs for other renewable technologies such as;
Solar Thermal at 18p per KW of energy produced, guaranteed for 20 years.
Air Source Heating at 7.5p per KW of energy produced, guaranteed for 18 years
Ground Source Heating at 7.0p per KW of energy produced, guaranteed for 23 years.
Biomass at 9.0p per KW of energy produced, guranteed for 15 years.
The introduction of FIT and ‘the renewable heat incentive’ will be a fantastic boost for the Microgeneration market in the UK”