The Government has changed the feed in tariff rates and they will drop to 21p on December 12th! To read the full report on all changes click here
In April 2010 the Government introduced a scheme that gives you rewards for producing renewable energy. The Government is encouraging home owners to install solar panels which can make you money while reducing your carbon footprint. This was introduced to help increase the amount of renewable energy sources in the UK, due to a legal bind that states 15% of energy must come from renewables by 2020.
The UK feed in tariff guarantees a payment for generating electricity and an additional payment for any energy exported to the national grid. It doesn’t end there, on top of this money making scheme, you will save money on bills for the electricity generated at your premises.
Therefore, there are three different financial benefits from the Feed-In Tariffs:
- The generation tariff, a payment for all electricity generated by your solar panels.
- The export tariff pays you for money exported to the grid when energy is not used.
- A lower bill for any electricity you may use from your energy supplier.
In money terms, you will receive 43.3p for every unit of electricity you generate. In addition to this, you will receive an extra 3p for every unit you do not use which is taken back to the grid. Your electricity bills will be lower as your solar panels power your household appliances rather than your energy supplier. If the amount of electricity you are using exceeds the amount being made, you will pay for the shortfall in the usual way from your electricity supplier.
The feed in tariffs are an investment for anyone. This includes home owners, landlords, businesses and even larger organisations such as schools, care homes and farms. As long as you have an MCS approved solar panel system installed, you are certainly eligible to claim for the feed in tariff rates.
Alternative energy efficient investments that fall under the Feed-In Tariff scheme include:
- Wind power
- Hydro power
- Anaerobic digestion
- Domestic scale microCHP (with a capacity of 2kW or less)
The solar panel feed in tariff is guaranteed to make and save you money for the next 25 years, providing you apply before the 12/12/11 when the rates will drop to 21p. Anyone installing after that date will be subject to the revised payment system that will cut your return in half for your solar panel installation.
