Solar Feed-In Tariff – Can you profit from the Feed-In Tariff?
The Feed-In Tariff, also known as FIT, became available in the UK on April 1 2010 and is the electricity sector of the Clean Energy Cash Back scheme – a Government-backed scheme that pays people who create their own electricity using green technology including solar PV panels.
The Feed-In Tariff guarantees a minimum payment for all electricity generated by the system, as well as an additional payment for the unused electricity produced that can be exported to the grid, known as the Generation tariff and Export tariff respectively. These payments will boost household savings as bills will be reduced by using electricity generated on-site.
The tariff is available to everyone – households, landlords, businesses and even communities and organisations like schools and village halls – and will be overseen by Ofgem which regulates the electricity and gas markets in Great Britain.
How much money could I receive?
The amount of money you receive depends on the type and size of the system you use to generate the renewable energy. If you’re installing solar PV panel technology, from 1 April 2012 you will receive up to 21p per Kilowatt hour available for all installations registered from 12th December 2011 – click here to see the official tariff levels table for all renewable energy technology.
As well as the payment you receive for generation, an extra 3.1p per Kilowatt hour of electricity produced that is exported to the grid will also be received, taking it to a total of 24.1p/kWh.
These tariffs should provide a return of up to five per cent. To calculate the potential payback from installing a solar PV system use the Solar Guide Solar PV Feed-In Tariff Calculator to estimate your annual income and overall investment payback time.
When is the Feed-In Tariff available and for how long?
The Feed-In Tariff was opened and payments were made available on 1 April 2010. All systems that are eligible under the scheme now qualify for receiving the tariff. And the best news for anyone considering installing solar PV panels is that the tariff will be available for the longest period of time with this technology. Solar PV tariffs are paid for 25 years, while most of the remaining technologies will only benefit from 20 years of payments.
What limitations are there and am I eligible?
Anyone who installs a renewable electricity system with a capacity of five megawatts or less is eligible to receive the Feed-In Tariff. The five megawatt system can be used on a single property for a householder or business or used collectively by a community.
Solar PV isn’t the only technology that qualifies for the tariff – wind turbines, hydroelectricity, anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power systems (Micro-CHP) all qualify too – but it is expected to be the most popular renewable alternative in the UK.
The tariffs available and the process for receiving them varies depending on when the technology was installed and if you followed the guidelines of using an installer certified under the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MCS*).
To qualify for the full Feed-In Tariff payments you must have either had the technology installed between 15 July 2009 and 31 March 2010 and transferred to Feed-In Tariff before April 2010 or have the technology installed after 1 April 2010 using a certified product and installer.
From 1 April 2012 the Government is also set to introduce new domestic energy efficiency requirements for solar PV systems. It means that if a property doesn’t meet these energy efficiency requirements, the Solar PV installation may only be eligible to receive a lower tariff rate of just 9p/kWh.
Feed-In Tariff Case Study
* The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is an independent scheme that certificates microgeneration products under 50kW and installers in accordance with consistent standards. Any commercial or larger scale systems, over 50kW, and all anaerobic digestion installations must apply directly through the Renewables Obligation Order feed-in tariff process for larger installations (ROO-FIT) process as they are not covered by the MCS.
Further Reading
How does the Feed-In Tariff work?
What is the future of the Feed-In Tariff?
How do I apply for a Feed-In Tariff?
Is the Feed-In Tariff affected by inflation?
Did you know that a 
The Government's 
i have a south/east and a south/west facing roofs ,and have had 14 panels fitted on each roof giving a capacity of 6.8 kwh , what feed in returns can i expect , is the tarriff reduced for having a larger system,and is it true you can have an electricity saving of 50% yours sincerely J A Green
Hi Jonathan, You can calculate potential savings using our calculator http://www.solarguide.co.uk/solar-pv-calculator. Just select ‘Calc by System Size (kWp’ and enter your system size and postcode. Our calculator defaults to 35% of the energy generated will be used in your home but this can be changed under the assumptions section.
Can I still continue to receive the feed in tariff if I sell the house or does it go to the new owner?
Hi Carole, The feed in tariff stays with the system and so the new owner will benefit. If the system is a free installation or rent-a-roof scheme then it will go the original provider of the system as before.
can i fit solar panels in my garden and still claim FIT ect.
Yes you can still claim the FIT for systems installed in your garden provided the system is supplying electricity to your property.
If I were to install a PV system of 4kW and a wind turbine of 5kW, how would that work with the FiT? Can I get FiTs for both? Up to what energy production limit can one claim FiTs?
Can I receive the feed in tarrif, if I live overseas?
Can a charity claim FIT from solar panels. We are thinking of installing up to 15kw of solar panels.
Will the feed in tariff rates be cut on December 12th for comunity village halls, or are they exempt.