Feed in Tariff

The electricity feed-in-tariff will be paid from April 2010. The government have now published the feed-in-tariff rates. Here we have created a single page of the main points.

Q. What is a Feed in Tariff (FIT) and why is it important?
A. Higher payment for electricity produced by a renewable energy system, to help you pay back the costs of the installation. It is paid to you for 25 years. Paid through electricity companies and funded by a levy on fossil fuels. Applies to Solar PV (photovoltaics), wind turbines and a few other electric power technologies (hydro, biomass and anaerobic digester power).

Q. I am a householder and want to claim (or have claimed) a LCBP grant of £2,500 after July 15th 2009. Can I claim the feed in tariff?
A. Yes! And you don’t have to pay it back. For non domestic customers it is a different story i.e. payback of grant required for the feed in tariff to apply.

Q. What are the bands for PV per kWh and for how long?
A. Domestic <4kWp retrofit 41.3p vs new build 36.1p. For 25 years!! In addition 3p more for any kWh exported. 4-10kWp 36.1p; 10-100 kWp 31.4p and 100kWp-5MWp 29.3p, and Ground Mounts 29.3p.

Q. Can I use the power in my place? A. Domestic folks can use your own power at home, and will save up to 15p per kWh when not buying it from your power company. If you are not using the power you can claim 3p per kWh if it’s exported. Larger installations will also benefit in the same way except the electricity rate is usually lower (e.g. 7p-10p).

Q. What’s it worth to me over 25 years? A. A 2.16kWp system in Devon making 1,900 kWh pa could make £19,625 from the FIT and provide 2/3 of your electricity. Costs c £9,499 (after grant of £2.5k or £11,999 pre grant). Electricity value over 25 years is £9,486 assuming 9% growth in energy costs and 50% used at home. Net benefit = £27,922.

Q. What about inflation? A. Both the generation tariff and the export tariff are indexed (RPI linked) so the payments will keep in line with inflation.

Q. What are the wind bands per kWh? A. <1.5kWp 34.5p, this band is for Proven - 1.5-15kWp 26.7p, 15-100kWp 24.1p

Q. I am a householder and have claimed a grant before July 15th 2009 so can I claim the feed in tariff? A. You will be changed to it automatically and once you have transferred to the FIT, you will receive a generation tariff set at an approximately equivalent level to the value of previous ROC band (9p). In addition you will have access to the export tariff (3p). You will receive support under the FIT until 2027. Where installations have received any grants before 15 July 2009 this does not change the above approach.

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