UK Government Announces Feed-In Tariff


UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband recently announced guidelines for a new feed-in tariff (FIT) that will enable households and communities who install generating technologies such as small wind turbines and solar panels to claim payments for the low carbon electricity they produce. The FIT will go into effect this April.

The schemes are designed to bring about a significant increase in the amount of locally produced green energy, as a contribution to the wider shift of the energy mix to low carbon.

From April 1, householders and communities who install low carbon electricity technology such as solar photovoltaic (pv) panels and wind turbines up to 5 megawatts will be paid for the electricity they generate, even if they use it themselves. The level of payment depends on the technology and is linked to inflation.

They will get a further payment for any electricity they feed into the grid. These payments will be in addition to benefiting from reduced bills as they reduce the need to buy electricity. The scheme will also apply to installations commissioned since July 2009 when the policy was announced.

A typical 2.5kW well sited solar pv installation could offer a homeowner a reward of up to GBP 900 ($1,433) and save them GBP 140 ($223) a year on their electricity bill.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change also published today plans for a scheme to incentivise renewable heat generation at all scales. This will come into effect in April 2011 and guarantee payments for those who install technologies such as ground source heat pumps, biomass boilers and air source heat pumps.

Under the proposed tariffs the installation of a ground source heat pump in an average semi-detached house with adequate insulation levels could be rewarded with GBP 1,000 ($1,593) a year and lead to savings of GBP 200 ($319) per year if used instead of heating oil.

Details of funding for the scheme will be published in the Budget 2010.

Source: Clean Edge News

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