Feed-In-Tariff

Launched in April 2010, the feed-in tariff (Fit) scheme is a Government-backed incentive that’s designed to enable people to financially benefit from generating their own electricity using renewable technology.

Available to everyone, from businesses and communities to homeowners and schools, the feed-in tariff guarantees a minimum payment for every kilowatt hour of electricity  generated by a renewable electricity system. This is known as the Generation Tariff. In addition, an extra payment will be made for any unused electricity that can be exported back to the national grid. This is called the Export Tariff.

The amount of money you receive will depend on the size and type of the system you use to generate the renewable energy. For example, if you’re interested in installing solar PV panels you will be eligible to receive up to 15.44p per Kilowatt hour from the feed-in tariff. An additional 4.64p/kWh will be paid for any surplus energy exported back to the national grid.

Feed-in tariffs are paid over a 20 year duration from the date the system is first registered. The amount of money you will receive will obviously depend on the size and type of the system you’re using to generate electricity. For a complete breakdown of the current available rates check out the feed-in tariff rates table.

What renewable technology can benefit from FITS?

• Solar PV
• Wind turbines
• Hydroelectricity
• Anaerobic digestion
• Micro-combined heat and power systems (Micro-CHP)

Facts about feed-in tariffs

1. You reduce costs on your electricity bill when you use your own energy.
2. Ofgem regulates the feed-in tariff.
3. This type of “feed-in” tariff was first introduced in Germany in the 1990s, although back then it only applied to power which was “fed in” to the electricity grid.
4. With the feed-in tariff you get to benefit in three different ways. You receive a payment for the Generation tariff and the Export tariff, plus you’ll also benefit from savings on your energy bills.
5. The money you receive for both the Generation and Export tariff is paid by the energy suppliers. It doesn’t come from the Government. The costs are spread equally across all the energy companies.
6. Solar PV, wind turbines, hydroelectricity, anaerobic digestion and micro-combined heat and power systems (Micro-CHP) all qualify for the feed-in tariff scheme.
7. To qualify you will need to have had the technology installed between 15 July 2009 and 31 March 2010 and you transferred to the feed-in tariff before 1 April 2010 OR the technology was installed after 1 April 2010 by an installer who is certified under the Microgeneration Certificate Scheme (MCS).
8. The feed-in tariff scheme is currently not available in Northern Ireland, although it remains under review.