Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) became available in Great Britain on 1st April 2010 with solar PV systems being eligible. Under this scheme energy suppliers make regular payments to householders, communities and businesses that generate their own electricity from renewable sources such as solar electricity panels (PV) or wind turbines.
Financial rewards
There are three ways in which you will financially benefit from a solar PV system through the FIT scheme.
1. Generation tariff – a set rate of will be paid by the energy supplier for each unit (or kWh) of electricity you generate. Under this scheme, you will be paid for every unit of electricity that you generate, whether you then use it yourself or export it from your site. The rate varies depending how large your system is (see Table below) but most domestic installations will fall under the highest FIT band of 21p pence per kWh. The FIT rate is guaranteed by Government legislation for 25 years for your PV system and is index-linked. This rate will change each year for new entrants to the scheme but once you join you will continue on the same tariff for 25 years for your PV system.
2. Export tariff - you will receive a further 3.2p/kWh from your energy supplier for each unit you export back to the electricity grid (i.e. when it isn’t used on site). The export rate is the same for all technologies.
3. Energy bill savings – you will be making savings on your electricity bills, because generating electricity to power your appliances means you don’t have to buy as much electricity from your energy supplier. The amount you save will vary depending how much of the electricity you use on site. The average cost per unit of buying domestic electricity is currently 14.39 pence (Energy Saving Trust).
It is ultimately the customer’s responsibility to ensure that FIT forms are completed, but we are happy to offer advice and assistance with the process of claiming FITs. To this end we have produced an ‘Applying for the Feed-In Tariff‘ page which contains all the contact details for UK suppliers.
Table showing FIT rates for different sized systems.
| Band (kW) | Current generation tariff (p/kWh) |
| ≤4kW (new build) | 21.0 |
| ≤4kW (retrofit) | 21.0 |
| >4-10kW | 16.8 |
| >10-50kW | 15.2 |
| >50-100kW | 12.9 |
| >100-150kW | 12.9 |
| >150-250kW | 12.9 |
| >250kW-5MW | 8.5 |
| stand alone | 8.5 |
Why not try our Solar PV Calculator to work out the payback of a solar PV system.
The Solar Calculator will help you find out how much you could earn and save through solar PV panels, using the Feed in Tariff scheme.Start by entering the size of your technology and then see how much return your installation earns.
The YouTube video below by the Department of Energy and Climate Change gives a case study for feed-in tariffs:
Further details on feed-in tariffs can be found on the Department of Energy and Climate Change website.
