FEED-IN TARIFFS FOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SOLAR PANEL SYSTEMS

Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) became available in Great Britain on 1st April 2010. They are not currently available in Northern Ireland.

Under the FITs scheme UK energy suppliers are compulsorily obliged to make regular payments to the legal owners of buildings who generate their own electricity from solar power (and other renewable energy generating systems such as wind power).

What are FITs?

The basic premise of the Feed-in Tariffs is that they:

• guarantee a minimum payment for all electricity generated by your photovoltaic solar system
• give you a separate additional payment for the electricity exported to the grid
• are designed so that the average income from your solar power installation will be greater than the repayments on any loan taken out to purchase and install the system (over a 25 year period)

Who qualifies for the FITs?

Any solar power installation that has a rated power output of up to 5 megawatts is eligible for the scheme.

Government review

The UK Government have announced that they will review the Feed-in-Tariffs by the end of 2011. All tariffs will remain unchanged until the end of 2012 unless there is a financial need for greater urgency. Bringing larger scale solar projects within the remit of the scheme is also being considered.

We suggest you visit The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) website for the latest updates.

How do you benefit?

Property owners of buildings with a photovoltaic solar power installation can benefit in three ways:

1. Power Generation tariff - a fee paid by the energy supplier for each unit (or kWh) of electricity you generate. Although this rate may vary initially, once you join you will continue on the same tariff for 25 years
2. Power Export tariff - a further fee of 3.1p/kWh is paid to you from your energy supplier for each unit of electricity you export back to the grid
3. Energy savings - the electricity you generate with your solar installation to power your appliances means you will save the equivalent amount on your energy bill from your power supplier

As an example, a typical domestic solar electricity system, with an installation size of 2.7 kWp could earn around:

• £990 per year from the Generation Tariff
• £40 per year from the Export Tariff
• £70 per year reduction in current electricity bills

This gives a total saving of around £1,100 per year assuming realistic UK sunlight conditions. This figure may be lower or higher for varied sunlight conditions.

The Energy Saving Trust has more information and an online calculator to help you to determine the savings you may make as a result of installing a photovoltaic solar power system. Visit The Energy Saving Trust website.

Please use the menu on the left for more information on our photovoltaic solar panels from SCHOTT Solar or contact us through any of the following:

• click Call Me Back link on the left sidebar
• call 01938 530 070
• visit Contact Us
• or email us here

Our Showroom and Training Academy is also available by appointment. To reserve a presentation meeting please complete our Feedback Form here.