Feed in Tariff (FiT)

The use of PV systems is not only cost effective by saving you energy bills, but it is also a form of investment especially with the introduction of the feed in tariff. The FiT scheme is available for people who have an electrical micro generation technology installed in their homes and this could be in form of on-site wind turbines, anaerobic digestion, hydro electricity and combined heat and power (mCHP) and of course PV.

How does the FiT work?

To qualify for the FiT, the PV system must be installed by an MCS certified installer and supplier anytime from 15th July 2009.

Benefits of the FiT

There are three ways in which the owner of the technology can benefit from the scheme. These are:

• Generation Tariff: in which your energy supplier gives money for every unit of electricity produced. The tariff varies depending on the capacity of the installed technology; for PV it ranges from 29.3p/Kwh to 41.3p/Kwh
• Export Tariff: in this case, there is a payment of 3p/Kwh for all excess generated electricity exported to the grid. This payment is currently “deemed” which means an estimated amount of energy is exported and so receives an export payment.
• Energy bill savings: by using the power from the installed technology, there is less dependence on the conventional electrical power from the grid thereby allowing savings on energy bills.

Please visit the DECC website for further information on Feed-in Tariffs.

Also in this section:

• Types of PV systems
• System components
• Costs & Maintenance