Because of the
government's need to meet its’ obligations in relation to
cutting carbon emissions, they have introduced Feed In
Tariffs as part of the Micro-generation Certification Scheme
(MCS).
The idea is that if you generate electricity from PV
solar modules, the big energy supply companies will pay you,
yes PAY YOU to generate electricity. This is done
through the Feed In Tariff (FIT) scheme, which the
government has arranged.
The Feed In Tariff payments are
payable to anyone generating electricity by one of the four
forms of approved renewable generating technologies. The
most practical of these, to the average domestic property,
is photovoltaic solar modules, known as solar PV.
The Feed
In Tariffs, and the level of income they will generate, are
set until the end of March 2012, and they are guaranteed and
index linked for 25 years. This means that at present you
would receive 41.4 pence for every unit (kilowatt hour) of
electricity you generate, whether you use it or not. If you
can use it yourself, then you save yourself about another 12
pence, which you would have to pay to buy the electricity if
you had not generated it yourself. If you can’t use it, you
receive a further 2.9 pence to export it to the national
grid. This means that for each kilowatt hour (unit) of
electricity you generate and use, is worth 53 pence.
Important note: The UK
Goverment has announced that for all domestic solar power
installations registered under the FIT scheme after the 12th
December 2011 the amount paid per kWhr is to reduce from 43p
to 21p. This will have the effect of reducing the ROI to
approxmately 6% and will extend the payback period to more
like 18 years.
AND
THIS IS GUARANTEED AND INDEX LINKED FOR 25 YEARS!
For more
information about this, the FIT scheme, and energy
efficiency in general, please visit the energy saving trust
website at
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk They have a really useful
calculator, which can give you a guide as to how much money
you can earn and save, from fitting solar PV modules, as
well as details about other renewable energy technologies.
