Feed-in tariff

The capital grant programme has now expired and is being replaced with a Feed-In Tariff, also known as the Clean Energy Cashback scheme.

The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) is managed for the Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) by the Energy Savings Trust.

For solar photovoltaic systems, the Government will pay via the utility providers a feed-in tariff of 41.3p per kWh for all electricity actually generated by domestic PV systems 4kW or smaller. For larger systems up to 100kW, the rate is 36.1p, and for systems over 100kW the rate is 31.4p per kWh.

The rates for systems up to 4kW installed after 1st April 2012 reduces to to 37.8p, and to 33p for larger systems.

The feed-in tariff is fixed for 25 years, and is index linked. The initial rate achieved is the starting rate for the 25 year term. Income for private individuals from the tariff is tax free. The tariff is also transferrable.

In addition to the feed-in tariff, income for which is measured through your generation meter supplied as part of our system, you can also use the electricity generated by your system for free, so providing additional benefit. Surplus electrcity can also be sold back to the utility providers.

Please note that certain restrictions apply to householders who wish to install a PV system and qualify for the feed-in tariff:

Applicants must be the owners of the property for which the grant is being applied

  • Applicants must be resident in the United Kingdom
  • The property must be in the United Kingdom
  • The proposed system must supply a permanent building (ie. not caravans, mobile homes, house boats etc)
  • If planning permission is required you should have received such permission

 

Selling your electricity

In addition to generating energy and reducing electricity costs, householders who generate excess renewable energy can sell this back to a utility provider for a minimum rate of 3p per kWh. Rates may vary between different providers.