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Feed-in Tariff
(Clean Energy Cashback) Scheme
If you install an electricity-generating technology from a renewable or low-carbon source such as solar PV or wind turbine, the government's Feed-In Tariff scheme (FIT) could mean you get money from your energy supplier.
You can be paid for the electricity you generate, even if you use it yourself, and for any surplus electricity you export to the grid. And of course you'll also save money on your electricity bill, because you'll be using your own electricity.
About the scheme
Most domestic technologies (and larger systems up to 5 megawatts) qualify for the scheme, including:
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Solar Electricity (PV) (roof mounted or stand alone) |
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Wind Turbines (building mounted or free standing) |
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Hydroelectricity |
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Anaerobic Digesters |
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Micro Combined Heat and Power (CHP) |
It is energy suppliers that will pay you the FITs payments with the 'big six' energy suppliers required by law to provide these payments. Some smaller electricity suppliers may not offer FITs payments as it is not compulsory for them though many have opted to offer the payments.
The tariffs available and the process for getting them depend on when the technology was installed, and whether the system and the installer were certificated under the Microgeneration Certification scheme.
If you are eligible to receive FITs you will benefit in three ways:
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Generation tariff - your energy supplier will pay you a set rate for each unit (or kWh) of electricity you generate. Once your system has been registered, the tariff levels are guaranteed for the period of the tariff (up to 25 years) and are index-linked.
For a full list of generation tariffs, see FIT payment rates published by Ofgem [299KB PDF] |
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Export tariff - you will get a further 4.5p/kWh from your energy supplier for each unit you export back to the electricity grid, so you can sell any electricity you generate but don't use yourself. This rate is the same for all technologies. At some stage smart meters will be installed to measure what you export, but until then it is estimated as being 50% of the electricity you generate (so that if your solar PV system is less than 30kWp you do not need to have an export meter fitted) |
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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. |
Typical savings
A well designed and installed domestic solar electricity system with an installation size of 4kWp could earn:
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£558.52 a year from the Generation Tariff |
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£427.24 a year from the Export Tariff |
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£155.36 a year reduction of current electricity bills |
to give a total saving of around £1141.12 per year.
Registering for FITs
Once your chosen installer has installed your generating technology, take these steps to register for FIT:
1. Ask your installer to register you on the central MCS database. The installer will then send you a certificate confirming MCS compliance.
2. Tell your chosen FIT supplier that you wish to register for the FIT and send them a completed application form along with the MCS certificate and the Energy Performance Certificate that shows your home has an energy efficiency rating band D or better (applicable to solar PV only from 1st April 2012 although the UK Government is consulting on whether to include this requirement for wind turbines and microCHP too).
Your FIT supplier will:
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Cross-reference your installation with the MCS database and undertake other eligibility checks |
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Confirm your eligibility and the date you are eligible for payments from |
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Add you to the Ofgem Central FIT Register, which records all installations in the FIT scheme |
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Agree with you if and when you will need to provide meter readings and when they will make
FIT payments to you – these will form part of your statement of FIT terms |
Tariff rates
Once you are receiving Feed-In Tariffs, the rate you get will increase in line with inflation in accordance with the
Retail Price Index (RPI).
Summary of solar PV tariffs:
| Total installed capacity (kW) |
Generation tariff with eligibility date 1 April 2014 -1 July 2014 |
Lower tariff (if EPC requirement not met) with eligibility date 1 April 2014 – 1 July 2014 |
| <4kW (new build and retrofit) |
14.38/kWh |
6.38p/kWh |
| >4-10kW |
13.03p/kWh |
6.38p/kWh |
| 10-50kW |
12.13p/kWh |
6.38p/kWh |
| stand-alone |
6.38p/kWh |
6.38p/kWh |
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evidence of property’s EPC rating will be required when applying for FITs. If no evidence showing the EPC has a band D or higher then the lower rate will apply. |
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the export tariff for solar PV is currently 4.5p/kWh |
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the tariff period (lifetime) is now 20 years |
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the tariffs are to be reviewed every three months and will be revised according to deployment rates. |
Tariffs are available for other generation technologies including hydro, wind, anaerobic digestion and micro CHP.
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