- Reference Number:
- 11D/912
- Open Date:
- 31/10/2011
- Close Date:
- 23/12/2011
On 31 October 2011 Government published a consultation on phase 1 of the Feed-in Tariffs Comprehensive Review.
An announcement on 19 January 2012 confirmed the new tariffs for solar PV that will continue to provide a competitive return on investment for householders, communities and others. The new tariffs are designed to apply to all installations with an eligibility date from 3 March onwards.
This 9 February response sets out the Government’s final decisions on the details of the new energy efficiency requirement, and of the new multi-installation tariff rates. We have listened carefully to concerns raised in response to the consultation and have decided that the energy efficiency requirement should be based on an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of level D or above, not level C or any other option as previously mooted.
We have also decided that the threshold at which the multi-installation tariff rates apply should be increased from generators with more than one PV installation to those with more than 25. This aims to help community groups, small businesses and councils who do not benefit from the economies of scale that larger aggregators can obtain.
To enact these decisions, on 9 February we laid before Parliament draft licence modifications which, subject to the Parliamentary process set out in the Energy Act 2008, make provision for these new requirements to come into effect for new PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 1 April 2012.
Phase 1 Consultation
A consultation was launched on Phase 1 and ran until 23 December 2011.The proposals were subject to an eight-week consultation period. If implemented, they would introduce a new tariff for schemes up to 4kW in size of 21.0p/kWh – down from the current 43.3p/kWh. Reduced rates are also proposed for schemes between 4kW and 250kW, to ensure that those schemes receive a consistent rate of return.
The table of proposed tariffs is below.
Table of proposed solar PV tariffs
| Band (kW) |
Current generation tariff (p/kWh) |
Proposed generation tariff (p/kWh) |
| ≤4kW (new build) |
37.8 |
21.0 |
| ≤4kW (retrofit) |
43.3 |
21.0 |
| >4-10kW |
37.8 |
16.8 |
| >10-50kW |
32.9 |
15.2 |
| >50-100kW |
19 |
12.9 |
| >100-150kW |
19 |
12.9 |
| >150-250kW |
15 |
12.9 |
| >250kW-5MW |
8.5 |
8.9 |
| stand alone |
8.5 |
8.9 |
Under the proposals, the new tariffs would apply to all new solar PV installations with an eligibility date on or after 12 December 2011. Such installations would receive the current tariff before moving to the lower tariffs on 1 April 2012. Consumers who already receive a FIT will see their existing payments unchanged, and those with an eligibility date on or before 11 December 2011 will receive the current rate.
Judicial review: impact on tariff level for installations with an eligibility date of 12 December 2011–2 March 2012
Because of ongoing court proceedings we cannot guarantee that at this stage what tariff will be payable to installations with an eligibility date as above. If our appeal to the Supreme Court is successful we will have the option of applying new, lower tariffs to electricity generated from a later date.
However, they will certainly receive a minimum of 21p regardless of the outcome of the court proceedings.
Consumers and industry representatives should also view the ‘Where do I find out more’ section to find out who to contact for further information.
If you are considering generating your own electricity, the
Energy Saving Trust website also offers information about your options. Energy Savings Trust helpline: 0800 512 012.
Fast-track review
We have previously given fast-track consideration to the tariffs for large-scale (over 50
kilowatts) and stand-alone solar photovoltaic (PV) projects and farm-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) projects (up to and including 500 kilowatts). A
consultation on the fast-track review was held from 18 March to 6 May 2011.
The new tariffs for large-scale (over 50 kilowatts) and stand-alone solar PV came into force on 1 August 2011. The new tariffs were introduced through
Modifications to the Standard Conditions of Electricity Supply Licences. These modifications also include the new higher tariffs for farm-scale AD projects (up to and including 500 kilowatts). However, the implementation of the new AD tariffs was conditional on state aid approval.
The FITs table of tariffs following the fast-track review can be viewed under the list of Key Feed-in Tariffs Scheme Documents on the
FITs Implementation page.
Extensions
Since announcing the outcome of the fast-track review, DECC became increasingly aware of evidence some large-scale solar PV developers were intending to use provisions in the FITs legislation on the accreditation of extensions to installations, to take advantage of the current tariffs beyond 1 August 2011. This was not the intended effect of the extension rules and was clearly inconsistent with the objective of the fast-track review.
The new rules mean that if the extension takes an existing installation over a tariff band boundary, the extension would immediately receive the new tariffs for the larger band, but the original installation would continue receiving the current tariff for its current band.