The Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme was introduced on 1 April 2010, under powers in the Energy Act 2008.
Through the use of FITs, DECC hopes to encourage deployment of additional small-scale (less than 5MW) low-carbon electricity generation, particularly by organisations, businesses, communities and individuals that have not traditionally engaged in the electricity market.
This will allow many people to invest in small-scale low-carbon electricity, in return for a guaranteed payment from an electricity supplier of their choice for the electricity they generate and use as well as a guaranteed payment for unused surplus electricity they export back to the grid.
FITs work alongside the Renewables Obligation (RO) – which is currently the primary mechanism to support deployment of large-scale renewable electricity generation – and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which, when implemented, will support generation of heat from renewable sources at all scales.
Which technologies are eligible for FITs?
Small-scale low-carbon electricity technologies eligible for FITs are:
- wind
- solar photovoltaics (PV)
- hydro
- anaerobic digestion
- domestic scale microCHP (with a capacity of 2kW or less) – a domestic scale microCHP pilot will support up to 30,000 installations, with a review to start when the 12,000th installation is completed
What are the benefits of FiTs?
There are three financial benefits from FITs:
- Generation tariff – the electricity supplier of your choice will pay you for each unit (kilowatt) of electricity you generate. A table of tariffs has been published by government
- Export tariff – if you generate electricity that you don’t use yourself, you can export it back to the grid. You will be paid for exporting electricity as an additional payment (on top of the generation tariff)
- Energy bill savings – you won’t have to import as much electricity from your supplier because a proportion of what you use you will have generated yourself
How do I apply for FiTs?
Wind and solar PV installations with a declared net capacity of 50kW or less, and microCHP projects supported through the pilot, will have to use the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) to be confirmed (subject to other eligibility checks) of their eligibility for FITs.
Any other technology and scale of project must be accredited through a process based on the existing Renewable Obligation process, known as the ROO-FIT process. Further information on the ROO-FIT process is available from Ofgem.
Where do I find out more?
For further information:
| Members of the public unsure about their options following the review |
EST |
0800 512 012 |
| Businesses unsure about their options following the review |
Carbon Trust |
0800 085 2005 |
| Members of the public unsure about applying for large-scale (>50 kW) schemes |
Ofgem |
0207 901 7310 (Renewable team)
|
| Installers unsure about how changes impact on them |
REAL
MCS |
0207 981 0850 and
0207 090 1082 |
| Installers with questions about MCS database |
MCS |
0207 090 1082 |
| Members of the public worried about bad advice or offers by installers |
REAL |
0207 981 0850 |
| Members of the public with questions about their suppliers |
Their supplier's website |
|
| Complaints |
Follow the FITs complaint information sheet available on the DECC website |
|
The DECC website also offers information on:
If you have a view on the policy proposals for small-scale solar PV under Phase 1 of the comprehensive review, please provide your thoughts through the consultation launched on 31 October 2011.