Grants and FiTs
Grants used to be available for solar PV. They have now ended, and been replaced with Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) introduced by Government on 1st April 2010.
FITs are designed to increase small-scale renewable energy production - such as by homeowners.
The system brings a set of payments/benefits for owners of newly installed PV installations
- A payment for every unit of electricity generated by the system. This ‘generation tariff’ is paid regardless of whether a home is using the electricity or not, and for 2011/12 the payment has been 43.3 pence per unit. The government is in the process of changing the rate from March 3rd to 21p (potentially Dec 12th 2011). There is likely to be another change in April 2012.
- An additional payment for any electricity that isn’t used (e.g. homeowners are on holiday). This is exported to the national grid, and the payment this year is 3p per unit
- Lower energy bills from current energy providers – because some of the home’s electricity needs are met by the free electricity from the solar system
- A positive contribution to reducing the UK’s carbon emissions by producing free electricity from the daylight
The payments are guaranteed for 25 years, they will rise with inflation and they are tax free.
If you buy a solar system, you recieve the Feed in Tariff. Until it changes, the largest payment area is the generation tariff. But electricity savings can be also material with some of HomeSun's customers reporting reductions of £200 - £300 off their electricity. The export tariff has been largely marginal (£30/£50 per year).
The returns from the generation tariff will obviously drop from March 3rd if the government's proposals go through.
If you have £10k-£15k, you know you will be in your home for the next 10 -15 years, and you have a good roof for solar, the Feed in Tariff subsidies means that a solar PV system may well be a good investment. Click through to buy solar to see how the whole thing works. If you are interested in finding out a little more, just fill in the enquiry form top right so that we can assess the suitability of your roof for solar (note at the end of the form that you are interested in buying).
If you don't have the money to invest or you want it for something else or you can wait 25 years for a return, Free Solar or SolarShare™ may be an option. These are more of a partnership - HomeSun buys and maintains the solar system for you and receives the Feed-in Tariff to recoup its investment. You get free electricity from the sun so that you have the chance to reduce your energy bills. At any point, you can end the contract and buy out the system, and receive the Feed-in Tariff yourself. Have a look under 'Our Products & Services' for more information.
FITs aren’t just for solar PV – the full government consultation document will give you the whole story.
