Renewable Energy Hardware

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Feed-In-Tariffs Explained

22 Jul 2021

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What was the Feed-In Tariff

The Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) scheme is a government programme designed to promote the uptake of renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies such as Solar panels or wind turbines. Introduced on 1 April 2010, the Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme requires participating electricity suppliers to pay both a fixed generation and export fee.

Who is eligible for the FIT scheme?

Aimed towards renewable energy generators, the FIT scheme is available to anyone who has installed:

The system must not exceed a capacity of 5MW, or 2kW for CHP.

How Does the Fit Payments Work?

Through the Feed-in-Tariff scheme, homeowners with renewable technology installed will benefit from two kinds of energy tariffs/payments:

This way you will not only be saving money through the use of your low-carbon installation but also earning tax-free money too. FIT payments are made by your energy supplier quarterly from the date you become eligible for the scheme. Payments are made based on the meter reading you submit to your energy supplier also known as your FIT licensee.

Unlike the new Smart Export Guarantee Tariff, FIT payment rates are set by the Government. With this in mind, no matter which energy provider you choose, you will still get paid the same. You can change your FIT licensee at any time, and with more than 250,000 companies paying the feed-in-tariff payments finding a provider shouldn’t be too difficult.

Feed-in tariff payments are payable up to 20 years, or 25 years if you signed up before August 2021. If you have a query about your FITs payments, you should contact your FITs licensee, or get in touch with Ofgem.

Who is responsible for the FITs scheme?

The Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) scheme is a government programme, set up by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). However, it is the energy regulator Ofgem that continues to administrate the scheme.

Does the Feed-In Tariff still exist?

The FIT scheme has since closed to new applicants from 1 April 2019. Being replaced by the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme instead. Nonetheless, the closing of the FIT scheme doesn’t affect those already part of the scheme. If you already have an eligible installed system that you are receiving FITs payments for, you are unaffected by the scheme closure. For this reason, you will continue to receive FITs payments as normal.

Do I loose my Feed-in Tariff if i moved home?

Unfortunately, yes you do. If you move properties, the ownership of your renewable technology is usually transferred to the new property owner. Therefore, they would be the new owner of the feed-in tariff payments, as well. In order to transfer this ownership, you would have to notify your energy company.

Does Changing my FIT Installation affect my FIT payments?

Although you can still add additional capacity to your renewable installation without affecting your current FIT payments, you will not receive any additional payments for the extra capacity.

Can I Claim For Both FIT Payments and SEG Payments?

As the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff, only pays you for your exported energy, it is possible to keep your FIT generation tariff as well as move to SEG payments. As a result, this means you will have to give up your FIT export tariff.

Some points to consider before moving to the Smart Export Guarantee Tariff:

  • Unlike FIT payments, SEG tariffs vary between energy suppliers, usually offering between 3-5p/kWh. In this case, if your FIT export tariff is higher, it may be worth keeping.
  • In addition, as FIT export payments are “deemed”, you are not paid for the exact amount of energy you export. Instead, you are paid for 50% of your generated electricity, regardless of how much electricity you export to the grid. Therefore, this figure may benefit you more, than getting paid for the exact export value that the SEG tariff takes through your Smart Meter.

As part of the SEG application process, you’ll be asked to confirm whether you currently receive FIT export payments.

Make your Home Greener with Deege Solar

Since the introduction of the Feed-In-Tariff, there have been 860,257 accredited Solar Photovoltaic installations to date across the UK. That’s a total capacity of 5,126,576 kW of Solar! The government incentive has proved to be popular in helping more domestic properties make the change to sustainable energy sources.

If you missed the feed-in tariff deadline, it doesn’t mean that choosing to install renewable technology such as Solar PV is still not a viable option. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), is a worthy replacement, rewarding those supporting the National Grid through their exported energy.

As (MCS) accredited Solar Panel Installers, Deege Solar are capable of installing Solar PV Systems throughout the UK, that are SEG compilable. If you are a UK homeowner, looking to benefit from Solar Energy, get in touch today for a free survey, quote and design by our Solar Expert team.

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