DECC announces NO change to the Feed-in Tariff
06/12/12: DECC have confirmed within their latest FiT review, there will not be any change to the current Feed-in Tariff.
Installations from now up until the 1 May 2013, will remain at 15.44p for systems up to a 4kWp, with an EPC rating of 'D' or above. The export tariff also remains unaffected.
01/04/13: The Export Tariff element of the FiT was changed to 4.64p per kWh.
For further information please visit the Ofgem website
What is the Feed-in Tariff?
Introduced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on 1 April 2010, the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is an initiative to help boost the uptake of Solar PV, and other small scale electricity generation technology. The FiT works alongside the Renewables Obligation (RO) and the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) due to be introduced during summer 2013. More information about this can be found on the DECC website: www.decc.gov.uk
- Generation Tariff (15.44p p/kWh) – the rate paid to you (householder) by your chosen electricity supplier for each unit of electricity (kilowatt) your solar PV system generates
- Export Tariff (4.64p p/kWh) – the additional rate you are paid for the generated electricity that you don’t use which gets exported back to the grid
- Energy bill savings – the amount of money that you save from generating your own electricity and using less from your supplier, resulting in a lower electricity bill. Bill savings can vary per property and system size.
Benefits of FiT
All solar PV installations to take place on or after 1 August 2012 can look forward to:
- Feed-in Tariff guaranteed lifetime to 20 years
- Increased export tariff to 4.64p/kWh paid for all surplus electricity exported back to the national grid
- Retail Price Index (RPI) - linked generation and export tariffs (with the potential to increase as the RPI increases)
- Reduced PV system prices mean a potential ROI of 15.53%
Planned changes to the FiT:
For all solar PV installations to take place on or after 1 November 2012 a quarterly 3.5% ‘digression’ system (i.e. tariff reductions) will be applied to the FiT rate. As discussed above, no changes are planned yet and this will be reviewed again in September 2013. The rate will continue to be RPI linked ensuring minimal decrease, meaning that customers looking to invest in renewable energy in the future can still benefit.
More information about the planned changes are available on the DECC website
What you need to consider
In order to receive the highest FiT rate, your property must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of a ‘D’ or higher. An EPC assessment determines the energy efficiency of your home and compares it to the potential improvements you could make with energy saving measures put into place.
Enact can help with your EPC
We can provide advice and guidance regarding your property’s current potential energy efficiency rating based on a few factors such as your fuel type, existing energy measures and household information which can be discussed over the phone.
If you require an EPC assessment we can do this for your free of charge if you proceed with a solar PV order through us, saving you an approximate cost of £100 plus VAT.
What is an EPC?
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides information about how to make your home more energy efficient and reduce the output of carbon emissions. All homes bought, sold or rented require an EPC. Homeowners who would like to install solar PV without an EPC will still be eligible for a smaller FiT rate of 7.1p p/kWp but not the maximum amount available.
For those who do not have an EPC rating of 'D', Enact is on hand to offer solutions that can improve the energy performance of your property such as home insulation, and boiler upgrades. REMEMBER - your solar PV installation will count towards your EPC rating as well.
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