You might have noticed that on 1st April this year a revolution began in the energy sector of the UK. And that is no April joke. The feed-in tariffs or clean energy cashback became available for homeowners and communities. It means that you will be paid good money for generating green electricity on-site. Suddenly, the idea of installing photovoltaic systems or wind generators has become much more realistic.
There are three ways you will benefit from the feed-in tariff:
- Energy savings. You will buy less energy from your current supplier.
- Generation tariff. They will actually pay you real money for each kWh you generate… and use. That’s right… sounds crazy but it is true. The current feed-in tariff for solar panels is 41p per kWh. Wind energy systems and hydroelectric generators will receive 34p and 19p per kWh respectively (since when hydroelectricity is green, eh?).
- Export tariff. If you generate excess electricity and feed it back into the grid, you’ll receive extra 3p per kWh on top of your generation tariff.
An average household with a 4kWh solar panel on the roof is looking to a £1500+ annual gain (not counting the bill savings you make). Yes, you are looking at some £5 to 10,000 for a typical installation of photovoltaics but you don’t have to pay it as a lump sum – you can buy it on credit. The feed-in money will be enough to cover the leasing payments on your installation and there should be a surplus that you can spend on whatever you like.
Once you’re on the scheme you will receive the same tariff and benefit for the next 20 years (25 in the case of photovoltaic panels) as long as you keep generating green electricity. This is the right time to join the feed-in tariff scheme because the systems installed after April 2017 will most likely receive less money.
There is a catch though. Unfortunately, you cannot do DIY in order to qualify for this scheme. It has to be done by a MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) accredited installer. All in all, I think this is absolutely great – now can anybody say they cannot afford to go green? It’s not only affordable, it is now potentially profitable.
