Feed-in Tariffs: get money for generating your own electricity
1. Overview
If you generate your own electricity (eg with solar panels or a wind turbine) your energy supplier might pay you money. This is called a ‘Feed-in Tariff’ (FIT).
How the scheme works
You’ll get a set amount for each unit (kilowatt hour or kWh) of electricity you generate. The rates vary depending on:
- the size of your system
- what technology you install
- when your technology was installed
- who put the technology in place - you need to use a certified installer
Contact installer companies or an electricity supplier for more information. You can receive payments from your current energy supplier, or you can choose a different one from the list of registered suppliers.
The export tariff - selling surplus energy
As well as the generation tariff, you can also sell any extra units you don’t use back to your electricity supplier. This is called an ‘export tariff’.
You’ll get 4.5p per unit of electricity:
- for solar panels where you applied for FIT on or after 1 August 2012
- for other technologies where you applied for FIT on or after 1 December 2012
If you applied for FIT before these dates you’ll continue to get 3.2p for each unit of electricity.
How much you could get
Use the Energy Saving Trust calculators to estimate how much you could earn using the FIT scheme and selling unused energy back.
Use the:
- solar energy calculator if you want to install solar panels
- or the cashback calculator if you’re considering installing wind turbines, hydroelectricity or micro combined heat and power systems
2. How to apply
To qualify, your installation must have a peak output of no more than 5 megawatts (MW). Technologies covered are:
- solar photovoltaic (PV) panels
- wind turbines
- water turbines
- anaerobic digestion (biogas energy)
- micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP)
Before you apply, do a home energy check to make sure your home is as energy-efficient as possible.
Choose the technology you want and get it installed by a certified installer.
You'll usually need to get a certificate from your installer confirming that it meets Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) standards.
Contact a registered electricity supplier to find out how to apply, as the application process varies for different suppliers.
You can choose to receive payments from your current energy supplier or from a different one.