Feed-In Tariff Unveiled In U.K.
Solar Industry
The U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) plansto roll out a feed-in tariff (FIT) for solar energy projects and otherforms of renewable energy. The FIT also includes what the DECC says isthe world’s first incentive for renewable energy heating technologies.
PV feed-in tariffs will begin April 1, and the renewable heat incentive will be implemented on April 1, 2011. Tarifflevels vary according to technology and program year. A PV retrofitproject under 4 kW, for instance, will receive 41.3 pence (p)/kWh fromApril 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. A PV system between 100 kW and 5 MW,in contrast, will receive 29.3 p/kWh during the same time period. AllPV FITs carry a 25-year lifetime. The full table describing FIT levelsand timetables is available here.
TheFIT for solar thermal projects providing heat varies from 17 p/kWh forinstallations between 20 kW and 100 kW to 18 p/kWh for installations upto 20 kW – both over a 20-year lifetime.
According to the DECC,a typical 2.5 kW well-sited solar PV installation could offer ahomeowner a reward of up to 900 British pounds and save him or her 140British pounds per year on his or her electricity bill.
