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energy efficiency
03 Apr 2020

Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) closure - what's next?

Oliver
By Oliver
  • Read time: 1 minute
The Feed-in-Tariff scheme closed to new applicants on 31 March 2019 – households already registered onto the tariff with an existing system will be unaffected by the changes to the scheme.

The FiT was a Government scheme developed to provide payments to owners of renewable energy solutions such as solar PV panels. Brought about in 2010, the scheme was to encourage more households to install renewable energy solutions.

For those already registered on the FiT scheme, payments will not change. You will continue to receive payments at the rate you agreed to when registering, and payments are made for 20 years.

Households which had an installation of a renewable energy solution covered by the tariff, up until 31 March 2019 will still be able to apply for the scheme until 31 March 2020. However, those who don’t have a valid install or MCS certificate before or after 31 March 2019, will not be eligible.

Without the Feed-in-Tariff, renewable energy solutions such as solar panels are still a worthwhile investment. The cost of installation has reduced over the years and should continue to fall.

On 8 January 2019, the Government declared it is looking at alternatives to the FiT scheme. The country is on the brink of finding out whether the Smart Export Guarantee will ensure access to payment for excess energy.

The Government’s proposed replacement for the FiT, the Smart Export Guarantee should ensure small-scale generators, home-battery solutions such as Tesla Powerwall, are remunerated for the electricity developed and exported to the power grid. Installations up to 50kW in size would need to be certified upon installation and fitted by a certified MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) registered installer.

There is still so much potential for energy generation from renewable technologies, which is why the Government is working hard to make such technologies available to more households across the UK.

To find out more about renewable technologies from 50five, contact a member of our customer care team on 0800 612 5050 or email sales@50five.co.uk

Oliver

Written by Oliver

Oliver is a Content Specialist for 50five UK