UK feed-in tariff for microgeneration
March 2, 2009
Anticipation is rising about what level the UK feed-in tariff will be set at.
It’s generally accepted that one of the key factors that has influenced the
growth of microgeneration in Germany has been the feed-in tariff.
In Germany, anyone generating electricity from solar PV, wind or hydro gets a guaranteed
payment of four times the market rate - currently about 35p pence a unit - for 20 years.
In France, The government attributes the rapid growth in microgeneration to changes made to the tariffs for solar PV in 2006 when, along with other measures, the government doubled the base feed-in tariff from €0.15 to €0.30 /kWh (27p) with the added incentive of a 50% tax credit for the cost of installation.
In Spain, a generous feed-in tariff of 0.42 Euros/Kwh resulted in Spain ranking 4 No. 4 in the world for its total solar capacity in 2006, according to a report by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association and Greenpeace (although this has now been reduced down to 0.32 - 0.34 Euros in an attempt to achieve a steadier rate of growth in their solar industry)
In Italy, at the time of their introduction in 2006, feed in tariffs ranged from 0.445 - 0.49 Euros/Kwh with funding for upto %80 of the capital costs.
In February, 2009 the Irish government announced a feed-in tariff of 19c (just under 17p), upto 5c (approx 4.4p) more than it costs to power homes, guaranteed for 3 years for the first 400 applicants.
Whilst all efforts to encourage microgeneration are to be applauded, the incentive introduced in Ireland does seem comparatively low, especially in light of the figures for other European countries. It’s not clear if any other incentives are to be offered in addition.
The UK Energy bill was passed into UK law on 26th November, and the secretary of state has one year from the passing of the bill to announce the level of these feed-in tariffs and who will be eligible to receive them.
I hope that the UK government uses this opportunity to demonstrate it’s commitment to microgeneration by setting a feed-in tariff at least as generous as those which are working so well in Europe rather than the low level offered in Ireland.
Posted in feed in tariffs
March 6th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Sadly I don’t have much faith in the UK government setting a good price. They only committed to introduce them as the opposition and the industry lobied so hard. I’d like to be proven wrong, but our governments actions fall well short of its words and commitments.
March 6th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Well for once the government came up trumps by making the tariffs higher than expected, and by ensuring the income is tax free, index linked, and fixed for 25 years!