Solar PV Feed in Tariff

The Solar PV Feed-in tariff is an incentive introduced by the government to promote small scale private investment in renewable technologies. The legislation obligates utility companies to pay people a set amount of money for each unit (kWh) of renewable electricity that they produce. This means the initial capital outlay of purchasing a solar PV system is reclaimed much quicker. The feed-in tariff only pays this increased rate for a set number of years, photovoltaic (PV) has been set at 25 years. 

Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) = Also known as the Clean Energy Cash Back Scheme. This term relates to the electricity your PV system generates and how much you get paid for it. There are two types of tariffs: Generation Tariff and Export Tarif. These are explained below.

Generation Tariff = This is a set tariff through which your electricity supplier pays you a fixed amount for every unit of electricity your PV system generates guaranteed for 25 years, whether you use this electricity or export it to the national grid

Export Tariff = This is the amount you receive in addition to the Generation Tariff for any electricity you don’t use and export back to the national grid. Avoided Costs = These are the savings you make on your electricity by generating your own electricity through the PV system instead of having to import from the national grid.

Imported Electricity = Is the amount of electricity you import from your electricity supplier.

The Generation Tariff is not fixed!  it drops every year after April 2012! To encourage people to install solar electricity systems sooner rather than later the Government has introduced a generous Generation Tariff for all solar electricity installs fitted before April 2012.

The Generation Tariff is set at 41.3p/kWh for retrofit. By installing a solar electricity system now you are guaranteed to be paid this rate for the lifetime of your system (set at 25 years). Plus the Government has ensured the Generation Tariff will track inflation, ensuring you get paid a fair price year on year.

 Click here to see an example Feed-in-Tariff calculation