Feed-in tariffs scheme (FITS) and renewable heat incentives (RHI)

Government incentives are now available in the form of Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) meaning that if you install an electricity-generating technology from a renewable or low-carbon source such as solar panels (PV) or a wind turbine, the government's FIT could mean you not only save money by producing your own, but you also get paid for the energy you produce.

It is energy suppliers that will pay you the FITs payments with the 'big six' energy suppliers required by law to provide these payments. Some smaller electricity suppliers may not offer FITs payments as it is not compulsory for them, though many have opted to offer the payments.  Find the list of FITs-licensed suppliers at the Ofgem website.

The tariffs available and the process for getting them depend on when the technology was installed, and whether the system and the installer were certificated under the Microgeneration Certification scheme.

For more information on FITs and the current tariffs see the Energy Saving Trust website. A similar scheme is being introduced for heat generation called the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which is designed to encourage the use of renewables to produce heat e.g. wood fuelled boilers.

The domestic RHI was launched on 9th April 2014 and provides financial support to the owner of the renewable heating system for seven years.

For more information please visit the Energy Saving Trust website.