Solar Grants & Incentives

There are plenty of benefits to solar energy, but to give the technology an extra helping hand the government has devised a series of solar grants and feed-in tariffs to encourage even more people to take advantage of renewable energy. So right now the utilization of solar energy is an even better financial investment for domestic and commercial use.

MCS Accredited

First of all it is important to note that only when you use MCS (Micro-Generation Certificate Scheme) accredited installers, such as Solar Energy UK, will you be able to take advantage of the following measures.

Solar Grants

National solar grants are no longer available because the micro-generation grant scheme has now come to an end. However, if you are still interested in getting some financial help for your solar installations you can contact you local council, they may be offering their own solar grants or energy efficiency grants.

Feed-in Tariff

The feed-in tariff is available for a number of micro-generation products like wind turbines and of course PV solar panels. The way that it works is that you get paid a certain amount per kilowatt hour of electricity that you produce by way of solar energy, wind energy or whatever other renewable energy source you are using. At the moment, before the next government review of the scheme which is due in 2012, you can get up to 41.3p p/kwh. This might not sound very much, but for an average home it can mean £1,000 every year. This is guaranteed for 25 years by the government. So over the whole period that the scheme will be running for you could earn around £25,000. See the table below for more details. In addition to the money that you are making with the feed-in tariff and saving in utility costs by using solar energy, you can also make more money with the energy you are producing and not using. You do this by having it set up so that when you are not using the energy, it is being 'exported' to the National Grid, and you earn an additional 3p p/kwh by doing this. If you would like any of this clarified before you decide on whether to get a solar installation, then please feel free to give us a call and we will be happy to discuss it with you. We will also be able to guide you through the process of applying for the feed-in tariff should you decide to get solar panels for your roof.

Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)

The next big thing on the horizon which is going to be supplied by the government is the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. This will apply to a wide range of renewable heat generating systems, for example the ground source heat pump and solar thermal hot water systems (both of which can be installed by Solar Energy UK).
This will work in a very similar way to the feed-in tariff for PV solar panels, you will be paid per unit of energy that you produce

This scheme will start in the latter half of 2011 for non-domestic purposes, like businesses and public buildings. It will then be brought in for domestic use in October 2012. Don't worry though, there is no need to wait because by utilizing an MCS accredited company like Solar Energy UK you will be able to take advantage of this scheme as soon as it actually comes into effect.

Contact Us

Whether you just want an informal conversation about these schemes and how you can take advantage of them, or you would like to get a free quote for a solar installation straight away, please feel free to contact us. All of the staff at Solar Energy UK are fully qualified, extremely knowledgeable and will be very happy to talk with you about any of the schemes on offer or the services we provide. So either fill out the form with your details so we can call you back, or better yet give us a ring on the freephone number provided!