Subsidies
There are currently no subsidies for private individual owners installing solar themselves. The ex-Chancellor made a statement in summer 2022 to the effect that the 5% VAT rate installers were able to offer on solar products would be reduced to 0%, but any individual buying solar equipment themselves, rather than sourcing from an installer, pays the full 20%. See our VAT page for more VAT regulation details taken from gov.uk website.
The Feed in Tariff (FiT) closed to new applications in early 2019. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) was created in its place - but the government specified only that it had to be above 0p, and that electricity companies under 150,000 customers did not have to offer it. Rates are changing all the time, as are standing charges. The maximum rate as of June 2023 is being paid is by Octopus, but not if you are on their cheap overnight tariff, and many other companies are offering less than 5p per kWh, while selling it at between 34p and 40p. You will need a smart meter and your system will need to have MCS installation certification to apply for the SEG. (Please note: our system has been awarded various European certificates of conformity, but is not MCS certified - we have applied but it takes a long time of being in the queue to achieve it as they are very under resourced. The panels, inverters, batteries etc we supply are all certified. As long as the system is signed off by an MCS qualified installer, that will be sufficient.)
If you wish to make changes to your FIT installation - you can add additional capacity to your installation, for example, additional solar PV panels, without affecting your current FiT payment - if it is linked to a separate supply. However, you cannot apply for addition FiT for the 'new' capacity. If your renewable technology equipment suffers damage or breakdown and requires repair or replacing, speak to your FiT licensee as soon as you can. Your FiT licensee will determine how it might affect your payments. You can speak with a local MCS accredited installer for advice and support about the repair or replacement work.
See Energy Saving Trust's website: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/feed-in-tariff/
See Government website: https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures
See Greenmatch website: https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/solar-energy/solar-panels/solar-panel-grants
If developers are making up to £66,000 profit per new house built, why do they say they cannot afford to incorporate any renewable technology into homes they build? Previous zero carbon building regulations due to come into force in 2016 were abandoned by the Conservative government due to lobbying by the developers linked to their donations. That is why British properties are ill-equipped to deal with extreme heat or cold.
In 2023, there is little financial gain to be made selling your surplus back to the grid because buying it back is so expensive. If your system is generating a considerable amount, you are likely to be better off investing in battery storage. What is needed now is a new dynamic government strategy, with robust low carbon building regulations for developers. Home owners require renewable energy subsidies to enable them to future proof their homes. We need accurate Energy Performance Certificates guiding people towards Net Zero properties. Click here to read the RICS review of the Government's net zero strategy.
---------
Article from March 2023: "Too much green power is a growing problem. As electricity grids tilt increasingly towards renewable energy, grid operators are struggling to know what to do with surplus power. In 2020 and 2021, enough renewable power to supply 800,000 homes went to waste in the UK as the supply of green power outstripped demand, according to energy company Drax. By the end of the decade, new offshore wind farms built in the UK could mean that the supply of low-carbon wind, solar and nuclear power outstrips demand 53_per cent of the time.
It isn't just a UK problem. Around the world, from the US to China, grid operators are grappling with matching fluctuating supplies of green power with customer demand. There are all sorts of ideas for how to solve this problem. Interconnectors between grids are part of the solution: undersea cables are being built to carry power back and forth between Britain and mainland Europe to help ensure power gets to where it is needed.
Energy storage options, such as batteries or hydrogen, can be used to soak up power during windy nights when demand is low. Electric vehicle batteries are being reimagined as mobile storage devices, able to charge or discharge on demand according to what the grid needs.But at a time when energy prices are sky high and households are battling a cost-of-living crisis, some are seeing the challenges of surplus green power as an opportunity to help those most in need."
The Feed in Tariff (FiT) closed to new applications in early 2019. The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) was created in its place - but the government specified only that it had to be above 0p, and that electricity companies under 150,000 customers did not have to offer it. Rates are changing all the time, as are standing charges. The maximum rate as of June 2023 is being paid is by Octopus, but not if you are on their cheap overnight tariff, and many other companies are offering less than 5p per kWh, while selling it at between 34p and 40p. You will need a smart meter and your system will need to have MCS installation certification to apply for the SEG. (Please note: our system has been awarded various European certificates of conformity, but is not MCS certified - we have applied but it takes a long time of being in the queue to achieve it as they are very under resourced. The panels, inverters, batteries etc we supply are all certified. As long as the system is signed off by an MCS qualified installer, that will be sufficient.)
If you wish to make changes to your FIT installation - you can add additional capacity to your installation, for example, additional solar PV panels, without affecting your current FiT payment - if it is linked to a separate supply. However, you cannot apply for addition FiT for the 'new' capacity. If your renewable technology equipment suffers damage or breakdown and requires repair or replacing, speak to your FiT licensee as soon as you can. Your FiT licensee will determine how it might affect your payments. You can speak with a local MCS accredited installer for advice and support about the repair or replacement work.
See Energy Saving Trust's website: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/grants-and-loans/feed-in-tariff/
See Government website: https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures
See Greenmatch website: https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/solar-energy/solar-panels/solar-panel-grants
If developers are making up to £66,000 profit per new house built, why do they say they cannot afford to incorporate any renewable technology into homes they build? Previous zero carbon building regulations due to come into force in 2016 were abandoned by the Conservative government due to lobbying by the developers linked to their donations. That is why British properties are ill-equipped to deal with extreme heat or cold.
In 2023, there is little financial gain to be made selling your surplus back to the grid because buying it back is so expensive. If your system is generating a considerable amount, you are likely to be better off investing in battery storage. What is needed now is a new dynamic government strategy, with robust low carbon building regulations for developers. Home owners require renewable energy subsidies to enable them to future proof their homes. We need accurate Energy Performance Certificates guiding people towards Net Zero properties. Click here to read the RICS review of the Government's net zero strategy.
---------
Article from March 2023: "Too much green power is a growing problem. As electricity grids tilt increasingly towards renewable energy, grid operators are struggling to know what to do with surplus power. In 2020 and 2021, enough renewable power to supply 800,000 homes went to waste in the UK as the supply of green power outstripped demand, according to energy company Drax. By the end of the decade, new offshore wind farms built in the UK could mean that the supply of low-carbon wind, solar and nuclear power outstrips demand 53_per cent of the time.
It isn't just a UK problem. Around the world, from the US to China, grid operators are grappling with matching fluctuating supplies of green power with customer demand. There are all sorts of ideas for how to solve this problem. Interconnectors between grids are part of the solution: undersea cables are being built to carry power back and forth between Britain and mainland Europe to help ensure power gets to where it is needed.
Energy storage options, such as batteries or hydrogen, can be used to soak up power during windy nights when demand is low. Electric vehicle batteries are being reimagined as mobile storage devices, able to charge or discharge on demand according to what the grid needs.But at a time when energy prices are sky high and households are battling a cost-of-living crisis, some are seeing the challenges of surplus green power as an opportunity to help those most in need."