Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) were introduced into Great Britain and passed through the House of Lords on 1st April 2010.

The scheme guarantees a minimum payback for all electricity generated by the system, as well as a separate payment for the electricity exported to the grid.

These payments are in addition to the bill savings made by using the electricity generated on-site.

Once you have Solar PV installed you should experience a monthly reduction in your electricity bill and then receive an income from your Feed-In Tariff provider.

Feed-In Tariffs are designed so that the average monthly income from your installation will be significantly greater than your monthly loan repayment (with a 25 year agreement for solar).

If you are eligible to receive the FIT then you will benefit in 3 ways:

1. Generation tariff
   A set rate paid by the energy supplier for each unit (or kWh) of electricity you generate (up to 41.3p per kW for PV). This rate will change each year for new entrants to the scheme but once you join you will continue on the same tariff for 25 years.
2. Export tariff
   You will receive a further 3p/kWh from your energy supplier for each unit you export back to the national grid, which is when it isn’t used on site.
3. Energy bill savings
   You will be making savings on your electricity bills, because generating your own electricity to power your appliances means you don’t have to buy as much electricity from your energy supplier. The amount you save will vary depending on how much of the electricity you use on site.
   Domestic installations are likely to have their export estimated at 50% in most cases, until Smart meters are rolled out.
   All generation and export tariffs are linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI); this ensures that each year they follow the rate of inflation.