Incentive Schemes for Households That Produce Excess Energy

A new scheme, named ‘feed-in-tariff’ (FIT) is due to be launched by the government in April 2010. It will provide payments to those households that produce excess energy through measures such as wind turbines and solar panels.

Friends of the Earth looked at figures provided by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to calculate how much energy would be produced by such microgeneration measures. Estimates show that it should increase to 6% by 2020, which is equivalent to the size of two Sizewell B nuclear stations.

Other FIT schemes have been successful in boosting microgeneration elsewhere in Europe.

However, Friends of the Earth claims that the government plans do not provide enough to encourage households to take up such technologies. The plans will mean an extra £2.37 is added to energy bills every year would make a large difference.

A separate report has also shown that the solar panel market around Europe will grow by 14% in 2010 alone, due to lower prices of technology and other factors.

If you are looking for a way to cut energy costs then it may be worth looking into the microgeneration schemes that could work for you.

However, it’s important to ensure your home is as eco friendly as possible before installing alternative electricity generation methods. This includes loft insulation, double glazing, installing an energy efficient boiler, wall insulation and more.