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Facts & Stats
One of the most popular question from our customers is, why did the Feed-In Tarif end?
So, Lets discover the history of the UK's solar Feed-in Tariff between 2010 and 2019 - and learn about its replacement.
The UK’s Feed-In Tariff (FiT) was a groundbreaking subsidy in its time, promoting the growth of renewable energy across the country by providing a financial incentive. However, discussions about the financial sustainability of the scheme led to its eventual demise.
In this article, we’ll look at the FiT’s impact on the renewable energy industry and talk about how you can benefit from its replacement, the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
If you’re wondering how much a solar & battery system could save you, answer a few quick questions below and we’ll provide you with an estimate.
1: What actually was a FEED-IN Tarif?
The Feed-in Tariff was a UK government policy introduced in April 2010, designed to provide cash payments in exchange for the generation of clean electricity.
While it’s often associated specifically with solar panels, the FiT covered a range of renewable energy technologies, including wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion, and micro combined heat and power (CHP).
The FiT scheme offered two types of payments:
- Generation Tariff: This payment was for all the electricity produced by a renewable system, regardless of whether the generator used or exported it. The generation tariff was originally set at around 40-50p per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
- Export Tariff: Besides the generation payment, participants could also receive an export tariff for any electricity that they sent to the grid. The export tariff was originally set at around 3p per kWh.
The FiT payments were guaranteed for a set period, which was typically around 20 years, depending on the technology and when the system was installed. The payments were all funded by a levy on everyone else’s energy bills.
2: Why was the Feed-in Tariff set up?
The FiT’s primary aim was to encourage the adoption of renewable energy technologies by providing a financial incentive.
This was part of a broader environmental strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the UK's energy security.
3: Who qualified for the Feed-in Tariff?
Homeowners, business owners, and organisations were eligible for the FiT, provided they installed one of the qualifying renewable energy technologies. The scheme was open to both existing and new energy producers.
4: Can you still access the Feed-in Tariff?
The FiT schemestopped accepting new applications on 31 March 2019. That means new installations can't join the scheme and get the old tariffs.
5: How much could you earn with the Feed-in Tariff?
In the FiT’s early days, the payments for producing and selling electricity were quite generous. In 2011, owning a domestic solar PV installation of up to 4 kilowatts peak (kWp) could earn you up to 46.81p for every kWh of electricity generated, as well as 3.3p for every kWh of electricity exported to the grid. It meant that people could recoup the high upfront cost of solar panels pretty quickly.
However, there was a steep drop in rates by the end of the scheme because of tariff degression policies (i.e., a planned reduction in rates over time) and the falling cost of renewable technology. In the case of solar PV, for example, the upper rate for new installations of 10kWp or less was just 4.01p per kWh in 2019. That’s more than a 90% decrease in just eight years.
The rates that people received varied based on their sign-up date and installation details, and these rates stay the same throughout their 20-year contract.
6: Historical feed-in tariff rates
Check out the chart below to see how much money the Feed-in Tariff paid out each year between 2011 and 2019.
These rates were paid out to systems with a capacity of 4kW or less and connected to buildings that were occupied prior to installation (except the rates for 2017 and 2018, when the classifications changed - these were paid to systems with a capacity of 10kW or less). Where relevant, we have displayed the 'upper limit' for each year.
All data is sourced from Ofgem.
7: Do old applicants still receive Feed-in Tariff payments?
If you were already part of the FiT scheme before it closed, you'll keep getting payments as agreed, usually across a 20-year period for solar PV systems, and a 10-year period for micro CHP systems. So, if you joined the FiT scheme in 2019 with a solar panel system, you'll keep getting payments until 2049.
8: Why did the Feed-in Tariff end?
If you’ve got the cash, you can now get smaller solar panels that are made to look like roof tiles. Offered in a variety of sleek designs, solar tiles provide a very discreet and attractive way to take advantage of the sun’s energy.
Solar roof tiles are especially useful for listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas, where standard solar panel installations will often fail to secure planning permission due to their disruption to the area’s aesthetics.
However, solar tiles are much less efficient than standard solar panels (usually only between 10-20% vs the 18-24% of regular panels), and come at a much higher price.
9: Was the Feed-in Tariff a success?
Despite the high costs, the FiT was a definitive success, helping to take the UK’s solar capacity from a meagre 95 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to 13,345 MW by 2019.
10: Is there a replacement for the Feed-in Tariff?
The Smart Export Guarantee was introduced as a replacement for the FiT on 1 January 2020.
Unlike the FiT, the SEG isn't a direct government subsidy. Instead, it requires all large energy suppliers (i.e. those with at least 150,000 customers) to pay for renewable electricity exported to the grid by households.
Initially the SEG rates offered by energy suppliers were relatively low, but over time some very competitive export tariffs have emerged, which are not strictly the same as the Smart Export Guarantee. For instance, some of these export tariffs don’t actually require you to generate electricity in a renewable way, they just require you to have a storage battery.
Some export tariffs - such as Intelligent Octopus Flux (offered by Octopus Energy) - pay you roughly the same price for exporting electricity as you would pay for importing it from the grid.
11:Will the UK ever bring back the Feed-in Tariff?
The chances of the UK bringing back the FiT are slim. As solar technology continues to improve and become more affordable, the need for financial incentives is becoming ever slimmer, and the export tariffs offered by energy providers are also becoming increasingly competitive.
However, there are still government grants available for certain people looking to get solar panels.
And if you’re wondering how much a solar & battery system could save you, answer a few quick questions below and we’ll provide you with an estimate.
Facts & Stats
So know that solar energy is now the cheapest source of electricity ever right? But did you know;
🧪 The first solar cell was invented 140 years ago
🚀 You can find solar panels almost everywhere - from roads to outer space
🎨 Solar panels come in almost any colour, not just black or blue
Solar panels are leading the way in the global shift to cleaner energy, and have revolutionised the way we think about powering our homes and businesses.
According to government data, nearly 1.3 million homes in the UK have solar panels on their roofs.
Whether you're considering installing solar panels or simply curious about their capabilities, read on as we uncover some fascinating facts about what makes solar panels an increasingly popular choice.
1: Solar panels need daylight, not sunlight
While direct sunlight is ideal, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels can still produce electricity as long as there's enough daylight reaching the panels. That’s why solar panels still work extremely well in countries that aren’t particularly known for sunny weather (such as the United Kingdom).
Because of how solar panels work, they’re still efficient even on cloudy days. In order to generate electricity, PV panels need photon particles - and these can be found in both direct and indirect light.
3: The first solar cell was invented in the 1800s
Solar cells, or PV cells, were first made in 1883 after New York inventor Charles Fritts coated selenium with a very thin layer of gold. However, it wasn't until 1954 when scientists at Bell Labs in the US created the first viable solar cells from silicon.
The first solar cells produced only enough power to operate small electrical devices. But luckily for us, advancements in solar technology have made today's panels a much more efficient and affordable renewable electricity source.
4: Most solar panels contain silicon
Since the 1950s, most solar panels have been made from silicon (not to be confused with the rubbery silicone substance, which is made from the aforementioned mineral).
Silicon is a crucial component in solar panel manufacturing because of its excellent semiconductor properties for electricity generation. Manufacturers process and purify the silicon into salami-shaped ingots, which are then sliced into the thin wafers that become solar cells.
There are monocrystalline solar panels (which are usually black) and polycrystalline solar panels (which are usually blue). Find out why black solar panels are better than blue.
Manufacturers are working on alternatives to silicon, but no other material has yet achieved the same combination of efficiency, durability, and cost effectiveness.
5: Solar panels will provide 25% of the world’s electricity by 2050
In 2022, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast that by 2050 one quarter of the world’s electricity needs would be generated by solar panels.
Contrast that to 2021, when solar power provided just 3.72% of the world’s required electricity.
If you're interested, check out 19 more solar energy statistics.
6: There are solar panels in space
Solar panels aren't just found on Earth but also way out in space.
In the vacuum of space, solar panels can capture pure sunlight with no pesky atmospheric interference, making them highly efficient. As you can imagine, these space-based panels are made of hardy materials that can withstand extreme temperatures and radiation.
Currently, the solar panels in space are limited to the International Space Station (ISS), as well as a few satellites.
It’s hoped that we’ll eventually be able to construct entire solar farms in outer space and send the electricity back to Earth, but this isn’t yet technologically possible.
7: Most solar panels are made in China
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA, 2022), over 80% of the global solar PV production processes are handled by Chinese manufacturers.
Though this has benefited the industry by lowering solar panel costs in the last decade, you could argue that concentrating manufacturing in one place also comes with its fair share of risks. For example, China’s very lengthy covid-related lockdowns caused some significant global solar panel supply issues.
To learn more, check out our rundown of the top countries for solar energy consumption.
8: You can get solar panels that look like roof tiles
If you’ve got the cash, you can now get smaller solar panels that are made to look like roof tiles. Offered in a variety of sleek designs, solar tiles provide a very discreet and attractive way to take advantage of the sun’s energy.
Solar roof tiles are especially useful for listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas, where standard solar panel installations will often fail to secure planning permission due to their disruption to the area’s aesthetics.
However, solar tiles are much less efficient than standard solar panels (usually only between 10-20% vs the 18-24% of regular panels), and come at a much higher price.
9: Someone once invented a solar bikini
If you’ve got the cash, you can now get smaller solar panels that are made to look like roof tiles. Offered in a variety of sleek designs, solar tiles provide a very discreet and attractive way to take advantage of the sun’s energy.
Solar roof tiles are especially useful for listed buildings and buildings in conservation areas, where standard solar panel installations will often fail to secure planning permission due to their disruption to the area’s aesthetics.
However, solar tiles are much less efficient than standard solar panels (usually only between 10-20% vs the 18-24% of regular panels), and come at a much higher price.
10: There are roads made from solar panels
There have been several questionable attempts to build roads using solar panels.
One notable example is the Watt Way solar road, which was built in a small village in Normandy, France, in 2016. The French government covered the rural road with resin-covered solar panels in order to generate electricity whilst vehicles passed over.
Unfortunately, the €5 million project ended up being a flop. The panels on the solar road were prone to coming loose and breaking into pieces, and were extremely noisy when driven over. And to make matters worse, the road didn't deliver on its promised electrical output because it was so inefficient.
Elsewhere, solar roads have faced similar criticisms for the same concerns. One solar road in Jinan, China, even had its panels stolen within a week of opening in late 2017.