The Feed in Tariff is dead. The Export Guarantee is born
When the Feed in Tariff finishes end of March, some of the excess electric generated by your solar energy array will inevitably go back to the grid. At the moment there’s no mechanism to get paid for it. Even though it’s yours. Not only is this unfair, but under current legislation it’s also illegal. Which is why, Energy Minister Claire Perry has confirmed they will do something about it under a new Smart Export Guarantee.
The government is now consulting and anticipate a new system should be up and running by the summer. This is actually good news for solar panel owners, because it looks like the scheme will be naturally become marketised, rather than subsidised. In the past the Feed in Tariff offered a fixed rate determined by government. Now, instead of a subsidy, the new guarantee will be a minimum rate. Once this kicks in, it seems inevitable that there’ll be competition between energy suppliers to offer better tariffs in order to gain your loyalty.
Update 25th January, 2019
Tony Sampson, Naked Solar MD, met with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on Tuesday this week. They were consulting with Solar Trade Association Members. They confirmed two crucial points:
- To benefit from the new proposed Export Guarantee scheme, you must have an MCS certified installation. (We do this as a matter of course.)
- Anyone installing between the end of the Feed in Tariff (March) and the start of the new scheme (probably summer) WILL be eligible for the new scheme.
So this is a very positive development for anyone considering going for solar panels but stalling because of the loss of the Feed in Tariff. Not only have prices come down considerably over the past decade, the new scheme is likely to end up being more generous than the current tariff.
If you’d like to discuss what this means for you, call our team on 01603 574186
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