Labour plans to offer cash incentives for electricity created through rooftop wind-turbines and solar panels.
Any excess not used to heat and light homes could be sold back to the National Grid.
The scheme, unveiled by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, aims to increase the country’s use of energy from green sources from around 2 per cent to 15 per cent by 2020. It is hoped that over the years, householders will make enough money to cover the cost of installing and maintaining equipment and new meters. Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband announced an array of tariffs will be offered from April.
A ‘typical’ 2.5kilowatt solar installation would generate payments of £900 and reduce electricity bills by £140 a year. This would eventually offset the installation cost of £12,000.
From April next year householders who install woodburning stoves, ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers to heat their homes will also be eligible. Installing a heat pump in an average semi-detached house could mean payments of up to £1,000 and bill savings of £200 per year.
Tariffs would be guaranteed for between 10 and 25 years, depending on the type of equipment, and are expected to rise in line with inflation.
Ed Miliband said the initiative would help families move towards low-carbon living. Money would be paid to householders through their power suppliers and offset against annual energy bills. Miliband said: ‘The guarantee of getting an income on top of savings on energy bills will be an incentive to householders and communities wanting to make the move to low carbon living.
The feed-in tariff will change the way householders and communities think about their future energy needs, making the payback for investment far shorter than in the past. ‘It will also change the outlook for a range of industries, in particular those in the business of producing and installing small scale low carbon technology.’
But the proposals were met with disappointment by green campaigners who said the payments were too low to drive a major shift in UK energy generation.
Friends of the Earth’s Dave Timms said: ‘Ministers have been far too timid with a policy that could make a significant contribution to cutting emissions and boosting energy security.’ The Government refused to agree very high tariffs on the basis that it would unfairly penalise households who do not take part.
Tory energy and climate change spokesman Greg Clark said: ‘Conservatives have been calling for feed-in tariffs since 2007, so while this announcement is a step in the right direction, it is also long overdue. ‘Feed-in tariffs are essential to allow decentralised energy to play a major role in our energy mix, but Labour’s proposals lack ambition. Ministers should have been bolder so more jobs could have been created and greater emissions reductions achieved.’
No doubt this is a subject we will hear more about as we move closer to a General Election.