For the Domestic installer all grants have been removed and replaced with an incentive for generation or carbon reduction.

Feed In Tariffs

The Feed in Tariffs (FITs) cover generation and pay 41.3p per unit or kWh generated. The electricity is then yours to do with as you please.

I have suggested a more equitable system on my blog here: solarkent.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/feed-in-tariffs-3

For details of the existing FIT scheme see SolarUK's FIT summary.

Renewable Heat Incentive

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) pays an incentive to reduce the use of fossil carbon for heating. For example, a heat exchanger which might convert 1 unit of electricity to 4 units of heat will pay a nominal amount for the 3 units. A solar water heating system that replaced 1,000 units of "energy" will gain an incentive of a 1,000 units.

In my opinion the system will remain totally open to abuse as it will pay based on installed nominal capacity, not what is actually saved. A system that is installed and then fails will still gain the incentives.

And if I super insulate my house and effectively avoid heating altogether, will I get an incentive? Actually no! The system is oriented towards a technological "active" fix, not a more environmentally sensitive "passive" fix.

Grants Been and Gone

LCBP: Low Carbon Buildings - Domestic

LCBP II: Low Carbon Buildings Phase II - Commercial

Solar Photovoltaic (Electric)

Small Scale Installations(Stream 1 Applicants)Grid-connected
GUIDANCE NOTES & PROGRAMME CONDITIONS

The grants avaialable for Solar PV were initially 50% 0f the installed cost. This has now changed and there is an upper grant level depending on the size of the installtion.

The budget allocated by the DTI to the Programme is a total of £20M to cover the years 2002–2005. This amount will be used for both the Small Scale and the Medium and Large Scale Photovoltaic Grant Schemes (grid-connected and stand alone) inclusive and the costs of administering the programme.

The indicative budget for all small scale applications (grid-connected and stand alone) is £6M.

Recent changes to Solar PV Grant awards : bbc news article

The grant scheme at time of writing is not that easy to understand - dti point you to the Energy Saving Trust for grants, but the EST points you back to the DTI for more information...

Try the Low Carbon Buildings website but as Phase 1 is the bit that's for domestic buildings, as at May 2007 we don't really know what is going on. It will most likley be a £4 - 500 grant for solar water and a percentage with an upper bound for all the others.

In Kent also try The Green Energy Centre but as at May 2007 it looks more like a load of grants aimed at business.

Solar Water Heating - Grants (this has now been superceded )

See: Mr Wicks wants evidence - "Taking Carbon out of home heating"

£400 from Clear Skies

Additional grants are also available from various local authorities, these grants can extend the £400 clear skies grant to cover up to 50% of a solarwater heating installation.

Link to Clear Skies Grant page - this scheme was superceded, but the new scheme has yet to come into action! Try this link Low Carbon Buildings website

Currently (Jan 2005) I am not aware of any additional funding within Kent.

This is on the Council's website

Is your south facing roof on the front or the back of the house? If it is on the front, you are much more likely to need to apply for planning permission. If the panels are on a flat roof then you may well need to apply for planning permission. In all cases, we recommend you check with your local authority, and if your home is a listed building or in a conservation area then getting permission may be difficult.

A bit like "planning officer fiddles while planet burns" The whole point of a conservation area is to keep something intact, like it was .. Global warming will change these conservation areas for ever, but in a conservation area we can't make the slightest change to save the conservation area!

When will these idiots wake up and realise that Global Warming is someting that is now, even the Govt agrees! Are we all going to go down the pan because some idiot planning officer won't give permission for wind turbines, or solar energy! Do they really think that peope are putting these up to blight the community or the environment- no it is the opposite, these people are the one's who care. they are putting their money where their mouth is!