CleanEnergyCashback is the name of the new tax free incentives to support household generation of renewable/low-carbon electricity and heat. The scheme is open to anyone and this site has been set up to help advise you on how to take advantage of it and do your bit for the environment.
There are two incentives: Feed in Tariff for electricity generation available from April 2010; Renewable Heat Incentive for heating solutions available from April 2011 in grant form, with the full RHI tariffs due to be launched in October 2011. Eligible renewable heat options installed after 15th July 2009 also qualify for the incentive. (Also see Insulation incentives available for insulating your home, an important step in reducing your energy requirements.)
Clean electricity and heat generation by homeowners and businesses is nothing new; technologies such as solar hot water and mini-wind turbines have been available for many decades. But, for the first time ever in the UK, you can now get a fair reward for doing for going green.
The rewards could be substantial. Our table below sets out possible annual benefits for a typical domestic property on the gas network and they continue for many years: 10 years for Micro CHP, 25 years for Solar Electricity, and 20 years for the others. Savings could be even greater if you do not have a gas connected heating system.
| Technology | Cashback per unit (kWh) of energy generated |
Potential Cashback per year |
Total Benefits, including bill savings |
| Solar Electricity | 43.3 pence | £900-£1100 | £1,200.00 |
| Combined Heat and Power |
10.5 pence | Around £200 | £290.00 |
| Mini-Wind Turbine | 36.2 pence | £900-£1100 | £1,300.00 |
| Solar Heating | |||
| Air Source Heat Pumps |
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| Ground Source Heat Pumps |
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| Wood Fuel Boiler |
RHI Payments To be announced in October. However until then, grants are available for homeowners wishing to install Renewable Heating systems, as below.
Solar Thermal – £300/unit
Air Source Heat Pumps – £850/unit
Biomass boilers – £950/unit
Ground Source Heat Pumps – £1250/unit
What about renewable heating?
From April 2011, the Government will also support Renewable Heating Systems that use solar energy, sustainable wood fuels and other forms of renewable energy. If these options are more suitable for you then don’t wait until 2011; the Government has guaranteed that any qualifying technologies installed after 15 July 2009 will qualify for the scheme. Check out our page on the Renewable Heat Incentive for more information.
Keep checking our website for the latest information on Clean Energy Cashback proposals.
