Jul 10 2010
Rural Estates and farms set to benefit from feed-in-tariffs
Estate agency firm Knight Frank claims that rural estates and farms in the UK could bring in extra income in the tens of thousands if they take advantage of the renewable energy feed-in tariff. In its latest publication, Rural Report Knight Frank created a hypothetical renewable energy farm utilizing all forms of renewable energy as a means of generating revenue through the feed-in tariff calculating the cash that could be generated from wind, solar, hydro and anaerobic digestion.
The report found that if complete grid-connectivity were achieved, the following incomes could be generated:
- 2 wind turbines: £300,000
- Anaerobic digester: £460,000
- Hydroelectric Installation: £190,000
- Solar Panels: £26,300
The total income for these renewable projects would be an impressive £916,000 with a potential of £18.5m to be made over the project’s lifetime.
The potential for landowners to benefit from feed-in tariff legislation in the UK is enormous with the potential not only to receive tariff payments but also to significantly reduce overheads by using the energy produced on the land.
The Knight Frank report explains the mechanism stating,
“Feed-in tariffs were introduced in the dying days of the Labour government and were designed to encourage people to create their own renewable electricity.
An index-linked payment guaranteed for up to 25 years is made for each unit of electricity produced even if it used by the generator for their own consumption. The tariff varies depending on how the energy is being generated and the scale of the scheme”.
Although the hypothetical estate set out in the Rural Report gives the absolute optimal conditions for generating revenue from renewable energy, it nevertheless highlights the potential to make money though renewable energy. With project lifetimes of 25 years and revenues protected by government legislation, landowners are catching on to the fact that there is real money to be made from investing in renewable installations.
Tags
carbon emissions China Clean energy cash back Climate change DECC Department of Energy and Climate Change Ed Milliband electricity energy act Energy Bill feed in tariff FIT fossil fuels Friends of the Earth Germany Gordon Brown green energy green investment green new deal green policy Greg Barker Kevin Langley Megawatts National grid photovoltaic PV renewable energy solar solar energy Solar Feed In Tariff solar fit solar industry solar installation solar investment solar investments solar panels solar power solar products solar PV Spain UK UK Government US wind power wind turbine
