In April 2011, a government backed scheme known as the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) was introduced in the UK thus paving the way to the proliferation of Solar Panels in Sussex. By offering financial support, the UK government designed this new scheme in order to encourage people to generate heat from renewable source such as solar panels and heat pumps. You will be paid for the heat you generate, and your overall household energy bills will likewise be reduced, where you will be protected from future energy price rises as well as reducing your carbon emissions.

This scheme is available to anyone in England, Scotland and Wales for homeowners, tenants, businesses and Schools. Starting April 2011, you will be able to claim the tariff. If after July 15, 2009, you have installed a solar heating panel system, you can claim the Renewable Heat Incentive. According to the RHI scheme, a payment of 8.5p/Kwh for 20 years will be made with the heat you generate with your MCS installed solar panels, regardless of whether you used it or not. This is considered to be a degenerative scheme, thus it is recommended to take advantage of the RHI scheme sooner due to best rewards it gives to pioneering users.

In order to reduce the national dependence on carbon intensive utilities, the government targets to reach 15% of the heat to be generated from renewable sources in 2020, where presently only 1% of heat generated in the United Kingdom comes from renewable sources, while the rest is generated from expensive fossil fuels such as coal, oil, electricity and gas. Through the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, we can help our country meet the ambitious targets while saving money on energy bills as well as contributing to the welfare of the environment.

For 20 years, the UK Government will guarantee your Feed in Tariff scheme. Through this period, you are given sufficient time to realize returns on your investment. Through this long term income, you are guaranteed that investing in solar power can add value to and improve the saleability of your property.

However, there is a need to pay for the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme. The government will not fund this scheme directly but raises funds through general increase in electricity prices to the standard consumer as well as through European funding. Through this scheme, part of the investment of the government is spent in order to meet the obligations of climate change.

The rationale behind the scheme is to prompt individuals to act immediately and quickly install renewable solar energy while it still makes financial sense. It can be observed that the scheme rewards first those who have adopted solar heating panels earlier compared to those who made decisions only later. With this promising incentive, the salience of the rising number of Solar Panels in Sussex is without a doubt.