Solar Power Grants, the UK’s leading online resource for homeowners regarding all renewable energy grant issues, is calling for more people to investigate green technologies and join the growing number of Feed-In Tariff (FIT) customers.

The FIT is a Government scheme which allows homeowners, businesses and communities to receive payments for generating their own renewable electricity. As well as lowering their energy bills and carbon footprint, applicants have the added incentive of receiving extra cash by exporting any unused electricity to the power grid.

Since the FIT was launched in April 2010, more than 21,000 renewable installations have been registered across the UK. With such a positive response to the FIT, Solar Panel Grants believes this is now setting a platform for other renewable technologies to be promoted, like solar thermal.

A recent survey by Solar Guide, a specialist in solar installation quotes and industry related news, found people joining the FIT in the beginning of 2011 could see a relatively fast return on their investment. The company claims that people currently purchasing solar PV panels can expect to pay between £11,000 to £14,000 for a three kWp system, which could pay for itself in a minimum of eight years.

A Solar Guide spokesman said the news was highly “positive” for the UK’s solar market.

And there will soon be a similar grant for people to take advantage of, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

The RHI is scheduled to begin in June 2011 and it will offer a much wider scope of renewable technologies to benefit from. The scheme will operate like the FIT in terms of incentives, but unlike the FIT, which only applies to green electricity generation, the RHI is potentially available to anyone who installs a renewable technology.

David Holmes, Founder of Solar Power Grants, said: “These two schemes are both about saving money and contributing to a greener environment. As the success of the FIT continues to grow it’s our belief that more people will be encouraged to look to the wider range of technologies available to heat domestic buildings, and this is where the upcoming RHI will really prove advantageous.”

Eligible RHI technologies include:

• Solar thermal
• Air and ground-source heat pumps
• Biomass boilers
• Renewable combined heat and power
• Use of biogas and bioliquids
• Injection of biomethane into the natural gas grid

For more information on the Renewable Heat Incentive and the Feed-In Tariff, visit www.solarpowergrants.co.uk