Statistics for the third quarter of 2011, released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, show that renewable sources generated 9 per cent of the UK’s electricity from July to September. That represents an increase of nearly 1 per cent on the same quarter last year.

DECC highlighted the fact that the amount of electricity generated from offshore wind has increased “substantially” compared to the same quarter in 2010, partly because of increased capacity, and partly because it was the windiest September for at least ten years.

When the overall figures for the first three quarters of 2011 (Jan – Sept) are taken into account, the statistics show a 64% increase in the amount of electricity generated by offshore wind on the same three quarters for last year (up from 4865 gigawatt hours to 6618GWh), and a 36% increase for onshore wind (up from 1943 GWh to 3189 GWh).

Dr Gordon Edge, RenewableUK’s Director of Policy, said: “This is another strong set of statistics from DECC, proving that despite the anti-wind propaganda being spouted by lobbyists with their own particular agendas, wind turbines are continuing to generate increasingly large amounts of electricity for the UK’s households.

We will continue to offer a secure supply of clean energy which will reduce our dependence on ultra-expensive fossil fuels such as gas. Let’s not forget that it’s the cost of importing gas which has sent domestic fuel bills through the roof, so we have to get off the fossil fuel hook. Renewable sources such as wind offer us excellent value for money overall. We believe that hard-pressed households deserve the best deal when it comes to cutting their energy bills in the long term, Dr Edge commented.

DECC also highlighted the growth in the UK’s installed capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources of 400 megawatts in the third quarter of the year – a 12 per cent increase on Q3 a year earlier. Nearly two-thirds of that increase (240MW) came from onshore and offshore wind, with the first turbines of the Ormonde and Greater Gabbard offshore wind farms beginning operation.

The UK now has enough installed capacity to supply more than 3,300,000 homes from wind energy.

The Tories and LibDems both promised equal FIT rates to early adopters of renewable energy in the run up to the general election. Now the coalition government has gone back on its word and the microgenerator’s campaign is calling on early adopters to let their MPs know how angry they are.

The campaign for fairness to early adopters of microgeneration will continue says campaign organiser Paul Truelove after the government’s official response on the 27 Oct 2010 to an e petition on the 10 Downing Street website. The coalition government response was:

“After careful consideration, we have decided that the scheme as it relates to early adopters should remain unchanged. Generators who had installed before 15 July 2009 will not be eligible for the full rate of FITs”.

Truelove believes the coalition Government has failed to recognise that without the early pioneers of alternative energy there would be no microgeneration industry in the UK. The very people who helped sustain the industry in the early days and support the Government, he says have been given one big “eco slap in the face”.

“Despite many attempts to bring common sense to the negotiation table the excuse of a difficult fiscal position has been used” said Truelove.

Truelove estimates that a new 2 Kwh installation installation fitted after 15 July 09 will get approximately £866 per year for the next 25 years compared with around £260 per year for the next 17 years for a system fitted 2 years ago. Both systems will benefit from reduced electricity bills of some £130 per year.

According to Truelove: “The early adopters supported the Governments initiatives to be Green. They are not wealthy people, they are ordinary folk who care about their energy consumptions and want to do their bit for the planet. Some of them used their savings to finance their systems knowing that the payback time would be over a long period of time. However, some of them will never see their systems paid for because of a clumsy, poorly implemented Feed in Tariff, “fairness for all” I don’t think so! We do not want more; just the same as others, after all we save the same Co2 and produce the same electricity“.

Since the introduction of the feed in tariff (FIT) by the previous government in April, over 9000 new wind, solar, hydro and micro combined heat and power projects have been installed by both householders and commercial organisations.  Installations in August doubled those in July with nearly 4000 householders going green.

Favourite small scale renewable energy technologies in the UK remain wind energy and solar power, although hydro -electric power is becoming more popular with almost 40 new projects last month.

The FIT is also attracting European solar companies to the UK- in particular German solar PV companies such as Centrosolar.

For a fact sheet on the FIT visit the UK energy regulator Ogfem website.

The move comes as Energy Secretary Chris Hulne tries to add momentum to the decentralisation of electricity production in the UK via the Feed in Tariff.

The Local Government Act of 1976 previously prevented local councils in England and Wales from selling electricity not produced alongside heat.  The UK government now believes that local authorities should be leading the way when it comes to investing in small scale renewable energy.

Hulne said:

“For too long, Whitehall’s dogmatic reliance on ‘big’ energy has stood in the way of the vast potential role of local authorities in the UK’s green energy revolution.  Forward thinking local authorities such as Woking in Surrey have been quietly getting on with it, but against the odds, their efforts frustrated by the law.

“I’ve taken the early step of overturning the ban on local authorities selling renewable electricity to the grid.  This is a vital step to making community renewable projects commercially viable, to bring in long-term income to benefit local areas, and to secure local acceptance for low carbon energy projects.”

The Department of Energy & Climate Change says that at present only 0.01% of electricity in England is generated by local authority-owned renewables, despite the scope that exists to install projects on their land and buildings. In Germany the equivalent figure is 100 times higher.

If Hulne is right the move could mean up to £100 million a year in income for local authorities across England and Wales.

In a newly published report the Micropower Council claims Local Government Department Ministers have broken the law by failing to comply with an Act of Parliament requiring the implementation of Permitted Development rights for air source heat pumps and micro wind turbines. The organisation says that the Treasury is blocking the wishes of Energy and Climate Change Ministers Chris Huhne and Greg Barker to introduce a key policy that will encourage millions of people to install renewable heating or hot water.

Dave Sowden, CEO of the Micropower Council said: “The valiant attempts of Chris Huhne and Greg Barker at the Department of Energy and Climate Change to make progress on microgeneration policy are constantly being thwarted by the Treasury and by the machine taking over from Ministers in policy making at DEFRA and CLG…“.

Sowden claims 130 MPs have called on the Government to confirm the introduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive for Microgeneration and for clarity on this key policy before according to the Micropower CEO the industry starts to fall apart.

“The Conservative Party was a staunch supporter of these two key policies when in opposition, and if they are not seen through without any further delay, the Greenest Government Ever will have ended its first Parliamentary term with a microgeneration industry in crisis” said Sowden.

The Government say that their Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC EES) for businesses and Feed in tariffs (FITs) will help people save money on fuel bills, reduce carbon emissions and generate decentralised low-carbon electricity.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, said:

“From today the rewards for businesses and householders who act to cut their carbon emissions really start to pay off.  It’s no longer simply about doing the right thing for the environment, it’s now a sure-fire financial investment.

“The UK is leading the way in tackling climate change. Organisations and householders can play a central role in leading the move to a low carbon economy whilst saving money on their energy bills.”

Individuals, organisations or businesses in England, Wales and Scotland who install renewable electricity generation could benefit from FITs in the following ways:

• They will be paid money for every unit of electricity they generate.
• They will get an extra 3 pence/kWh for every unit they don’t use that is exported to the grid.
• They can also benefit from a reduced electricity bill where they use the electricity that they generate rather than having to buy all they need from the grid.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change believe that a typical 2.5kW, ‘well sited’ solar PV Installation could offer savings of £140 a year plus earnings of £900 a year.

In addition to providing a contribution to meeting the 2020 Renewable Energy Target, the FITs are expected to encourage broad participation of individuals and communities in the shift towards a low carbon economy.

Miliband said “The feed-in tariff is a win-win for consumers. They will be paid for any electricity they generate themselves from low carbon sources and benefit from a cheaper electricity bill.“

The UK Feed In Tariff is programmed to start on Thursday 1st April and expected to result in a substantial number of people starting to generate their own green electricity.  Under the scheme people installing renewable energy generators of under 5 Megawatts are to be paid fixed rates for the green electricity they produce and export to the grid.

Tesco has been gearing up to take advantage of this emerging market by stocking up on solar panels.  Tesco Executive director Lucy Neville-Rolfe told Timesonline: “Tesco has always led the way by bringing affordable green products to the mass market. With low-energy lightbulbs, we cut the price and demand went through the roof. Now we are making solar power mainstream by giving customers a simple, high-quality product at the right price.”

Price is however still the key problem with solar energy.  Despite people with new solar systems set to receive 36 p / kWh, a 3kW solar panel system costs around £16,000 (US $24,000) and this means a long payback period of 9 years plus.  Wind Energy Planning set out the Feed in Tariff rates to be paid for the different renewable energy technologies in the post earlier this year ‘Excitement over Green Energy Payment Rate‘.

There is however a group of people not so happy about the detail of the feed in tariff proposals.

For the pioneers who installed their renewable generator before July 15th 2009 the government is offering much lower payments compared with those available to new generators.  The original renewable generators will earn 9 pence (US 14 cents) per unit compared with the tariff offering up to 41.3p (US 65 cents) a unit for newly installed generators.

Many invested savings in their renewable energy systems because they believed it was the right thing to do.  Green electricity supply company Good Energy believe that these pioneers deserve to be recognised and rewarded for their entrepreneurial attitude, not penalised.  The company is now campaigning to help green energy entrepreneurs by lobbying for a change in the legislation to ensure they get the recognition they deserve.

If you are an existing generator who will be affected you may want to sign an Early Day Motion petition and write to your MP asking them to sign it too.  Good energy have drafted a letter on their website which you can download and use.

From 1st April this year people and companies who install renewable energy generators of 5 MW or under will receive the guaranteed payments for each kWh of green electricity they produce.

Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“The guarantee of getting an income on top of saving on energy bills will be an incentive to householders and communities wanting to make the move to low carbon living.

“The feed-in tariff will change the way householders and communities think about their future energy needs, making the payback for investment far shorter than in the past.

“It will also change the outlook for a range of industries, in particular those in the business of producing and installing small scale low carbon technology.”

The Government believes that the power from a solar panel could earn £900 in addition to a £140 reduction on a householders energy bill.

The new rates (per kWh) for some technologies are set out below.  The full list is on the DECC website:

Anaerobic digestion (under 500kW), Years 1-3, 11.5 pence

Anaerobic digestion (above 500kW), Years 1-3, 9 pence

PV (under 4kW – new build), Years 1-2, 36.1 pence reducing to 33 p in Year 3

PV (under 4kW retrofit), Years 1-2, 41.3 pence reducing to 37.8p in Year 3

PV (between 4-10kW), Years 1-2, 36.2 pence reducing to 33p in year 3

PV (between 10kW and 100kW), Years 1-2, 31.4 pence reducing to 28.7p in Year 3

PV (between 100kW and 5MW), Years 1-2, 29.3 pence, reducing to 26.8p in year 3

Wind (under 1.5kW), Years 1-2, 34.5 pence, reducing to 32.6p in Year 3

Wind (1.5 – 15kW), Years 1-2, 26.7 pence, reducing to 25.5p in Year 3

Wind (15-100kW), Years 1-2, 24.2 pence, reducing to 23 p in Year 3

Wind (100-500kW), Years 1-3, 18.8 pence

Wind (500-1.5MW), Years 1-3, 9.4 pence

Wind (1.5MW – 5MW), Years 1-3, 4.5 pence

The tariff lifetime for each technology varies but is generally 20 or 25 years.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) hailed the announcement as a “further step in the green energy revolution, changing the way electricity is generated and used in Britain”.  BWEA say the UK is the world’s second biggest small wind market, equating to 25% of global demand.

DECC also published today scheme plans to incentivise renewable heat generation at all scales. However this will not come into effect until April 2011.   Guaranteed payments would be made to those who install  ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers.

The heat incentive could help thousands of consumers who are off the mains gas supply lower their fuel bills and gain a cash reward for cleaning up their heating supply.