Rebates, Tax Credits, Feed-in tariffs (FITs) and Net Metering
A rebate or tax credit is an upfront discount on your solar system, or a credit which will come off your tax bill. This is usually based on a government policy to provide a financial incentive to buy solar, in order to offset carbon emissions.
A feed-in tariff is the amount of money that you get paid for the electricity that you export to the grid. FITs vary greatly from region to region, year to year and government to government, so it is worth being clear on what FITs are available in your region, especially if you are likely to export a lot of solar.
Net metering is most common in the US and works slightly differently to a FIT. Net metering essentially works like a 1:1 feed in tariff. In that in a billing period (let’s say monthly), all the solar power that your system produced, is deducted from any power that your property consumed from the grid. This is quite favourable for solar owners, considering that the market rate for your solar power is considerably lower than what you pay retail for electricity, however you are essentially being paid the retail rate.
See the latest on Rebates and Tariffs here.
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