Feed-in tariff installations double during August

The UK feed-in tariff is going from strength to strength, according to new government figures that suggest the number of eligible installations grew exponentially during August.

Government data analysed by renewable energy installation specialist Ownergy reveals that almost 4,000 installations came online, representing nearly double the number of installations completed in July.

In total the new installations will deliver 11.28MW of renewable energy capacity, again doubling the 5.5MW installed in July.

The figures provide further evidence that demand for the feed-in tariff is far exceeding expectations as businesses – and in particular households – flock to install the solar panels, wind turbines and other small-scale renewable energy systems that qualify for the incentive.

The residential market continues to dominate the sector with 3,905 installations carried out last month, the bulk of which were deployed by solar firms.

However, there are also signs that the market is beginning to diversify, with 38 small-scale hydro systems installed and the first micro-combined heat and power systems qualified under the scheme coming online.

The business sector is also increasingly alive to the opportunities presented by the feed-in tariff, with 31 installations completed during August providing 0.4MW of capacity.

Scott McLean, marketing director at Ownergy, said the figures provided further evidence that the scheme is going from "strength to strength".

"It is good to see that the increases are across the board although, quite clearly, the residential market is producing the lion's share of installations right now," he said. "This is not a surprise given the relative ease of the installations and the speed of decision-making that a householder is able to make."

However, he added that the company was seeing a surge of interest from commercial organisations and predicted that business installations were likely to expand during the autumn as a result.

Supporters of feed-in tariffs have welcomed the high levels of interest in the scheme, arguing that the incentives are helping to create jobs and increase the UK's renewable energy capacity.

However, the potentially lucrative financial returns available through the tariff have prompted criticism from commentators such as Global Action Plan chief executive Trewin Restorick, who argued this week that the scheme is effectively subsidising homeowners in areas with a suitable climate for microgeneration at the expense of other bill payers.