European Feed-In Tariffs
The Feed-in Tariff (FIT) is an bonus invented to remunerate the production of renewable energy both by households and investors. Power companies are forced to buy back, at rates higher than the market, power generated from renewable sources; such as wind, thermal solar, PV solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal. This tariff goes also under the name of Feed-in Law, Solar Premium, Renewable Tariff or Renewable Energy Payments. FIT helps make the production of renewable energy more economical. Usually governments guarantee the tariff for up to 15, 20 or even 25 years from the date of the putting in place.
The progress of sources of renewable energy is considered vital to preventing climate change. Production of energy from renewable sources keep beeing more expensive than the cost of producing energy from traditional supplies. FIT tries to counterbalance this difference, thus making more attractive renewable energy installations, mandating power companies to put into the grid the electricity produced by renewable installations. The difference in cost is spread over all of the customers of the power grid. FIT requires net metering regulation to account for electricity purchased from the grid and energy sold to the grid.
FIT is considered as more effective than quotas imposed to power companies, because it fulfills the ethical motive of people. What follows is a simplified synopsis of FIT policies by some European countries.
| COUNTRY | BRACKET 1 (0 < 5 kWp) |
BRACKET 2 (5 < 10 kWp) |
BRACKET 3 (> 10 kWp) |
YEARS | NOTE |
| Austria | 0.46 €/kWh | 0.40 €/kWh | 0.30 €/kWh | - | lower after 10 yrs |
| Belgium | 1.09 €/kWh | 0.82 €/kWh | 0.54 €/kWh | 15 | lower after 10 yrs, < 250 kWp |
| Bulgaria | 0.40 €/kWh | 0.36 €/kWh | 0.36 €/kWh | - | lower after 10 yrs, bracket 3 = bracket 2 |
| Czech Republic | 0.53 €/kWh | 0.53 €/kWh | 0.53 €/kWh | 20 | fixed |
| France | 0.55 €/kWh | 0.55 €/kWh | 0.55 €/kWh | 20 | fixed, 0.30 €/kWh ground |
| Germany | (0 < 30kWp) 0.43 | (30 < 100 kWp) 0.41 €/kWh | (100 < 1000) 0.40 €/kWh | 20 | > 1000 kWp 0.33 €/kWh |
| Greece | (0 <100 kWp) 0.46 €/kWh | (> 100 kWp) 0.40 €/kWh | 10 | ||
| Italy | (0 < 3kWp) 0.49 €/kWh | (3 < 20 kWp) 0.46 €/kWh | (20 < ) 0.44 €/kWh | 20 | |
| Luxenbourg | (0 < 30kWp) 0.41 €/kWh | (30 < 1000 kWp) 0.36 €/kWh | 15 | ||
| Netherlands | (0.6 < 3kWp) 0.33 €/kWh | 15 | |||
| Portugal | 0.55 €/kWh | 0.40 €/kWh | 5 | max 50 MW buildings. 150 ground | |
| Slovenia | 0.39 €/kWh | 0.39 €/kWh | 0.39 €/kWh | 10 | fixed |
| Spain | 0.33 €/kWh | 0.33 €/kWh | 0.33 €/kWh | 25 | fixed |






