Renewable Energy Foundation

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Notes on Small Scale Renewable Energy Generator Database

Generators subsidised by the Feed in Tariff scheme (FiT), are listed in the section entitled Green Generators - Small Scale. All of these generators have an installed capacity of under 5 MWs installed capacity.

The Feed-in-Tariff scheme started in April 2010, and many of the smaller renewables generators which were in existence before that date and registered under the Renewables Obligation (RO) have subsequently moved over from that scheme to the FiT. Where historic data exists for such transferring generators it can still be found on the Green Generator - Large Scale pages.

The source of this data is Ofgem which publishes the data every quarter.

The first page of the REF “Small Scale Generators” database lists all the FiT generators recorded by Ofgem. The heading gives the total number of generators in the database and the total sum of the installed capacities. The header also gives the date of the most recent Ofgem FiT generator update that has been analysed and uploaded to the REF website.

Clicking on the heading cell of any column sorts the data by that column. A second click reverses the order. Hovering over a heading cell provides a short note describing the data in that column.

FiT ID: This is the primary identifier of the FiT generator site, and is determined by Ofgem.

No.:  This is greater than 1 if there have been multiple FiT installations at a particular site. To see the individual generators, it is necessary to click on the Fit ID.

Post Code: This is the leftmost part of the post code. In order to preserve confidentiality of the domestic FiT customers Ofgem does not release the rightmost postcode element. The user should note that, unfortunately, a number of generators and particularly the larger ones, have no postcode fragment provided by Ofgem. These are denoted by the letters ‘unkn’ (i.e. ‘Unknown’).

Technology: This field describes the FiT-supported technology at the site. There are five possible settings for this field: ‘AD’ (Anaerobic Digestion), ‘Hydro’, ‘Micro CHP’, ‘Solar Photovoltaic’, and ‘Wind’.

Installation: This field distinguishes between ‘Domestic’ (e.g. a generator at a residential property), ‘Commercial’ (e.g. generators at shops, offices, farms, and commercial wind farms), ‘Community’ (e.g. generators at churches, schools, halls and not-for-profit community projects), and ‘Industrial’ (generators at factories).

kW: This field gives the installed capacity in kilowatts (kW). Where there is more than one generator at one site the kW figure given represents the total installed capacity at that site.

Commission: This gives the date when the site was commissioned, as recorded by Ofgem.

Export: This field describes the type of agreement regarding the export of generated electricity into the grid. If the generator is not grid connected the setting is ‘Off Grid’. If the total installed capacity is less than 30 kW then the export volume can be ‘Deemed’ (i.e. assumed or estimated rather than physically metered), and no export meter is required. If the total installed capacity is greater than 30 kW and no export meter is installed then the setting is ‘No Export’. A setting of ‘Standard Tariff’ indicates that the generator has an approved export meter and has opted to receive the standard export rate. ‘Negotiated’ indicates that the owner of the generator has elected to sell the electricity on the open market and has a valid export meter.

Tariff: The tariff code is allocated by Ofgem, and indicates the feed-in-tariff rate received. It has encoded within it information about PV such as whether the installation is retrofit, new build, stand alone.

Country: This data is provided by Ofgem, and is either England, Scotland, or Wales. Northern Ireland is outside the Feed in Tariff scheme. Ofgem’s data contains some lacunae, and REF denotes these with the term ‘Unknown’.

GO region: The Government region in which the generator is located

Local Authority: The local government authority relevant to the generator site.

Related ID: Indicates the Microgeneration Certification Scheme code for new FiT generators or lists the Renewables Obligation (RO) identifier for those generators which have transferred from the RO to the FiT. Where data exists under the RO code, the code in this column will be highlighted and clicking on it will take the user to the relevant pages of the REF RO website.

Searching the FiT Data

Clicking on the ‘Search’ option on the lists of FiT generators takes the user to a page where multiple search parameters can be used to filter the output generator list. The parameters are as described above: FIT ID, No., Postcode, Technology, Installation, kW, Commission, Export, Tariff, Country, GO Region, Local Authority, and Related ID. Selected parameters can be combined to narrow the search. For example, the user might specify all Solar Photovoltaic generators greater than or equal to 2 kW in capacity in the postcode region EX5.