Ofgem Registration

As a “small wind” generator, that is with a turbine with a rated output of between 50 kW and 250 kW, I have to register directly with Ofgem in order to obtain the Feed-in tariff payments. If the generator is less than 50 kW, so long as your installer is registered with the MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme), the Ofgem registration is done for you.

I have been working on my application for registration with Ofgem for months, in fact I started researching when the government first announced it was consulting on introducing a feed-in tariff scheme last year. At the time, we thought we would have the turbine up and running by April 1st 2010, the date that feed-in tariffs were to be introduced, so I wanted to get my application under way. Ofgem suggested that I apply under the ROC (Renewable Obligation Certificate) scheme, and then transfer to the FIT as soon as it became available. They even set up a specific email address called “ro2fit”. I applied using a complicated on-line form that requested far more information than I was able to supply, and was clearly designed for industrial wind farm developers rather than farmers putting up one turbine.

However today is registration day. A series of phone calls and emails has resulted in my application being successful, and I have today received an email confirming my registration. The exciting bit is my number with Ofgem, FWD00001EN. This may not look exciting, and I’m not sure what the letters FWD represent, but EN stands for England, and 00001 means that my turbine is the very first to be registered.

Just to dampen my enthusiasm a little, all I have is an email because “software issues” are preventing the issuing of the actual certificates themselves. One fact jumps out at me from all of this, is that the whole industry of “small wind” is brand new, and everyone, from the manufacturers, the installers, the electricity retail companies, all the way up to the government themselves, are flying by the seats of their pants, and making up the procedures as they go.