What renewables support costs you
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
Renewables support costs a typical household about £150 a year, roughly £13 a month, across three schemes: the Renewables Obligation, Contracts for Difference and Feed-in Tariffs. Since April 2026 most of the largest of them is paid from general taxation rather than bills, so it no longer shows on your bill — but you still pay it. Nationally the three schemes cost around £12bn a year. Figures checked by hand on 22 September 2026.
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: House of Commons Library.
What do the schemes cost?
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: House of Commons Library. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: House of Commons Library. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: House of Commons Library. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: House of Commons Library. Checked by hand 22 September 2026.
The numbers behind this chart
| Scheme | What it pays for | National cost | On the bill | Through tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewables Obligation | A top-up for every unit generated by older wind farms, solar parks and biomass plants. Closed to new projects; payments run to 2037. | £8.5bn+ (2026/27 forecast) | £22 | £67 |
| Contracts for Difference | A guaranteed price for newer offshore wind, solar and nuclear. When the market price is above the guaranteed price, generators pay the difference back. | £2.3bn (2024/25) | £40 | £0 |
| Feed-in Tariffs | Payments to small generators, mostly rooftop solar installed 2010-2019. | ~£2bn | £20 | £0 |
Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: House of Commons Library.
What are the three schemes?
| Scheme | What it pays for | National, per year | Typical household, per year | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewables Obligation | A top-up for every unit generated by older wind farms, solar parks and biomass plants. Closed to new projects; payments run to 2037. | £8.5bn+ (2026/27 forecast) | £89: £22 on the bill, £67 through tax | Bill and general taxation |
| Contracts for Difference | A guaranteed price for newer offshore wind, solar and nuclear. When the market price is above the guaranteed price, generators pay the difference back. | £2.3bn (2024/25) | £40 | Electricity bill |
| Feed-in Tariffs | Payments to small generators, mostly rooftop solar installed 2010-2019. | ~£2bn | £20 | Electricity bill |
Household figures are for typical electricity use. Households use only around a third of the country's electricity; businesses pay the rest through their own bills and pass it on in prices, so the true household cost is higher than the bill line alone.
What moved from bills to taxation?
From April 2026 the Energy Company Obligation stopped being charged on bills and 75% of the Renewables Obligation cost moved to the Treasury, together worth about £150 a year to a typical household. Policy costs on the bill are now about 5% of a typical bill, down from around 15%. The money is still being spent; it now comes out of general taxation rather than the energy bill, which changes who pays rather than how much.
Are the schemes good value?
The case that they cost too much
- Renewables Obligation contracts were generous and index-linked, and run for another decade.
- Over £13bn has been paid out under Contracts for Difference since the scheme started.
- Moving costs to taxation hides them rather than reducing them.
- They sit on top of rising grid costs to connect and balance the same generators.
The case that they are good value
- During the 2022 crisis, Contracts for Difference generators paid money back, cutting bills.
- One estimate puts wholesale power at around £100/MWh without contracted wind, against £76 now.
- Newer contracts are far cheaper than the old Renewables Obligation.
- Less exposure to imported gas prices, which caused the last two price spikes.
What other levies are on the bill?
The Warm Home Discount, a £150 rebate for low-income households, is funded by everyone else's bills. There are also charges for the Capacity Market, which pays power stations to be on standby, and a levy to fund new nuclear. Carbon pricing is the least visible: gas power stations pay for their emissions at £18 a tonne on top of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, and that cost is built into the wholesale electricity price.
Common questions
- How much do green levies cost per household?
- About £150 a year for a typical household, counting both what appears on the bill and what is now paid through general taxation.
- What is the Renewables Obligation?
- A top-up for every unit generated by older wind farms, solar parks and biomass plants. Closed to new projects; payments run to 2037.
- Did green levies come off bills?
- Partly. From April 2026 the Energy Company Obligation and 75% of the Renewables Obligation moved to general taxation, worth about £150 a year on a typical bill. The cost did not disappear; taxpayers fund it instead.
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Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| House of Commons Library, what makes up an electricity bill (May 2026) | House of Commons Library | 22 September 2026 | annual |