The government pledged an additional £40 million of support for the low-carbon energy and advanced green manufacturing sector in the UK, building on the support made available to these sectors at Budget 2009.

It said that amongst other projects, the funding will enable additional support for small-scale and community-level low-carbon energy generation.The Pre-Budget Report also confirmed that households that use renewable technology to generate electricity mainly for their own use will not be subject to income tax on feed-in tariffs. The government said this would save households paying the basic rate of tax £180 in 2010.

Mr. Darling said: “From April, people with a home wind turbine or solar panels who plug their excess power into the national grid, will receive on average £900 a year. I intend to make this payment tax free.”

“The report added that if necessary, legislation to ensure this treatment will be introduced with effect from 1 April 2010.”