The Government has decided to set the Feed-in Tariff rates at $3, $4 and $5 per unit of electricity depending on the generation capacity of the renewable energy system concerned.

Secretary for the Environment KS Wong announced the plan to the Legislative Council Finance Committee today.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, he said the rate level will help drastically reduce the payback period of most renewable energy systems to about 10 years and in turn motivate more people and organisations to install the system.

Power companies will also sell Renewable Energy Certificates, through the purchase of which the organisations and the public can support the development of renewable energy in Hong Kong.

He said revenue from certificate sales will be used to alleviate the impact of the Feed-in Tariff's introduction.

"Based on our earlier consultation with the public, the majority response was that they would be able to accept around 5% increase in the tariff, or even some would support a 10% increase.

"But based on our latest estimate, the tariff implication will be far lower than that, probably less than 1%. So based on public opinion, I think it should be acceptable."