Is it possible the United Kingdom could end up being one of the most energy efficient nations on the planet? That seems to be the focus of an ambitious project unveiled by the government to get, as 24dash reports, 1 in 10 homes “generating their own green energy by the end of the decade.” How to get all those residents to do it? Wave cash incentives at them.

Plans are afoot, beginning this April, to let U.K. consumers who install energy generating technologies such as small wind turbines and solar panels “claim payments for the low carbon electricity they produce.” These technologies will further be joined by low carbon heating technologies in April 2011, which is said to be a world first. What’s most interesting is that the government will pay all those who install these energy generating technologies in their homes for even the low carbon electricity the home owners end up generating for self usage. That is a strong variance from the traditional model of utilities paying consumers only when they generate enough alternative energy to put it back into the grid.

image via SolarCity

It is hoped that these incentives will “bring about a significant increase in the amount of locally produced green energy, as a contribution to the wider shift of the energy mix to low carbon.” There are some stipulations though to how payments work. The level of payment, for example, depends on the technology and is linked to inflation. In terms of specific numbers, the U.K.’s Department of Energy and Climate Change said one could find that a “typical 2.5kW well sited solar pv installation could offer a homeowner a reward of up to £900 and save them £140 a year on their electricity bill.”