Britons are being offered the chance to not only cut their utility bills, but also to reduce their impact on the environment and make a bit of cash in the process.

This is possible through a new initiative launched by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which will provide feed-in tariffs for small-scale low carbon projects.

Set to begin on April 1st, the scheme was first announced in the pre-Budget report last year and is aimed at getting people to think about how they use power.

Energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband commented: "The guarantee of getting an income on top of saving on energy bills will be an incentive to householders and communities wanting to make the move to low carbon living."

He added that both individuals and communities would be given the chance to assess their energy needs and work out how they can accommodate them without having too much of an impact on the environment.

Payment will be given for any electricity which is fed back into the power grid, meaning someone who installs a solar panel could earn £900 while shaving £140 off their household bills.

John Swinney, director of Strategy and Corporate Services, said: "We expect thousands of households to benefit in the first few years and up to 300 additional green energy jobs could be created as part of this programme."

The scheme will be rolled out across the UK and engineers from local areas will be trained in how to install green technologies.

The government recently announced it was to take action to help the country's poorest homes improve their insulation.

It also proposed to help up to 90,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales by giving them energy makeovers to encourage them to save around £300 per year on energy bills.