THE SMART EXPORT GUARANTEE

The government’s Feed-in Tariff, which paid out to homeowners both for the generation and for the excess electricity their solar PV systems produced, closed to new applicants on 31 March 2019. Its replacement, the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), is currently being rolled out, and will be delivered via energy suppliers: companies with more than 150,000 customers are required to offer at least one export tariff. They must implement the SEG before 1 January 2020 and it’s up to suppliers to decide the exact amount that customers will receive for each kwh of electricity exported. Early indications suggest that it’ll be around 5p. The Solar Trade Association’s website currently has a league table of tariffs; at the time of writing they are very thin on the ground (E.on is one of the few providers), but more will come on board as the compliance deadline approaches. You may need a smart meter to qualify, and, as with the Feed-in Tariff, installations must be certified through the Microgeneration Certification Scheme or a suitable equivalent, such as Solar Keymark.