After the Feed-In Tariff scheme (FIT) closed on 31st of March 2019, a new version of the export tariff was introduced on 10 June 2019 by the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) - the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

This policy came into force 1 of January 2020 and will ensure that any eligible small-scale low-carbon generators will have access to a tariff for their exported electricity. Solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, hydro and anaerobic digestion (AD) installations up to 5MW and micro-combined heat and power up to 50kW will be able to receive an export tariff under the policy, providing they are eligible.

According to data in the Central Feed-in Tariff register, the FIT scheme has supported the installation of over 850,000 installations, a total of over 6.6GW of UK generation capacity.

Anyone who already receives payment for their Feed-in Tariff on their installation will be unaffected by the launch of the Smart Export Guarantee.

In the context of climate change, the government investment in clean energy is at the heart of its world-leading modern industrial strategy. The SEG comes as a “need to ensure that innovative businesses of the present and future can capture the system and network benefits of persuading customers to reduce their energy demand. Sometimes that will mean consumers becoming producers. Smart meters, data access, smarter networks and the right rules and incentives are necessary for this transformation”, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy highlighted in his speech After the trilemma – 4 principles for the power sector.

You can find out if you are eligible or how to apply for the Smart Export Guarantee, by reading the SEG generator guidance provided by OFGEM.

To find out which suppliers are currently offering the best rates for the surplus exported solar power visit the Solar Trade Association website.