Earning money from renewable energy with the Smart Export Guarantee

The Government have proposed an initiative that will replace the defunct Feed In Tariff scheme, called the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG). While the Feed-in Tariff has had no direct replacement, the SEG will essentially replace the Export Tariff.

SEG first became active on the 1st January 2020, with energy companies with over 150,000 customers obligated to offer a tariff to buy excess renewable energy.

The Smart Export Guarantee also applies to:

• Wind power
• Micro combined heat and power (CHP)
• Hydro energy
• Anaerobic digestion and bio-gas (AD)

The scheme requires energy suppliers to pay households for the extra electricity they export to the National Grid. This allows homeowners to convert any unused renewable energy into funds, providing them with an extra income on top of their energy bill savings.

Is the Smart Export Guarantee an improved Feed In Tariff?

The SEG is fairer than the old Feed in Tariff. Previously, homeowners were paid for only half of the electricity that their solar panels were generating, even if they were exporting much more than that to the National Grid. However, the Smart Export Guarantee pays out for exactly what you export.

In addition, the Government allows energy suppliers free to decide on their own prices for the tariffs provided to residents which encourages energy companies obligated by the scheme to offer competitive pricing that ultimately benefits the homeowner as they will be able to shop around for the best deals.

How to receive payments for renewable energy

If you have an eligible installation and are wanting to benefit from any extra energy you generate, you need to apply to a SEG Licensee for payment for electricity exported to the National Grid.

An additional requirement of the SEG is that properties must have a smart meter, which in turn has several additional benefits.

The full explanation of the SEG has been published by the Government and can be found here.

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