The main incentives for installing solar PV systems are as follows: –
- Reducing bills by producing free, clean electricity during daylight hours (or longer if installed with battery storage)
- Reducing use of fossil fuels. More than 40% of the UK’s electricity is still produced by burning gas and coal, so by reducing your electricity imports, you are directly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels as a nation. That in turn means reducing our reliance on imported gas from Russia….
And any exported green electricity will help even further.
- Income from exported electricity. While the Feed In Tariff no longer exists, the Smart Export Guarantee has taken its place. Read on for more information…
Smart Export Guarantee (SEG)
The Feed In Tariff has been replaced with a ‘Smart Export Guarantee’ – meaning you are paid a guaranteed minimum price for electricity not used, but sent back to the grid.
The SEG is available for all MCS accredited solar PV installations commissioned since April 1st 2019.
SEG rates are set by the supply companies, and you can see the rates (as of February 2024) in the following table:-
| Energy Supplier | Tariff Name | Price per kWh |
|---|---|---|
| Octopus- (own customers) | Octopus Flux (rate is variable and depends on location) | 16- 38p at different times |
| Octopus-(own customers) | Outgoing Fixed | 15p |
| Scottish Power | SmartGen | 12p |
| British Gas (non customers/own customers) | Export & Earn Flex / Export & Earn Plus | 6.4p/15p |
| EDF-(own customers) | Export Variable Value | 5.6p |
| Octopus-(non- customers) | Outgoing | 4.1p |
| OVO | OVO SEG Tariff | 4.0p |
| Utilita | Utilita SEG | 3.0p |
| EDF-(non- customers) | Export Variable | 3.0p |
| E.On-(non- customers) | Next Export | 3.0p |
| Utility Warehouse | UW SEG -Standard | 2.0p |