There may be times when the electricity you generate from your renewable energy system is more than you can use or store, so the surplus can be exported to the grid to be used by somebody else.
Following the closure of the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme to new applicants in March 2019, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) introduced the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) on 1 January 2020, to pay small-scale renewable energy generators for the electricity they export to the grid.
Under the scheme, all licenced energy suppliers with over 150,000 customers must offer an export tariff to small-scale electricity generators (homes and small businesses) for each unit of electricity they sell to the grid, as measured by your meter.
Unlike the FiT, electricity suppliers determine the tariff they are willing to pay to small-scale generators, so you should shop around before choosing your supplier.
Some electricity supply companies now offer power purchase agreements (PPAs) which are long-term contracts for selling the renewable energy you generate to your supply company, who will sell it on to homes and businesses.
Here's where to go for more advice on installing your renewable energy system.