See our solar feed-in tariff rates – Origin Energy Earn more from your solar power with Origin’s great feed-in tariff rates in ACT, NSW, QLD, SA and VIC. All our solar plans come with a feed-in tariff. You’ll be eligible for either our standard retailer FIT or a boosted one. A feed-in tariff (FIT) is what you can earn back on your electricity bill when your solar system generates more energy than your household uses.
Once these steps are complete, we’ll apply the FIT to your electricity account for so long as you continue to meet the scheme requirements. Note: From 1 September 2022, new will apply.
Previous FIT schemes In Victoria, the Premium Feed-in Tariff Scheme for solar (60c/kWh rate, including GST where applicable) is also closed to new applicants. See our for more details on this scheme, or if you’d like a copy of the Agreement terms, email our solar team at, Get your solar system from us and receive our highest feed-in tariff. Our Solar Boost Plus offer is available when you purchase an Origin solar system and request a quote. You’ll get our highest (best) feed-in tariff for any solar energy you export back to the grid. Add a battery storage to the mix. Sometimes you’ll get the best of both worlds! You can use a battery to take up any solar power you’re not immediately using, and then use that later when the sun isn’t shining. But once your battery is full, any excess energy generated will return to the grid, so you’ll still get your feed-in tariff.
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What does feed-in mean in solar?
Print Energy produced by your solar power system is converted to electricity and used in your house. Any electricity that isn’t used can be exported to the electricity grid. You may be eligible for a payment for the exported electricity. This payment is called a feed-in tariff.
If you live in South East Queensland, you may get a market feed-in tariff directly from your electricity retailer. There is no mandated rate for electricity exported to the grid so electricity retailers offer competitive, market-based tariff rates. This means you should shop around for the best deal. If you live in regional Queensland, you can access a regional feed-in tariff.
The former Solar Bonus Scheme feed-in tariff is not available to new customers.
What is the benefit of a feed-in tariff?
What Is a Feed-In Tariff (FIT)? – A feed-in tariff is a policy tool designed to promote investment in renewable energy sources, This usually means promising small-scale producers of the energy—such as solar or wind energy—an above-market price for what they deliver to the grid.
What is the current feed-in tariff for solar panels in the UK 2022?
Relevant tariffs have been adjusted by RPI of 7.5 percent, effective from 1 April 2022.
What is the meaning of feed-in tariff?
A feed-in tariff (FiT) is a credit you can receive for any unused electricity sent back to the grid. Also known as a buy-back rate, it’s usually a set rate per kilowatt hour paid as a credit on your bills.
Are solar feed-in tariffs worth it?
The solar feed-in tariff – the amount you get paid for sending your excess solar electricity to the grid – is one of the most talked-about aspects of solar. A lot of people believe that solar panels systems aren’t worth it anymore because the feed-in tariff has dropped so much.
Why did government stop feed-in tariff?
What happened to the Feed in Tariff?
- As of April 1 2019, the Government closed the Feed-in-Tariff to new applications looking for subsidies for extra electricity generated from solar panels.
- Residents who are not already part of the scheme can no longer receive subsidies for the extra electricity generated by solar PV.
- Those that are already part of the scheme will not be affected by this change in policy and can still receive a subsidy per kilowatt of electricity generated regardless of whether it is exported or not.
- The end of the scheme, in part, is a result of technology maturing to the point where it became much cheaper and solar PV became a financially viable option without subsidies.
- The scheme also had a restriction in funding in the years leading up to its closure, with payment rates reducing and becoming less attractive to consumers.
How is solar feed-in tariff calculated?
Summary of how solar power feeds back into the grid: – Solar is fed back into the grid as it is created – it is not tallied up at the end of the day, week or billing period This means you sell energy back in real-time, so producing the same amount as you use over 24 hours doesn’t necessarily mean you are cost neutral The charts above show how this works with real-life solar monitoring Click the image below to try our solar savings calculator. Let’s assume the energy you use costs $0.25 per kWh and the energy you sell back is worth $0.10 per kWh. These are fairly common averaged out rates. Based on an assumed 6.6kW (6,600 watts) solar array an average production of solar energy is approximately 26kWh (kilo-watt hours) per day.
Lastly, we will assume you are using 50% of the solar energy produced and exported the remaining 50%. Using those three assumptions, the calculation would look like this: 50% of 26kWh = 13kWh. So, for this exercise you will be using 13kWh of solar energy, and exporting the other 13kWh to the grid.13kWh x $0.25 = $3.25 – This is the portion of solar you have consumed at home.13kWh x $0.10 = $1.30 – This is the portion you have sold to the grid.
Total savings per day = $4.55 Annual savings = $1,660.75 If you would like to save more money, then you would try to use more of the solar power because it is more valuable to use it at $0.25 per kWh, compared to selling it back at $0.10 per kWh. To further clarify, let’s take the same solar production as above – 26kWh of solar per day.
- But this time you use 80% of the solar and only sell back 20%.
- If that was the case your savings would work out this way: 80% of 26kWh = 20.8kWh.
- So, for this exercise you will be using 20.8kWh of solar energy and exporting the other 5.2kWh to the grid.20.8kWh x $0.25 = $5.20 – This is the portion of solar you have consumed at home.5.2kWh x $0.10 = $0.52 – This is the portion you have sold to the grid.
Total savings per day = $5.72 Annual savings = $2,087.80 As you can see the second saving example is quite a bit higher than the first. With the same amount of solar produced, the second example has saved $427.05 more in one year. The key then is to try and use as much of the solar power created as possible.
Who pays the best solar Feed-in Tariff UK?
What is required to receive the tariff? – To be eligible for the tariff you’ll be required to meet three conditions:
Must be with Octopus for supply and export. Export only customers will receive 4.1p/per kWh. A SMETS2 smart meter (or SecureTM SMETS1) will need to be installed and able to send half hourly export meter readings. You must not be receiving deemed export payments from a feed-in tariff (FiT). Installed solar PV systems will need to be MCS/Flexi-Orb certified.
| Tariff Name: Fixed |
| Tariff Type: Currently Fixed |
| Tariff Length: 12 Month Fixed Term |
| Tariff Rate: 15p (per kWh) |
| Payment Cycle: Monthly |
| Includes Battery Storage: Yes |
| MCS/Flexi-Orb Certified: Yes |
| Exit Fee: No |
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Tesla has teamed up with Octopus Energy (who administers the plan) for their energy tariff which is designed exclusively for solar and Powerwall owners. The plan offers the best flat export (24-26p per kWh) and import (24-26p per kWh) rates available in the UK to date – helping homeowners to get paid for the energy they export back to the grid whilst saving on their monthly energy bills. The Tesla Energy Plan claims that it could reduce your electricity bill by up to 64% compared to the Big 6 electricity supplier tariffs – this is based on a household without solar panels that consumes 8,000 kWh/year from the grid.
However, your individual savings will depend on numerous factors e.g. your current energy tariff, your energy consumption, how many solar panels you have and your location.
How much does Octopus pay per kWh?
On the Octopus Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariff, customers get paid for any electricity they export to the grid (via home solar generation, smart batteries, wind turbines, biogas, biomass, CCGT, CHP, crop, hydro and more). Customers earn a flat rate of 4.1p/kWh for every unit of power they export.
What is the energy price cap per kWh 2022?
What’s the maximum charge for a single unit of electricity or gas from 1 October 2022? – So, from 1 October 2022, if you’re on a standard variable tariff paying by direct debit, the average unit price will be frozen at 34.0p/kWh for electricity and 10.3p/kWh for gas (including VAT).
Why have solar feed-in tariffs so low?
Why are solar feed-in tariffs falling? – Knowing why FITs have fallen can make it easier to appreciate where we are now. Reductions in FITs have been driven by ongoing low wholesale prices in the National Electricity Market (NEM) during the middle of the day.
This is when solar is being exported into the grid by households, businesses and large solar farms. In fact, the high volume of energy available to the market during daylight hours exceeds demand. Because wholesale prices in the electricity market respond to supply and demand, spot prices in the NEM often become negative during the midday solar peak.
At times, electricity sellers (generators) pay energy buyers to take their electricity. Households and all but the biggest businesses buy their energy through retailers. The prices they pay for electricity, including the feed-in tariffs on offer, is fixed by the retailer using various market contracts.
How much do you get for selling electricity back to the grid?
The Smart Export Guarantee 2022 Last updated on 31 October 2022 13 min read
- ✔ Big energy suppliers must pay you for your excess renewable energy
- ✔ The best rate right now is 15p per kWh
- ✔ The average home will make £73 per year from this scheme
- Homeowners with solar panels are making money by selling their unused energy – and you should too.
- Large energy suppliers in the UK are obliged to pay households for renewable energy they export to the National Grid, under the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) scheme.
- On this page, we’ll tell you how the SEG works, whether you’re eligible for it, and how much you could earn to combat the effects of this recession.
- If you’d like to start benefiting from the SEG, you can with a few details, and our trusted suppliers will contact you with free solar panel quotes.
The Smart Export Guarantee is a government-backed initiative that compels large energy suppliers to pay homeowners for renewable energy they send back to the National Grid. If you produce energy with solar panels, wind turbines, micro combined heat and power, hydro, or anaerobic digestion, you can request payments from one of more than a dozen companies,
This scheme is hugely beneficial to homeowners looking to save money with solar. Check out how much you can save with the SEG on our page. SEG began in January 2020 as a replacement for the defunct Feed-in Tariff (FiT), but works differently – mainly because it puts the responsibility on consumers to choose the best rate.
It’s especially profitable for anyone with solar panels, because unless you have a, you’ll likely export half of your power back to the Grid – so why not get paid for it?
- 15 companies are licensed to offer SEG rates, which can be any amount above zero.
- This includes 12 which are compelled to, as they have at least 150,000 domestic electricity customers, and three that have voluntarily offered a tariff.
- Here are the best and worst SEG rates out there, as of 2022.
| Energy supplier | Price (p/kWh) | Name of tariff |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla (requires Powerwall 2 battery) | 24 | Tesla Energy Plan |
| Octopus Energy (own customers) | 15 | Outgoing Fixed |
| EDF (own customers) | 5.6 | Export Variable Value |
| Bulb (own customers) | 5.57 | Export Payments |
| E.On (new E.On solar PV customers) | 5.5 | Next Export Exclusive |
| ScottishPower | 5.5 | Smart Export Variable Tariff |
| Pozitive Energy | 5 | SEG tariff |
| SO Energy | 5 | So Altair |
| Octopus Energy (non-customers) | 4.1 | Outgoing Go |
| OVO | 4 | OVO SEG Tariff |
| SSE | 3.5 | Smart Export Tariff |
| Shell Energy | 3.5 | SEG V1.1 Tariff |
| British Gas | 3.2 | Export & Earn Flex |
| Utilita | 3 | Utilita Smart Export Guarantee |
| Bulb (non-customers) | 3 | Export Payments |
| E.On (all other customers) | 3 | Next Export |
| Utility Warehouse | 2 | UW Smart Export Guarantee |
| EDF | 1.5 | Export Variable |
| E | 1 | E SEG January2020v.1 |
Want to get a better idea of what it’s like to own a set of solar panels? Check out our case study with Shirley Ward – a 73-year-old retired office worker, based in North Yorkshire. Shirley has a 2.4 kW solar array and a Solax battery, and managed to break even on the system in 10 years.
Despite electricity prices increasing around the world, Shirley’s panels have brought her energy bills down to £15 a month, instead of £50. Check out with Shirley to learn more about solar panels. Octopus offers the best SEG rate (not Tesla, as we explain below), paying out 15p for every kWh of renewable electricity a household sends to the Grid.
This is only available to its own customers, though – it pays other households 4.1p per kWh. Octopus’s Christina Hess explained to The Eco Experts that this was because “it takes a lot of effort to set up an export tariff – the process is therefore quite costly for us.
- “However, if a customer also imports electricity from us, we’re more likely to make a margin (please note that due to the current grid set up of network admin, levies and distribution costs it’s usually net negative for us to offer any kind of export tariff).
- “This means that we are able to offer a better rate to customers who export and import electricity through us.”
- You should also check out Octopus’s Agile Outgoing tariff, which pays you according to shifting wholesale prices.
- This tariff has hovered around 20p per kWh over the past 12 months – a fantastic rate – and went above £2 per kWh at one point, according to,
- The highest rate is Tesla’s (administered by Octopus) – but it requires you to buy a Powerwall 2 solar battery, which currently costs around £9,000 to install.
- The battery has a 10-year warranty, and will therefore need to be replaced for an additional £9,000 around halfway through your panels’ 25-year lifespan.
- This completely negates the benefits of Tesla’s higher tariff, with the average three-bedroom household losing £4,900 over 25 years on this rate.
In contrast, that same home will make £7,640 of profit over their panels’ lifespan if they opt against getting a Powerwall 2, and choose Scottish Power’s 5.5p per kWh rate instead. E, which has 300,000 customers across the UK, pays the least for your renewable energy, handing over just 1p per kWh,
- We understand that E is not trying to be competitive in this space, and is simply trying fulfilling its legal obligation.
- It’s also worth mentioning EDF’s paltry 1.5p per kWh rate, which is – at best – half as much as you’ll receive from the other Big Six suppliers, despite EDF making a net profit of last year.
In July 2022, after two and a half years of only offering this low tariff, EDF created an additional rate for its own import customers. The Export Variable Value pays 5.6p per kWh,
- The Smart Export Guarantee is a positive development, but goes nowhere near far enough to reward solar households or encourage prospective buyers.
- The best Smart Export Guarantee tariff is Octopus’s 15p per kWh offering, while the standard rate consumers pay for electricity is currently 34p per kWh,
- That means the Smart Export Guarantee allows companies to buy electricity from you for, at most, less than half of the price they charge you.
At worst (yes E, we’re looking at you), this figure drops to 2.9 %, Octopus’s 15p rate is at least much higher than the Feed-in Tariff’s last export rate, which was 3.8p per kWh when it ended in 2019. That shouldn’t be the benchmark, though. for that number to be relevant.
The government rightly stepped in to ensure your unused solar power isn’t sent to the Grid for free, but for the electricity they generate. Yes, you can choose any supplier for your SEG tariff. It doesn’t have to be the supplier that provides you with electricity – so we advise you to find the best rate, and go for it.
The Eco Experts contacted all 15 suppliers which provide an SEG tariff, and just two told us they were planning on increasing their rates. So Energy, which currently offers a 5p per kWh rate, and EDF – which pays just 1.5p per kWh, as we mentioned above – were the only suppliers to commit to a higher tariff.
- EDF has made good on this promise – though its tariff for non-customers is still appallingly low – but So Energy hasn’t followed through yet.
- And regardless, more suppliers need to raise their rates.
- Energy companies currently pay households 13% of what their solar energy is worth.
- That’s outrageous.
- You should still sign up for an SEG tariff, because otherwise you’re leaving free money on the table – but your solar power is worth more than this.
The average owner of a three-bedroom house with a 3.5 kWp solar panel system will earn £73 per year from the Smart Export Guarantee, on Scottish Power’s 5.5p per kWh rate, which anyone can sign up for. However, your household isn’t average – so we’ve created tables that show how you can expect the size and location of your home to affect your SEG earnings.
| House size | No of panels | System kWp | SEG profit (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 bedrooms | 6 | 2.1 | £44 |
| 3 bedrooms | 10 | 3.5 | £73 |
| 4+ bedrooms | 14 | 4.9 | £102 |
Location is another crucial aspect in determining how much you’ll receive in annual SEG payments. There can be as much as a 45% difference in how much you’re paid, purely because of how much sunshine you get where you live. Here’s how much the owner of a 3.5 kWp system (which you’d typically put on a three-bedroom house) can expect to be paid annually in different parts of the UK.
| Region | SEG payment | Years to break even |
|---|---|---|
| South East England | £82 | 9.2 |
| South Wales | £83 | 9 |
| Midlands | £72 | 10.5 |
| North West England | £72 | 10.5 |
| North Scotland | £61 | 12.4 |
If you want to take advantage of SEG payments, you can with a few details, and our trusted suppliers will contact you with free solar panel quotes. Your SEG income will be exempt from tax, as long as:
- Your solar array is located on a domestic property you own, or nearby
- You don’t intend for your panels to produce significantly more solar power (usually interpreted as 20% more) than the amount of electricity you consume at home
If your installation doesn’t match these requirements, you may still be exempt. You can class your SEG payments as trading and miscellaneous income, and provided your total income in this category doesn’t exceed £1,000, you won’t have to report it to HMRC.
- If your SEG company also supplies your electricity, your payment may come in the form of a deduction from your monthly energy bill.
- If not, you’ll be paid by bank transfer.
- Suppliers are allowed to choose how frequently they send these transfers – and they vary enormously.
- For example, ScottishPower will pay you monthly, OVO’s payments are quarterly (as are E.On’s, as long as you request them each time), and SSE and Shell will pay you annually – though Shell will only send payments in May,
Make sure you check how often your SEG supplier intends to pay you. You can qualify for SEG payments if you generate energy in any of the following ways:
- Solar panels
- Wind turbines
- Micro combined heat and power
- Hydro
- Anaerobic digestion
Your installation must have a maximum capacity of 5 MW – which is far higher than any domestic property should require – unless it’s a micro combined heat and power installation, in which case the upper limit is 50 kW. You must provide your Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certificate, or an equivalent document,
If you don’t have this kind of certificate, make sure that your installation and installer are certified, Ask your chosen SEG company what information you need to provide. You must also have an export meter – that is, a meter that’s capable of measuring your exported electricity. If you have a smart meter, that automatically qualifies.
If not, check that your meter is eligible with your SEG supplier, as most will require you to have a smart meter before you receive payments. You’ll also need to give your SEG company your export MPAN – a 13-number reference that your supplier can use to identify your electricity connection point.
- If you’re unsure about where you can find the export MPAN, just ask your supplier.
- This list may seem intimidating, but it’s simple, we promise.
- Just contact your chosen supplier, follow their requirements, fill in their application form, and you’ll be accepting SEG payments in no time.
- Some suppliers do require you to have a smart meter in order to receive SEG payments.
Having one will also ensure you’re paid accurately for the energy you export, and will mean you don’t have to take manual readings – plus it may soon become compulsory. The Smart Export Guarantee is an export tariff that suppliers pay you for the renewable energy you send to the Grid.
- That means FiT recipients were paid for all the renewable power they produced, as well as receiving export payments for the green energy they sent to the Grid.
- In the FiT era, the export tariff was paid on the assumption that households would export 50% of the renewable energy they generated, and it was paid on a standard rate.
- In these SEG times, you’ll receive a different rate depending on which supplier you choose, and you’ll be paid based on the amount of electricity you actually export, rather than an assumed 50%.
- The other main difference between the two is that the FiT was funded by a tax on all consumers’ energy bills, while the SEG is paid for by suppliers,
- You can continue receiving generation tariff income regardless of whether you’re on an SEG tariff or not, but you can’t get both FiT and SEG export payments.
- Though the FiT ended in March 2019, customers who signed up before that date can still receive payments for the duration of their contract, which is usually 20 years.
- Once every 12 months, you can switch from your FiT export tariff to the SEG – but we only recommend taking this step if you’re sure it will lead to higher payments.
- Armed with this knowledge, you’re fully prepared to generate your own solar power and make money while doing it.
- All you need to do now is to choose an SEG supplier – and of course, get some solar panels installed.
- With telling our latest National Home Energy Survey they’re willing to buy a house with solar panels, there’s never been a better time.
- Just with a few details, and our expert suppliers will be in touch with free solar panel quotes.
: The Smart Export Guarantee 2022
Who controls feed-in tariff?
Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Payments and tariffs You can find the tariff rates available under the relevant scheme in the ‘publications and updates’ section below. Tariff rates for all installations are set by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and published in accordance with,
- Once accredited, a tariff rate is assigned to your installation based on a number of factors including but not limited to: Some generators receive deemed export payments, where export is estimated to be a fixed percentage of generation rather than being based on export meter readings.
- The amount of generation which is deemed to be exported is set by the Secretary of State for BEIS each year in their,
Tariff rates for Solar PV installations are uniquely split into Higher, Middle and Lower bands. Which tariff rate an installation receives depends on if the Energy Efficiency Requirement for the building that the installation is wired to provide electricity to has been met and if the owner is classed as a multi-site generator :
Higher: An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of level D or above was issued before the commissioning date of the installation, and the owner is not classed as a, Middle: And EPC of level D or above was issued before the commissioning date of the installation, and the owner is classed as a multi-site generator. Lower: An EPC of level D or above was not issued before commissioning.
This three band structure only applies to Solar PV installations accredited after April 2012 and does not apply to the other technology types regardless of commissioning date. You can find the full tariff bandings in the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT): Tariff table spreadsheets available below. We are a non-ministerial government department and an independent National Regulatory Authority. Our role is to protect consumers now and in the future by working to deliver a greener, fairer energy system. : Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) – Payments and tariffs
