Selling your exported energy

You may sell your surplus generated power to your electricity supplier. This is sometimes known as a "buy-back" arrangement. The following information is based on research by Plug Into The Sun but the tariffs and deals offered by different companies constantly change so please contact them direct for the latest information. 

Each scheme is different and you will need to read the terms and conditions carefully to understand which deal will be best for you. The best advice is to shop around different energy suppliers to find the best deal for you. To date there are no websites which offer buy-back comparisons.

Electricity meters are now the responsibility of the energy supplier to a property, so you will need to arrange with your energy supplier for the appropriate meters to be installed for import/export. Although we are happy to offer advice, it will be your responsibility to arrange for your electricity to be purchased from your supplier and for the appropriate meters to be installed.

Below are some of the best schemes currently offered by suppliers. It should be noted that when the Feed In Tariff scheme is implemented in April 2010 the way you are paid for generating electricity will change substantially, for the better!  Please see our Feed In Tariff page for more details.

Good Energy

Good Energy is an entirely renewable energy utility provider!

Good Energy has four generator schemes: Home Generation, Off Grid Generation, Smart Generation and Commercial Generation.  Details of the schemes can be found on their Generate Your Own page.

The Home Generation scheme currently pays 15p per kWh for generators up to 6kW for all energy generated irrespective of whether it is used within the property. It is therefore very attractive for smaller wind and solar PV owners who will use most of the power they generate within their property.

For more information visit Good Energy's website.

npower Juice

One of the schemes on the market is from npower as part of their Juice product range. The Juice range is from renewable sources but the majority of npower's output is generated by coal, gas and oil-fired power stations. If you would like to find out more about the npower micro-generation scheme then please download their Microgeneration Information pack.

Npower will pay 20p per kWh for all exported power from your system plus will arrange for your ROC bonus to be paid.

For more information visit the npower Juice website.

EDF Energy

EDF Energy has a small scale domestic renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement that is available for EDF customers with renewable energy installations.

The agreement covers all types of renewable energy technology in residential situations with up to 10kW of installed load. There two available payment options are:

Option A (Generation Metered) - the current domestic rate is 10p per generated unit (kWh) for wind and solar technologies (no export meter needed).

Option B (Unmetered) - the current payment is £10 per kW of installed load per annum, which is not a good price.

Option C (Export Metered) - the current domestic export rate is 7.64p per unit exported (kWh) for wind and solar technologies (Export meter needed, approx. Cost £100).

Scottish and Southern Energy

Scottish and South Energy (SSE) will pay 28p per kWh for all exported power from your system and will install an import/export meter to monitor the power being exported. SSE will take care of all the paperwork required for Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) but they will also take the revenue generated by the ROC.

For smaller solar PV owners who use most of the power they generate within their property, this may not be the most appropriate scheme.

More details may be found on SSE's website.