The UK government has unveiled the Smart Export Guarantee, a replacement for the Feed-in Tariff.
The UK has seen a sharp drop in residential and commercial solar (PV) panel installations since the decision to scrap the Feed-In tariff (FiT). In order to revive the sector, the government has finalised a new, replacement scheme named the Small Export Guarantee.
This new legislation will allow homes and small businesses to receive payment for any small-scale renewable energy that is exported to the grid. Solar panels and wind turbines with a generation capacity of up to 5MW qualify for the scheme and the ‘feed-in’ would be tracked by a smart meter.
Energy suppliers with a customer base in excess of 150,000 are obligated to introduce the Smart Export Guarantee scheme by the 1st of January 2020.
Research undertaken by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows that the cost of solar panels around 50% cheaper than they were in 2011.
It is hoped this new scheme can help revive the UK’s small-scale renewable energy industry as the government looks to move to a smarter energy system, incorporating a range of renewable energy sources and technologies such as battery storage.
Energy and Clean Growth Minister, Chris Skidmore said: “The future of energy is local and the new smart export guarantee will ensure households that choose to become green energy generators will be guaranteed a payment for electricity supplied to the grid.”
Ofgem, the UK energy regulator will publish an annual report focusing on small-scale, grid feed-in generation which will be monitored by the government to ensure the relevant steps are being taken by energy suppliers.