The UK government introduces the Small Export Guarantee (SEC). Credit: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash.

The UK government is set to introduce the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), a law that will enable homeowners and businesses with solar installations to earn money by exporting excess power to the grid.

The scheme will guarantee payment for small-scale electricity generators installing renewable generation forms such as solar, wind or others with a capacity up to 5MW. The amount will be based on each unit of electricity sold to the grid, which will be tracked through a smart meter.

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By bringing together existing technologies such as smart meters and battery storage, SEG aims to grow the small-scale renewables export market by supporting local generation.

UK Energy and Clean Growth Minister Chris Skidmore said: “The future of energy is local and the new SEG will ensure households that choose to become green energy generators will be guaranteed payment for electricity supplied to the grid.

“We want the energy market to innovate and it’s encouraging to see some suppliers already offering competitive export tariffs to reduce bills. We want more to follow suit, encouraging small-scale generation without adding to consumer bills, as we move towards a subsidy-free energy system and a net zero emissions economy.”

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy tweeted: “The SEG will ensure that homes and businesses installing solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy will be paid for each unit of electricity they sell to the grid tracked by their smart meter.”

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No fee will be included to consumer bills under SEG and energy suppliers with more than 150,000 customers will be legally obliged to introduce export tariffs by 1 January 2020.

“These smart export tariffs are game-changing when it comes to harnessing the power of citizens to tackle climate change.”

Companies such as Octopus and Bulb have already started offering new smart tariffs.

Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson said: “These smart export tariffs are game-changing when it comes to harnessing the power of citizens to tackle climate change.

“They mean homes and businesses can be paid for producing clean electricity just like traditional generators, replacing old dirty power stations and pumping more renewable energy into the grid.”

The government’s previous subsidy scheme saw installations of 850,000 small-scale renewable projects.