So, your wind turbine or solar PV panels have finally been installed. The wind is blowing and the sun is shining. You’re getting Feed-in Tariff payments for the energy you’re generating ... but are you getting paid for the excess electricity you are exporting?

Arranging export agreements can be a very confusing process, especially for installations with a capacity between 30 kilowatts (kW) and 50 kW. This is because installations of this size fall between the two extremes of large projects, which seem to be a more interesting proposition to electricity companies, and sub 30 kW projects, where the export is estimated rather than measured.

There are two issues that you need to sort out if you want to get paid for exporting electricity – metering and a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Power Purchase Agreements

Selling your electricity to an energy supplier requires a PPA with a supplier. Without one, your excess electricity is just being fed into the grid for free! Also, there is no certain advantage to using your current supplier for your PPA – indeed, you are more likely to get higher payments if you shop around.

Metering

Any project over 30 kW in size also needs a meter which is separate from your import meter. This measures how much electricity you are exporting – and it must be a half-hourly (HH) meter.

Getting a HH export meter involves setting up a metering contract which is commonly known as a “MOP”. These “MOPs” are typically a five-year contract costing between £200 and £500 per year. If your current import contract is not already HH metered, you must ensure that you set up a HH export / non-HH import metering arrangement when arranging your MOP. Without this, your current import contract may be cancelled, and you could end up on a more complicated half-hourly supply contract and tariff.

As you can see, this is a complex area with a number of potential pitfalls; and this is where Farm Energy Centre can help, by providing independent advice and consultancy services. In fact, our services cover all aspects of energy use. We have years of experience in helping farmers deal with supply and distribution companies, and we can help you get the most from your renewable energy installation.

Call us for a chat on 024 7669 6512 to find out more!