Can your business get paid under the Smart Export Guarantee?

A business in Great Britain can apply for SEG payments for eligible renewable electricity exported to the grid. Ofgem sets a solar installation capacity ceiling of 5 MW, but suppliers set their own payment terms [S1]. Verify the certification, meter and contract before including export income in a proposal. SEG pays for exports, rather than installation. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

Can a business use the Smart Export Guarantee?

The Smart Export Guarantee, or SEG, pays eligible generators for electricity exported from their installation. Ofgem lists solar photovoltaic panels among the eligible technologies and places the scheme in Great Britain. For solar, total installed capacity must not exceed 5 megawatts, equivalent to 5,000 kilowatts [S1].

Kilowatts, or kW, measure power; kilowatt-hours, or kWh, measure energy generated, used or exported. Your solar installation’s power rating and the energy it exports are different inputs. A large annual generation estimate does not show how much electricity will be left after your own site uses it.

Start your business case with the electricity consumed on site, then separately estimate the residual export. Read commercial solar costs alongside solar payback. Do not apply an export price to every generated unit while also counting all that generation as avoided electricity purchases.

How does SEG work, and how much could your site receive?

Ofgem says suppliers determine contract length and payment terms. A SEG tariff must remain above zero; there is no scheme-wide price that you can assume for your site [S1]. Treat a proposed price as a contract input, with an effective date and eligibility conditions attached.

For illustration, assume exported energy and an export price as follows. These are invented calculation inputs, not market rates, predicted yields or offers. The calculation is exported kWh × pounds per kWh.

For example, 10,000 × £0.05 = £500 a year before any associated charges or tax. The table deliberately keeps generation, export volume and price separate. Replace both assumptions with your modelled exports and an accepted offer before using the figure in a budget.

Keep a lower-export case for a year when your site uses more electricity during solar hours. Lower exports need not mean a worse overall result: they may reflect more useful consumption on site. Recalculate avoided imports alongside the export income so the comparison covers the entire energy balance.

How do you apply for SEG payments?

Ofgem’s guidance requires suitable certification, export metering and an export meter point administration number, commonly called an export MPAN. For solar installations up to 50 kW, certification covers both the installation and installer; MCS or an equivalent recognised scheme is relevant [S2]. MCS means Microgeneration Certification Scheme. Ask the proposed licensee which evidence it will accept for your installation size.

Prepare an application folder rather than relying on an installer’s verbal statement that export is included. Request the following from the parties handling your project:

• Installation certification and the equipment schedule.
• The network connection paperwork and any accepted export restriction.
• Export meter details and the export MPAN.
• A dated starting reading and the proposed payment start date.
• The export contract in the name of the party entitled to receive payment.

This is a practical document request, not a promise that the same application form applies everywhere. Put responsibility for obtaining missing documents into the project handover list. Give someone at your site access to the records so that future equipment changes do not depend on locating the original salesperson.

How should you compare business SEG rates?

Ask for written terms using the same site details for every enquiry. Separate the price from the conditions needed to obtain it. Record the capacity accepted, certification required, payment frequency, contract term, notice arrangements and treatment of later equipment changes.

Use a comparison with these columns:

Avoid choosing from a headline rate alone. If your site has other contractual commitments, ask your solicitor to review whether the proposed export arrangement conflicts with them. This is general information, not a recommendation to enter a particular electricity or funding contract.

Should you export solar electricity or use it for EV charging?

Compare the value of the actual alternatives using the same energy boundary. In an illustration, assume an otherwise exported 1,000 kWh would receive £0.05/kWh, while direct use would avoid an import cost of £0.20/kWh. Export gives £50; avoided imports give £200. The illustrative difference is £150 before additional equipment, losses or operating costs. Neither assumed price is a current offer.

Storage adds another decision. Request a model of usable energy after losses and the value forgone by not exporting it. Do not assign the same electricity to battery charging, vehicle charging and export income. See solar, batteries and EV charging together.

For fully funded equipment, ask who owns the export rights. For part funded and self funded equipment, confirm how those rights and payments enter the host’s accounts. Have your accountant check the proposed treatment. Do not assume the landowner receives exports when someone else owns or operates the generating equipment.

If your site already receives Feed-in Tariff payments, distinguish generation income from export income. Ofgem says you cannot claim FIT export payments and SEG for the same electricity [S3]. Keep the existing payment statements with your application records and check the effect of changing export arrangements.

What should you do next?

Bring your consumption profile, generation estimate and existing export paperwork, then get matched with an installer that covers your area. Ask for separate on-site-use and export calculations before choosing a system.

Piggy Pineapple Ltd operates this advice and referral service. We refer enquiries to installer partners and may be paid a referral fee. Before passing on details, we name the proposed partner and disclose any shareholding the owner holds in it. Read how we work.