Can NI Farms Get Paid for Solar Export? A 2026 Guide

“Can farms in NI get paid for generating renewable electricity?” is one of the questions Northern Ireland farmers ask us most, and the short answer is yes — for the share they export. The longer answer matters more for the business case, because how much you are paid per exported kWh, how much your connection lets you export, and what the farm pays for the electricity it imports together decide whether an array should be sized for export at all. This guide was checked against the supplier, regulator and network pages on 3 November 2026.

How export is paid in Northern Ireland

Not through SEG. Ofgem’s Smart Export Guarantee says “Installations must be located in Great Britain”, so it does not reach Northern Ireland, where the Utility Regulator, not Ofgem, regulates the electricity market.

Through a supplier tariff. Each supplier sets its own microgeneration export rate. Power NI’s is 11.88p per kWh for 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027, and it reviews the rate every year. We have not confirmed other suppliers’ current rates, so ask yours what it pays and how often it changes.

On metered export. Since 1 October 2022, following a Utility Regulator decision, micro-generators have been paid on actual meter readings rather than an assumed (deemed) 45% of generation. What the export meter records is what you are paid for.

No ROCs for new arrays. The Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation closed to all remaining technologies, solar included, on 31 March 2017. Accredited generators keep their certificates to 2037 at the latest, but a new farm array cannot join.

Is a new support scheme coming?

The Department for the Economy introduced the Renewable Electricity Generation Bill on 30 June 2026. It sets up a framework for future renewable electricity auctions, has no small-scale element and no auction date, and is planned, not in law. Do not count on it for a farm roof.

Used versus exported: which kWh is worth more?

Compare two numbers from your own paperwork: the unit rate on your electricity bill and the export rate your supplier pays. Every kWh the farm uses at the moment the panels generate it saves the full unit rate; every kWh exported earns the export rate. On most farms the unit rate is the higher number, which is why an array sized to the farm’s daytime load usually pays back faster than one sized to fill the roof. We make no general claim about Northern Ireland prices against Great Britain’s: use your own bill.

How your connection limits export

NIE Networks is Northern Ireland’s only distribution network operator, and it uses its own connection routes:

• G98/NI covers up to 3.68 kW single-phase or 11.04 kW three-phase. The installer sends the commissioning form within 30 days; several systems on one site need a network study first.
• G99/NI Fast Track (from 1 May 2026) covers installations up to 60 A per phase, but export is capped at 16 A per phase using export limitation, and NIE must approve the application before installation. It suits a farm that will use most of its output.
• Full G99/NI applies above that: 90 days to accept an offer, planning evidence within 120 days, and a 24-month longstop.

Export headroom varies by substation. NIE Networks upgraded its capacity map on 9 March 2026, and at Limavady Main export applications have been accepted only from 15 September 2026 under temporary rules. Across the system, wind and solar output was dispatched down by 22% in 2025 (Department for the Economy) — a grid-scale figure, but another reason to design for self-use. More detail is on our Northern Ireland farm solar page.

Rates

Generating plant up to 50 kW is not rateable in Northern Ireland (Rates (Microgeneration) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012); above 50 kW it is, with mainly self-consumed plant valued alongside the host property. The 2026 revaluation was halted in January 2026, so there are no new values to quote.

Is there a grant?

Not one that is open. Power NI’s NISEP-funded grant for business solar PV paid 20% of the cost, capped at £30,000, but its 2026/27 round has closed for applications, and Power NI expects the next to open in April 2027, subject to funding approval. DAERA’s Sustainable Farming Investment Scheme round 1 had no rooftop solar on its item list. The detail, and how to be ready for the next round, is on our Northern Ireland farm solar grants page. Capital allowances apply UK-wide: see capital allowances on farm solar.

Planning in brief

Planning policy for renewables in Northern Ireland now sits in the Department for Infrastructure’s Strategic Planning Policy Statement, Edition 2 (published 11 December 2025). For rooftop panels on a farm building, Part 37 of the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 applies: it sets no kW figure of its own, but the Order covers microgeneration, defined in article 2 as plant up to 50 kW electrical, so treat a larger roof array as needing permission and confirm with your council.

Sizing from your own data

Ask your supplier or meter operator for twelve months of half-hourly consumption data. Look at the daytime floor of the load through the year — milking, milk cooling and water heating on a dairy unit; ventilation, lighting and heating controls in poultry and pig houses; drying and storage in a grain store — and size the array so most of its output is used at that floor. A system sized this way exports less, earns less at the export tariff and saves more at the import price. On a 30° south-facing roof near Armagh, PVGIS models about 895 kWh per kWp a year, 114 in June and 22 in December.

Questions

Do I need MCS certification to be paid for export in Northern Ireland? Each supplier sets its own conditions; ask yours before you install.

Does the export tariff change? Power NI’s rate is set for 1 October to 30 September and reviewed each year.

Can I be paid for export under the fast track? Yes, up to the 16 A per phase export cap that comes with it.

Sources

• Power NI — microgeneration tariff rates (11.88p/kWh, 1 Oct 2026–30 Sep 2027) and business solar PV grant page (2026/27 round closed), read 3 November 2026.
• Ofgem — Smart Export Guarantee. Utility Regulator — decision on generation and export by micro-generators (31 May 2022).
• Department for the Economy — NI Renewables Obligation; Renewable Electricity Generation Bill (30 June 2026); Energy in Northern Ireland 2026.
• NIE Networks — G98/NI limits, G99/NI and the fast track, capacity map (9 March 2026).
• Department of Finance — renewable energy valuation practice notes; Reval 2026 halted. Department for Infrastructure — SPPS Edition 2 (11 December 2025). legislation.gov.uk — SR 2015/70.
• PVGIS v5.3 (European Commission JRC).