Shell Energy Retail has launched the first solar-storage tariff in the UK, aimed at residential energy consumers.
The tariff is being launched as a trial in partnership with Shell-owned smart storage systems supplier Sonnen.
Customers with solar panels, a SonnenBatterie system and the Shell Energy Solar Storage tariff can rely on self-generated power from their solar panels all year round, reducing energy bills and reliance on the electricity grid.
The tariff will earn customers up to £150 in solar credits over summer, that will be applied to their electricity bills in the winter months.
In summer months, when rooftop solar panels generate more electricity than households can use, or store in their batteries, the surplus electricity is fed back into the grid, earning the customers Shell Energy’s exclusive solar credits.
A typical home in the UK will use about 30% of the electricity their solar panel system produces.
Sonnen’s research has shown that the combination of a solar PV system and a SonnenBatterie will allow consumers to typically cover about 75% of their annual electricity usage with self-produced and clean energy.
Adding the Shell Energy Solar Storage tariff increases this even further.
Shell Energy Retail CEO Colin Crooks said: “Home battery technology and smart tariffs could play a key role in helping UK homes become net-zero by enabling them to consume more of their self-produced energy and balancing out seasonal variations in solar power generation.
“The benefit of a solar panel on your home’s roof increases when you add a home battery, and again when you add a smart tariff like this. It ensures no electricity is wasted and the owner of the solar panel gets the maximum benefit.
“In effect customers will be loaning out excess electricity in the summer and claiming it back, through bill credits, when they need it in the winter.”
The tariff was developed in consultation with UK customers who have installed, or are planning to install solar panels.