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Shell Energy has launched a solar and battery storage tariff, allowing customers to earn credits on excess electricity generated in the summer to reduce bills in winter.
The tariff, which Shell says is the first to offer these kind of credits, is being launched as a trial in partnership with Shell-owned Sonnen.
Customers with a sonnenBatterie and the Shell Energy Solar Storage tariff will be able to use power from their solar panels year round, reducing bills and reliance on the grid. Shell says customers can earn up to £150 in solar credits over the summer which can be applied to bills later in the year.
A typical home in the UK will use about 30 per cent of the electricity their solar panel system produces, but research by Sonnen found the combination of a solar PV and its battery will allow customers to cover around 75 per cent of their annual electricity usage.
Colin Crooks, chief executive of Shell Energy Retail, 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.”
Gavin Stokes, Sonnen country director UK and Ireland, said “The partnership between Sonnen and Shell Energy Retail comes at the perfect time as customers in the UK are recognising that renewable energy starts at home.
“The sonnenBatterie combined with the Solar Battery Tariff will allow customers to benefit from reduced electricity bills and become less reliant on the grid. Thousands of homes in Britain have been using solar panels for years but now they can reap the benefits in winter, which is a first in the UK.”
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