Ireland does not have a fixed government feed-in tariff. What people call the "feed-in tariff" here is the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG) — and each electricity supplier sets its own rate, currently from 15.89c/kWh up to 25c/kWh for the best standard offer. If you have solar panels and a smart meter, your supplier pays you for every unit of surplus electricity you send to the grid, with the first €400 a year tax-free. There is no single national rate to look up, which is exactly why the supplier you choose matters: on a typical home the gap between the lowest and highest rate is well over €100 a year.
- There is no fixed state feed-in tariff. The mechanism is the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG), introduced when the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) was written into Irish law on 15 February 2022.
- Suppliers set their own rates on a competitive basis — the regulator (CRU) does not set a minimum price.
- Best standard rate: Pinergy at 25c/kWh, open to any solar home regardless of installer.
- Highest rate overall: SSE Airtricity's Activ8 partner tariff at 32c/kWh in Year 1, but only via an approved installer.
- You need: an SEAI-grade install, an NC6 connection form lodged by your installer, and a smart meter for full metered payment.
- Tax: the first €400/year of export income is exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI until 31 December 2028.
Does Ireland Have a Feed-In Tariff?
Not in the way the term is usually meant. A classic feed-in tariff is a fixed, government-set price per unit that every household is paid for exported electricity, guaranteed for a set number of years. Ireland never rolled one of those out for domestic solar. Instead, the support for home microgeneration is the Clean Export Guarantee, and the price is left to the market — each supplier publishes its own CEG rate and can change it with notice.
The phrase "feed-in tariff" stuck anyway, because it describes what happens in plain terms: you feed surplus electricity into the grid, and you get a tariff for it. So when an Irish supplier or comparison site talks about a "solar feed-in tariff" or "export tariff", they almost always mean their Clean Export Guarantee rate. For the full background on how the scheme works, see our guide to microgeneration in Ireland.
How the Clean Export Guarantee Works
The CEG became available when Article 21 of the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) was transposed into Irish law on 15 February 2022, following the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) interim framework decision in December 2021. Three points define how it works:
- Every licensed supplier must offer a rate. Electric Ireland, SSE Airtricity, Bord Gáis Energy, Energia, Flogas, Pinergy, Yuno Energy and the rest are all required to have a CEG tariff in place.
- The rate is not regulated. The CRU decided suppliers would set their CEG tariffs "on a competitive market basis" — so there is no floor price and rates differ widely.
- Your export supplier is your choice. The supplier paying your CEG does not have to be tied to your gas or broadband, and in practice you can switch to a better-paying export supplier on its own.
Feed-In Tariff Rates by Supplier — June 2026
These are the current standard Clean Export Guarantee rates, checked against supplier pages in June 2026. Because suppliers reprice with notice, always confirm on the supplier's own page before switching — no aggregator is more current than the source.
| Supplier | Rate (c/kWh) | Payment frequency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSE Airtricity — Activ8 premium | 32.0c (Yr 1) / 27.0c (Yr 2+) | Quarterly | Only via an approved Activ8 partner installer; not on the standard tariff. |
| Pinergy | 25.0c | Monthly | Best standard rate, open to all, no lock-in. |
| Electric Ireland | 19.5c | Per billing cycle | Largest supplier by customer base. |
| SSE Airtricity (standard) | 19.5c | Quarterly | Standard tariff for non-Activ8 installs. |
| Bord Gáis Energy | 18.5c | Quarterly (smart) / 6-monthly (deemed) | Dual-fuel option. |
| Energia | 18.5c | Bi-monthly | Paid as bill credit. |
| Flogas | 18.5c (ex VAT) | Bi-monthly | Clean Export Premium tariff; 20c inc VAT. |
| Yuno Energy / Prepay Power | 15.89c | Twice yearly | Lowest standard rates; Yuno offers a restricted 29c via PV Generation installs. |
Rates verified against supplier pages (pinergy.ie, electricireland.ie, sseairtricity.com, bordgaisenergy.ie, energia.ie, flogas.ie) and the live CEG rate tracker in June 2026. Subject to change with notice.
How Much Does the Feed-In Tariff Pay?
A typical 4 kWp system on a south-facing Irish roof generates roughly 2,800–3,500 kWh a year. If your household uses about half of that directly, you export the rest — around 1,400 kWh on average. At that export level:
- At Pinergy's 25c/kWh: about €350 a year.
- At Electric Ireland or SSE standard (19.5c): about €273 a year.
- At the lowest standard rate (15.89c): about €222 a year.
So the rate you are on is worth roughly €128 a year between the cheapest and best standard offers — and over a ten-year horizon that is more than €1,200. But export income is only part of the picture. The bigger saving is the electricity you use directly instead of buying it at 28–35c/kWh. That is why pairing solar with a battery or shifting heavy use (EV charging, hot water) into daylight hours usually beats chasing the top export rate alone.
What You Need to Get Paid
- An eligible install. Use an SEAI-registered installer so the system qualifies for both the grant and the export scheme.
- An NC6 connection form. Your installer lodges this with ESB Networks after the install — it registers your microgeneration and is what makes CEG payment possible. See our NC6 form guide.
- A smart meter. Full metered payment is based on actual export reads. ESB Networks arranges a smart meter if you do not already have one; without one, payment is based on a "deemed" estimate that usually undercounts what you generate. More in our smart meter and solar export guide.
- Registration with a supplier. Once the NC6 is processed, you tell your chosen electricity supplier to start your CEG payments — it does not happen automatically.
Is the Feed-In Tariff Taxable?
Mostly no. The first €400 per year of income from selling surplus electricity to the grid is exempt from income tax, USC and PRSI. The exemption started at €200 in 2022, was raised to €400 under Finance Act 2023, and extended to 31 December 2028 under Finance Act 2025 — see Revenue.ie for current guidance. Most homes with a 4 kWp system export under the €400 ceiling, so they owe nothing and have nothing to declare. If your exports do exceed €400 in a year — more likely with a large system or very low daytime use — only the excess is taxable, declared as miscellaneous income. The full detail is in our guide to tax on solar export income in Ireland.
Every installer in the Solar Quotes Ireland network is SEAI-registered, so your system qualifies for the grant and the Clean Export Guarantee. One short form, up to four quotes for your county, no fee to you.
Get free quotes →Frequently Asked Questions
Ireland does not have a single fixed government feed-in tariff. Instead it has the Clean Export Guarantee (CEG), introduced on 15 February 2022, under which every licensed electricity supplier must pay you for surplus solar electricity exported to the grid. Each supplier sets its own rate, currently from 15.89c/kWh up to 25c/kWh for the best standard offer, so the "feed-in tariff" you get depends on which supplier you are with.
The highest standard rate available to any solar home is Pinergy at 25c/kWh, paid monthly with no lock-in contract. SSE Airtricity pays a higher 32c/kWh in Year 1 (27c from Year 2), but only to homeowners who install through an approved Activ8 partner installer. Electric Ireland and SSE Airtricity's standard tariff both pay 19.5c/kWh, while Yuno Energy and Prepay Power sit at the bottom on 15.89c/kWh. Rates are checked as of June 2026 and can change with notice.
A typical 4 kWp home system exports around 1,400 kWh a year, which earns roughly €222 at the lowest rate (15.89c), about €273 at 19.5c, and about €350 at Pinergy's 25c. The first €400 of this income each year is tax-free until the end of 2028. Most households stay under that threshold and pay no tax on their export income at all.
Yes, in everyday use. Ireland does not have a separate fixed feed-in tariff, so when people say "solar feed-in tariff" or "export tariff" they are referring to the Clean Export Guarantee — the payment each supplier makes for surplus electricity exported to the grid. The Clean Export Premium (CEP), a true fixed feed-in tariff, was only ever planned for larger non-domestic systems and is not used for homes.
You need a smart meter to be paid on your actual export. Without one, you can still receive a "deemed" payment based on a standardised estimate, but that estimate usually undercounts what you really export, so you earn less. ESB Networks arranges a smart meter once your installer lodges the NC6 connection form. After that, you register with your supplier to start the payments.
Published: 23 June 2026. Author: Neil Russell. The Clean Export Guarantee's legal basis (transposition of RED II Article 21 on 15 February 2022, CRU interim framework December 2021, suppliers set rates on a competitive basis) is confirmed via gov.ie and the CRU. Supplier rates fact-checked against supplier live pages in June 2026. The €400 tax exemption (raised from €200 to €400 under Finance Act 2023 and extended to 31 December 2028 under Finance Act 2025) is confirmed via Revenue.ie. Rates can change; verify with your supplier before switching.