Get energised with Power NI

Whether your renewable technology is wind, hydro, landfill gas, anaerobic digestion or solar, we provide Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) which enable you to sell your energy back to us.

What can you sell to Power NI?

• Your exported energy - Electricity you generate but don't use, which is exported back to the grid.
• Your NIROCs - Certificates issued as government incentives to encourage renewable technologies.

Who can have a PPA with Power NI?

If you’re an individual or organisation installing renewable technologies such as wind, hydro, landfill gas, anaerobic digestion or solar you can enter into a PPA with Power NI.

You may be a developer planning to develop multiple projects over a number of sites or an individual with a generator on your property. You may even already have a generator installed and require terms for a PPA renewal. Whatever your requirements are we can tailor a PPA to suit your needs.

What are Renewable Energy Certificates?

Renewable certificates, namely NIROCs, are typical components of most, if not all PPAs.

Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation Certificates (NIROCs)

The NIRO is the legislation that underpins NIROCs. It places an obligation on electricity suppliers across the UK to provide a proportion of the electricity they supply to end customers from renewable sources. Evidence of compliance takes the form of presenting ROCs purchased from renewable generators.

To avail of NIROCs your generating station will need to have been accredited by Ofgem prior to 2018. Following accreditation NIROCs will be issued to renewable generators like you, for every MWh of electricity you generate on a monthly basis. The number of MWh you receive depends on the renewable technology you use and its size.  NIRO is now closed to new applications.

How do I get paid for my exported energy?

Wholesale electricity on the island of Ireland is governed by ISEM (Integrated Single Electricity Market). Payments to generators can reference either the Day Ahead Market or Balancing Market. Power NI can offer differing options to a generator depending on the technology installed and the requirements of the generator. Whichever reference price is applied, generators will receive payment on a monthly basis.

Realising the value of your ROCs

With NIROC bandings (differing technologies receiving multiple NIROCs per MWH generated), NIROCs can be the single most  important feature of your PPA. The price you receive for NIROCs and the timing of payments, depends on your choice of payment structure. The two main structures contained within PPAs are outlined below:

NIRC - Monthly Auction

Variable price depends on NIROCs value at action

• We can facilitate the sale of your NIROCs via a monthly, third party administrated auction. This can improve cash flow as the full value of your NIROCs are realised on a monthly basis.

Further details can be found here.

NIROC - Buyout & Recycle

Fixed price monthly (Buyout) and a variable price paid annually (Recycle)

• The 'Buyout' price is a price set by the government which applies for a given 'compliance period' (April-March). It is fixed for 12 months then indexed for subsequent years. This is the price (or penalty) electricity suppliers have to pay if they have insufficient ROCs to meet their Renewables Obligation.
• On a monthly basis your ROC payment would reference this price.
• The 'Recycle' price comes from the money collected from electricity suppliers by the government for 'Buyout' or penalty payments as mentioned above. This total pot of money (the buyout fund) is redistributed to suppliers who submit ROCs and then in turn to you as renewable generator whose ROCs have been submitted.

This payment is typically made annually in November/December for the previous Compliance Period.

Why Power NI?

It's simple, when you choose Power NI as your PPA partner, you benefit from the years of experience that the industry leader offers. Other companies may put forward similarly structured agreements but with Power NI you'll get the added benefit of PPA Online, alongside our trustworthiness, heritage and local expertise.

A track record you can trust

• We have experience with different types and sizes of renewable technologies (solar, wind, hydro, anaerobic digestion and landfill gas ranging from 2kWs to 30MWs).
• We are the most popular energy partner in Northern Ireland.

Flexible contracts to suit you

• Framework agreements, if you have a pipeline of projects.
• Efficient payments through a streamlined process considered 'Best in Class'
• No need for you to spend time on invoicing for export or ROCs with our efficient self-billing process.

Exclusive extra - PPA Online

• This exclusive extra is a fantastic added benefit for our PPA business partners. It helps you analyse performance in greater detail than ever before and endorse the business case for your renewable generator.
• With PPA Online you can analyse your export data carefully with varying granularity from annual totals down to specific individual half-hours. You can compare export levels to last year, view your carbon saving or compare your performance to other similar sized Power NI partners. You can also export all your data to Excel, helping your own business analysis and reporting.
• Already have PPA Online? Click here to log in.

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