Over recent years, solar feed-in tariffs have been falling, leaving many solar panel owners feeling that they might be stuck in a no win situation. But the peer to peer electricity market has created a pricing alternative that offers a better deal than either solar feed-in tariffs or wholesale prices. It puts price control directly into the hands of individuals, creating a fair and transparent pricing mechanism where all parties can benefit.

Imagine if you could make a deal with your neighbour to sell your extra solar electricity to them at 17c/kWh (for example). They would be paying a price that’s well under the average retail rate, and you would be receiving a price that is much higher than most of the available feed-in tariffs.

This sort of arrangement is now possible through the Localvolts marketplace. At the time of writing, the peer to peer Localvolts market is open in QLD, NSW, SA, Tas and ACT, and will soon be open in Victoria. That means you can buy and sell directly to almost anyone in Australia.

How Does Peer to Peer Replace Feed-in Tariffs?

As you probably already know, a feed-in tariff (FIT) is a payment you receive when your solar panels send electricity back into the grid. The level of the payment you receive varies based on your retailer and the State you live in, but generally it’s somewhere between 5 and 10c/kWh. This can be quite a frustrating situation for a solar panel owner, especially if you are generating a significant amount of excess electricity.

The peer to peer market offers a way around this traditional retailer/consumer relationship by allowing consumers and producers to connect and trade directly with each other.

You sell your excess solar energy in a few different ways

Deal with someone you know.

Like the example above where you sell your extra energy to your neighbour, the peer to peer market allows you to make a deal with a specific person. You can then set it up in the market by finding each other on the Localvolts app.

Let the app find you the best prices

Default settings in the Localvolts app will automatically find the best prices available for all the energy that you need to buy and sell.

Experiment by defining different buy and sell limits

For more ambitious market participants, there are controls available that allow you to choose where you buy your energy from and at what price. On the other side, you can also set the prices that you are willing to accept for the energy that you are selling. You can even define different price breaks for portions of your excess energy to help you to try to find the best rates possible.

The win-win in peer to peer

Peer to peer makes it possible for participants to find a price that is fair for both the buyer and the seller. You might prefer to create personal arrangements with your friends, simply let the app find you the best price, or take control of all your trades using the Localvolts app’s advanced features, or all of the above.

Whatever you choose to do, the Localvolts peer to peer market gives you the control to create your own energy policy.