How it works
No jargon, no smoke. Here's exactly how the clean power on your roof becomes money in your account — and why a business on the other side of the country is willing to pay for it.
The core idea
One carbon credit represents one tonne of greenhouse gas either kept out of the atmosphere or removed from it. It's a unit — like a kilowatt-hour or a kilogram — that can be bought, sold and counted.
When your solar runs, it displaces electricity that would otherwise have come partly from gas and other fossil sources. That's a real, measurable saving. Bundle enough of those savings together, verify them, and you have credits worth selling.
Worked example
a typical year from a 5 kWp home system
at an illustrative 10p per kWh of carbon value*
*Rates and prices vary. Larger systems and portfolios scale from here.
The journey, end to end
Most of this is on us. Your job is roughly two things: share your generation data, and collect the income.
We capture exactly how much clean electricity your system produces — through a small, non-invasive meter or by reading your existing monitoring. Accurate data is the foundation of every credit; nothing about your panels, inverter or tariff changes.
Each unit of generation is converted into tonnes of CO₂ avoided, using a recognised methodology and the carbon intensity of the grid it's displacing. This is the calculation that turns kilowatt-hours into a climate outcome.
An independent body checks the data and the method, so the resulting credits meet a recognised standard. Verification is what separates a credible credit from a vague claim — and it's why buyers will pay a fair price.
We match your verified credits with organisations that want to balance their footprint, negotiate the sale, and manage the contracts and registry transfers. Once a credit is used, it's retired so it can never be counted twice.
The income flows back to you on a regular schedule. You can follow it through a simple dashboard and withdraw when it suits. No lock-in — you're free to stop whenever you like.
Know the market
It's worth understanding the distinction, because it's where a lot of confusion lives.
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is a "cap and trade" system that legally obliges heavy industry, power generation and aviation to cover their emissions. It covers roughly a quarter of UK emissions and isn't designed for small-scale solar to sell into directly.
The voluntary carbon market is where businesses choose to buy credits — from renewable energy, tree-planting and other projects — to balance emissions they can't yet cut. This is the market CarboniQ sells your solar credits into.
In April 2025 the UK government launched plans to strengthen voluntary carbon and nature markets and raise their integrity, with the aim of making the UK a global hub for green finance. It set out principles for what a good credit looks like and how buyers should report their use.
For solar owners that's encouraging: clearer rules and more confidence tend to mean stronger, steadier demand for the high-quality, verified credits your generation produces.
The honest bit
We'd rather you understand the levers than be surprised by them. Four things shape what you earn.
Bigger systems, sunnier sites and more roofs all mean more clean power — and more credits.
The more fossil-heavy the electricity your solar replaces, the more carbon each kilowatt-hour avoids.
Credits verified to respected standards command more confidence — and tend to sell for more.
Carbon prices move with supply and demand. We work to sell your credits well, but no one can fix the price.
Because of those variables, every figure on this site is an illustration, not a promise. When you talk to us we'll build an estimate around your actual system — and we'll never overstate it.
Good questions
No. Your panels, inverter, battery and tariff all stay exactly as they are. We either read your existing generation data or fit a small, non-invasive meter — the energy you make is still yours to use, store or export as normal.
No — it's separate and additional. Export and feed-in tariffs pay you for electricity. Carbon income pays you for the emissions your generation avoids. They're two different things from the same panels, and earning one doesn't stop you earning the other.
On its own, a single rooftop is small — verifying and selling credits has costs that don't make sense one roof at a time. That's why we pool many systems together, so even a home-sized system can take part in a market that's usually built for large projects.
That's the whole point. We work to recognised carbon standards with independent verification, and credits are retired once used so the same saving is never sold twice. Credibility is what protects your income and the buyer's claim alike.
Our aim is to keep things flexible, with no heavy lock-in — you should be able to step away if your circumstances change. We'll always set out the terms in plain language before you commit to anything.
Income is paid on a regular cycle once your credits are sold, and you can track everything through a simple dashboard. The exact timing depends on verification and sale, which we'll walk you through up front.
Try the calculator for a quick illustration, or send us your details and we'll build a proper estimate around your system.