This September: Get the highest yield from your energy as well as your crops

In farming, autumn is harvest time. In the energy world, it's something else: tender season.

Meaning, a period when a huge volume of energy contracts come up for renewal, and the UK market kicks into overdrive. Suppliers push hard to lock in new deals. Grid operators open flexibility tenders. It’s a short, intense window with big financial implications, especially if you have generation on site.

For farmers dealing in solar, wind, biomass or other renewables, timing your energy strategy now could pay out all winter. More than 50% of UK electricity came from local renewables in 2024, so there’s ROI in them there hills. And, as energy is something that can earn money when crop yields aren’t what you were hoping for, it could fill the gap left by a difficult — and drought-riddled — season.

As Grace Hughes, our Senior People Experience Product Developer who just so happens to have experience in this area, wisely puts it:

“One friend’s farm went big on solar. It’s not a side hustle anymore. It’s part of how they’re staying viable with all the pressures on traditional farming.”

Why this time of year matters

As we’ve said, autumn is when a large number of UK non-domestic energy contracts come up for renewal. That spike in activity is known across the industry as “tender season” (and at tem as “tender madness”, because suddenly our phones won’t stop ringing). You’ll typically see two periods in the year when this happens, the other being around April.

So, increasingly as the season progresses, suppliers, traders and aggregators will move to secure power from small and mid-scale generators.

Why? Because winter is coming and demand is about to rise. The temperatures drop, the days shorten, and energy use climbs. Suddenly, the power you're generating becomes more valuable.

Crop yield vs. energy yield: the same logic applies

When energy prices are volatile, it can be a bit of a toss-up between long-term deals that reduce risk or taking the gamble on a pricing peak. At this time of year, transacting entities flood the market with contract offers, some of which prioritise convenience over real value. That means you might be pressured to sign early without comparing routes to market, and end up locking your generation into a flat-rate PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) that under-delivers.

That’s like making a decision to sell straight off the combine vs. storing for a stronger market without checking market pricing (such as the AHDB’s reported trends in forward contracts). You just wouldn’t. You’d price the market, then make a choice to sell now or wait it out — so the same principles apply, here.

That said, what ARE the options?

When it comes to monetising your generation, there are a few traditional options:

• Merchant export: Selling into the wholesale market or via an aggregator. Higher upside if timed well, but less predictable.

• Flexibility contracts: Payments for providing availability and support to the grid. These are often stackable with export income.

• PPAs: Long-term fixed export prices. Low volatility, but may exclude you from participating in flexibility tenders.

In fact, we’ve already talked about PPAs and a few other options, here. But what if you want shorter or more flexible contracts, or even to wait it out, taking the risk to get the best possible yield? What are the pros and cons of that gamble, and what are the routes to market that allow you to do so?

Merchant exports - selling at the going rate

Put simply, merchant export means selling your electricity into the wholesale market at the going rate.

In energy, that price is set half-hourly through the UK electricity market. If you’re exporting during a price spike, you can do well. But during dips, your earnings fall, too. It’s unpredictable.

Some farms go this route through an aggregator, who bundles their power with other sites and trades it on their behalf. But even then, you’re still exposed to market swings and service fees.

Merchant export works best if:

• You can afford to watch the market

• You’ve got a battery to shift when you sell

• Or you’re comfortable with good months and bad months

If not? It’s a bit like betting on weather patterns, you might win big, or come away with less than you’d planned.

Flexibility tenders - grid boosting

Think of flexibility tenders like this: the electricity grid sometimes needs help, just like a neighbour who needs an extra hand during silage.

At certain times, your local electricity network (called a Distribution Network Operator, or DNO), like UK Power Networks, SP Energy Networks and Northern Powergrid, might have too much or too little power in a particular area. Instead of building new infrastructure, they ask local sites to help balance things out.

They’re short windows when the DNO puts out a call:

“We’ll pay you if you can either export electricity when we need it, or hold back (reduce export or use less) when there’s already too much on the grid.”

If your farm has solar panels, a generator, or even cold stores or irrigation that can shift timing slightly, you could qualify.

Participation thresholds are low (often just 10 kW), and tenders typically pay based on:

• Availability: for being ready to deliver

• Utilisation: for actually providing power or curbing export when called upon

Flexibility services delivered £300 million in savings to the UK system in 2024, according to the Energy Networks Association. A growing share of those services are coming from small-to-mid-scale generation, including farms.

One consideration is flexible tenders may not be compatible with your PPA. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. And, it’s difficult to predict the demand.

RED™ - the Goldilocks zone

RED™ is tem’s platform that brings your generation directly to UK businesses, skipping the wholesale market, middlemen, hidden markups, and complex routes entirely. It’s built on our unique, market-proven pricing engine. Here’s how that makes a difference:

1. Earn more straight away

   Generators on RED™ regularly earn at least 10% more per MWh compared to conventional routes like PPAs or export traders. Ask us about real-world cases across solar, AD, and biomass farms.

2. No long-term lock‑in

   Unlike PPAs that stretch over decades, RED™ contracts over a shorter period to suit your needs, so you can stay operationally nimble during volatile periods.

3. Transparent, hassle-free payments

   tem manages settlements, billing, and compliance so you remain focused on generation, not admin. You get paid on time and in full.

4. See your energy story come to life

   With the RED™ portal, farm generators gain a dashboard showing live output, earnings, and how much of your output is matched to UK businesses. You get insight and control without the guesswork.

5. A ready market of buyers

   Your power isn’t tied to a single buyer. RED™ distributes your generation across many UK businesses, led to stable returns and lower risk.

6. Exempt supply/P442 benefits

   Through the Exempt Supply scheme, now evolving into P442, we can help you earn even more per MWh, while the buyer saves on their bill, too.

Why this matters during tender season

Three facts ring clear during autumn’s energy rush:

• You don’t want to be backed into a flat, long-term contract when the market shifts.

• You don’t want to spend ages watching for market spikes either; you’ve got a lot on your plate already.

• Tenders are noisy, but you deserve a deal that works hard for you, not the other way around.

RED™ helps you hold your ground. It means you get better pricing, consistent payments, and market-aligned flexibility, all while avoiding the traps of a one-size-fits-all PPA, risky merchant price swings and unpredictable demand.

Plus, more than 300 UK generators are already on the platform, collectively putting £9 million extra into their pockets and simultaneously delivering over £16 million in savings to businesses using RED™. A win-win for everyone.

Highest yield doesn’t have to equal biggest risk. If you’re betting, bet on RED™.