Renewable Energy · Basic level · 3 min read ·
What is self-generation, and what is an AGPE?
Self-generating means producing your own electricity instead of buying all of it from the grid. An AGPE, or small-scale self-generator, is the CREG category for systems of up to 1 MW: they use what they produce and can deliver what they don't use to the grid, which is known as surplus energy.
In 30 seconds
- AGPE is the CREG category for self-generating with systems of up to 1 MW.
- What you produce and don't use goes to the grid as surplus.
- System size sets the rules: up to 100 kW the treatment is the simplest.
Full guide
Solar surplus energy: how it is settled in Colombia
What happens to the solar energy you produce and don't use. CREG's three regimes, what the PDE and the AGPE limit are, and which one applies to you.
Read the guideWhy should you care?
If you are considering panels for your home or business, being an AGPE is what lets you connect to the grid and make use of your surplus.
- You know which process applies to you before installing anything.
- You understand what happens to the energy you produce and don't get to use.
- You can size your system knowing which tier of rules it falls into.
Think of it as a home garden
With a home garden you eat what you grow and buy the rest at the store. If one month you harvest more than you eat, you hand over what's left. An AGPE does the same with electricity: it uses what it produces, takes what it lacks from the grid and delivers what it doesn't need.
How does an AGPE work?
- 1
You produce your energy
Panels generate electricity during the day and your home or business uses it first.
- 2
The grid covers the gap
At night, or when you use more than you produce, the grid supplies the difference.
- 3
You deliver the surplus
When you produce more than you use, the surplus flows to the grid and a bidirectional meter records it.
- 4
It settles by size
The energy retailer settles your surplus under the rules for your installed capacity.
The formula
Surplus = Energy produced − Energy used at the same moment
- Energy produced
- = what your panels generate
- Energy used
- = what your home or business consumes while they generate
An example with numbers
A business installs a 40 kWp solar system on its roof.
| Installed capacity | 40 kWp |
|---|---|
| AGPE limit | 1 MW (1,000 kW) |
| Below 100 kW? | Yes |
| Treatment of its surplus | The simplest |
At 40 kWp, this business is an AGPE and sits in the simplest tier of rules. The limits are measured on the system's nominal capacity, which for solar is usually the inverter's.
Where do you see it at Circular Urban?
Circular Urban's solar projects connect to the grid under the self-generation categories CREG defines. Each project sheet shows its installed capacity, which is what decides the category it falls into.
- Each solar project's technical sheet, under installed capacity.
- The surplus energy guide, with CREG's three regimes.
What changes in your finances once you get it
You decide with clear rules
You know which tier your system falls into before asking for a quote.
You make use of your roof
You understand how the energy you don't use can offset what you take from the grid.
You read your bill differently
You can tell which part comes from the grid and which part you produce.
Common mistakes
- Myth
Solar panels disconnect you from the grid.
- In reality
An AGPE stays connected: it takes energy from the grid when needed and delivers its surplus.
- Myth
All the energy you produce stays in your home.
- In reality
What you don't use at that moment flows to the grid as surplus and is recorded by a bidirectional meter.
- Myth
Every AGPE follows the same rules.
- In reality
Up to 100 kW the treatment is the simplest. Above that, settlement conditions change.
Test yourself
A 600 kW system wants to connect as a self-generator. Can it be an AGPE?
Keep learning
Helps to know first
This content is educational. Every participation carries risks inherent to the project, including the possibility of partial or total loss, and results are subject to each project's actual performance.
