Irish homeowners with solar panels may be able earn €400 per year by selling excess electricity.

Homeowners who have solar panels in their house may be able to earn up to €400 a year by selling electricity back to the national grid.

Eco-friendly householders can already avail of a grant to install solar panels but any additional electricity they generate must be "spilled" back into the grid for free.

However, under a new Government initiative, householders could receive a "feed-in tariff" for their excess electricity.

The move would help Ireland reach a 2030 climate target of 70% electricity production from renewable resources, The Sunday Times reports.

According to industry experts, a rate of 19 cents a kilowatt-hour (kWh) paid in a now closed ESB scheme, could result in a payout of €400 a year.

A micro-generation scheme is expected to be launched before the end of the year and a permanent support scheme for photovoltaic (PV) power which would allow all homeowners who have solar panels to sell their excess electricity will be launched by 2021.

The Irish Farmer's Association is among the lobby groups who have backed the tariff and have called for it to be guaranteed for 20 years.