Is there still a Government Rebate?

Solar rebates for homeowners

The solar rebate refers to the Federal Government’s Small Technology Certificates scheme that comes under the Renewable Energy Target legislation. This is known in the industry as an STC’s.

Put simply, it is a point of sale discount.

The bigger the solar system you install, the bigger the rebate you receive.

Companies generally advertise the price of a solar system after the solar rebate amount has been taken off the price.

So a $4,000 solar system is generally your out of pocket payment. The solar installer claims the solar rebate and is paid directly for it.

The amount of the solar rebate is calculated based on:

• The size of the solar system in kW
• The geographical location in Australia

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) uses a simple formula to work out how many STC’s your system is eligible for.

They have divided Australia into four zones. A 5kW system in Zone 1 will get more STC’s than a 5kW system in Zone 4.

Each STC can be worth up to $39 and is usually handled by the solar installer.

Below is a table showing how big the solar rebate is based on a 6.6kW system and an STC price of $33.

Zone	#STCs	$/STC	Total
1	85	$39	$3.315
2	81	$39	$3.159
3	72	$39	$2.808
4	62	$39	$2.418

Updated August 2023

Here are the main criteria to be eligible for an STC rebate:

• System size must be less than 100kW (that’s a very big solar system)
• The solar panels and inverter must be accredited by the Clean Energy Council
• The installer must be accredited by the Clean Energy Council
• The STC rebate is being slowly phased out and will end in 2030

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Solar for businesses

Businesses are eligible for the same STC rebate as households.

Given the system size is larger, the rebate is also larger for a business.

Many businesses go for the maximum rebate which is installing a 100kW solar system.

Below is a table showing how big the solar rebate is based on a 100kW system and an STC price of $33.

Zone	#STCs	$/STC	Total
1	1297	$39	$50,583
2	1228	$39	$47,892
3	1105	$39	$43,095
4	948	$39	$36,972

Updated August 2023

Solar Feed-in Tariff

A solar feed-in tariff is the amount the energy retailer pays you for electricity that you export into the grid.

They were first introduced in 2008 in South Australia and are now available all over the country.

Now that Australia has 2 million homes with solar, many energy retailers will offer high feed-in rates to attract and keep customers so it’s worth shopping around for the best deal.