MASH-wide news Archives - Page 16 of 53

September Rebates to Triple

Maree Edwards, State Member for Bendigo West and Jacinta Allan, State Member for Bendigo East met with local solar industry representatives who were calling for the rebate cap to be lifted.

The number of solar panels rebates available to Victorian households is set to triple in September thanks to intense lobbying to the state government.

Meeting with local members, 23 August

Solar representatives from Mount Alexander Shire and Bendigo met on Friday 23 August with Jacinta Allan, member for Bendigo East and Maree Edwards, member for Bendigo West calling for the rebate cap to be lifted.

Rebate cap lifted, 28 August.

On 28 August, the Victorian government announced that the Solar Homes program will release 6,500 rebates on Monday 2 September and a further 3,250 rebates two weeks later. This will bring to a total of 9,750 rebates for the full month. In all, 23,000 further rebates will be released this financial year bringing the total number of solar panels rebates to 63,416.

A great result for solar customers

“We reckon our message was heard,” said Jo Kaptein, organiser of the MASH community solar bulk-buy. “Jacinta Allan and Maree Edwards gave us a good hearing and clearly our message got back to the powers that be. Of course we were just one of many groups calling for urgent change. This amazing result is testament to the hard work of lots of people and a great example of democracy in action.”

In August, 3767 rebates were released on the first of the month. These were all gone within 90 minutes.

Vic government has listened and acted

“The rebate was putting an artificial cap on the industry, threatening jobs and frustrating customers,” said Luke Shavak from the Smart Energy Council. “The last few months have been very stressful for many in the solar industry. We are happy that the state government has listened and acted.”

MASH solar installer, Luke Walford from Macedon Ranges Solar Power agrees. “The rebate cap was too low. Demand for the rebates is huge. And no wonder. Up to $2225 off the cost of your solar power system, plus an interest-free loan for the same amount. It’s a great offer. We talked to Mary-Anne Thomas, the State Member for Macedon and she was very supportive. Now the cap is lifted, we can get on with the job of installing systems. It’s a huge relief.”

Rebates will be released twice a month

Going forward, rebates will be released twice a month – rather than monthly.

6500 rebates in October & November

In October and November, 6,500 rebates will be released. After that, the allocations will drop to an average of 5,000 a month through to June 2020.

Possible to apply manually too

A number of rebates will be set aside for manual applications for those people who do not wish to apply online.

“The rebate is super popular,” said Jo Kaptein. “It brings solar within the financial reach of lots more people. Now that the cap has been lifted, solar installations are going to soar!”

For more information about the MASH community solar bulk-buy visit mash.org.au or call 1300 466 274. To learn more about the solar panels rebate go to solar.vic.gov.au

Lobbying by Mallee Sun Solar Bulk Buy and solar industry pays off

Maree Edwards, State Member for Bendigo West and Jacinta Allan, State Member for Bendigo East met with solar industry representatives on 23 August – including organiser of the Mallee Sun Solar Bulk Buy, Jo Kaptein – who called on the government to lift the rebate cap.

Intense lobbying by the Mallee Sun Solar Bulk Buy team, as well as most of the solar industry has paid off!

The state government announced today, 28 August 2019, that the number of solar panels rebates will be massively increased starting 2 September 2019.

Rebates tripled in September

For September, the program will release 6,500 rebates on September 2 (next Monday) and a further 3,250 rebates two weeks later, for a total of 9,750 rebates across the month.

A total of 23,000 additional rebates will be made this financial year, on top of the 40,000 rebates already committed.

The value of the rebate is unchanged at $2225 or 50% of the price of a solar power system – whichever is lowest.

This is a fabulous result for solar customers and the solar industry as a whole,” said Jo Kaptein, organiser of the Mallee Sun Solar Bulk Buy. “It means that we can get on with the job of helping people get solar on their homes, without the drama of wondering whether or not they’ll be successful in the rebate lottery.

Overhaul of Vic Solar Rebate Urgently Needed

The MASH community solar bulk-buy team was all ready to go on 1 August, at 9am prompt, at four locations including Castlemaine and New Gisborne to help bulk-buy participants submit their application for the state government’s $2225 solar rebate.

Some of our bulk-buy participants on 1 August keen to apply for the rebate

What happened that morning….

We’d done the homework, watched the webinars, spoken at length to Solar Vic and prepped the customers so they knew what documents to bring. We thought we were just about as prepared as was possible.

At 9am, bulk-buy participants started receiving emails with their link to the portal. We had ten people and ten laptops on hand to help them navigate through the Solar Vic portal and get their rebate allocation before the monthly cap of 3,767 rebates ran out.

We thought we had all bases covered. But that wasn’t the case.

Rebate Portal Froze

The portal froze on us, pretty much every time an application was submitted. We called Solar Vic and got in a queue with a wait time of around 45 mins. We pounded questions into their online bot and got absolutely nowhere.

Rebates gone in 1.5 hours

Meanwhile the counter showing the number of rebates left was ticking down. And by 10.30am – in just one and a half hours – all the rebates had gone. That’s all solar rebates for the whole month of August!

Out of the 70-odd bulk-buy participants we were trying to help, only 20 or 30 got through (we’re still waiting for that number to be confirmed due to … guess what?… problems with the portal).

Not a happy state of affairs

Not a great result for anyone – least of all those participants who missed out this month and will have to apply next month. And also for our installers – many of whom are local – who are reliant on customers getting the rebate in order to keep their businesses afloat.

What we are doing

For a start, we are leveraging our position as a not-for-profit that supports 13 councils across northern and central Vic to lobby Dan Andrews and his ministerial team to get changes made to both the process and the eligibility criteria.

Rebate program needs overhaul

3,767 rebates per month just isn’t enough. Demand is at least 3-4 times higher. What would be better, we reckon, is if the value of the rebate was reduced so that more rebates could be made more available. Also, we believe the rebate should be targeted at those households that need it most – currently households earning up to $180k and living in a property worth up to $3m can apply for the rebate. That doesn’t seem right, particularly when you combine it with the cap.

Let’s all take action!

So, if you feel as strongly about this as we do, then send an email to your local member. For most people who read the MidExpress that will be Maree Edwards, state member for Bendigo West – at maree.edwards@parliament.vic.gov.au – or Mary-Anne Thomas, state member for Macedon – mary-anne.thomas@parliament.vic.gov.au – to tell them your views.

It’s got to be fixed

The rebate is supposed to help more people get solar and to move our state closer to a renewable energy future. In our opinion, at the moment it is proving to be detrimental to these goals. As much, or even more solar, would be installed without the rebate, we believe – as does most of the industry.

It causes stress to householders trying to get it, and it is jeopardising the Victorian solar industry. Many solar installers are already going out of business and if things don’t change, its likely that even more will go to the wall.

It’s time to take action and to let the Dan Andrews government know that this program needs to change.

This article was written by Jo Kaptein, Program Lead of the MASH, Hepburn and Mallee Sun Solar Bulk-Buys. For more info, visit mash.org.au or email info@cvga.org.au

Help with the Vic Solar Rebate in Castlemaine and New Gisborne, 1 August

The state government’s Solar Panels Rebate – worth up to $2225 plus an interest-free loan of up to the same amount – is a great thing in principle but it has been causing no end of headaches for people trying to apply for it. A revamp of the rebate was launched on July 1, with a new application process which includes facial recognition and is online.

Predictably, this has been causing problems for many people. If you are tech savvy, comfortable with downloading apps and all the rest of it, then no problem. But many people who are trying to get the rebate don’t have this level of IT knowledge and, we hear, that people have even employed the services of IT consultants to help them out!

Rebate capped

The problem has been compounded by the fact that there are only 3,333 rebates available each month. In addition, there’s 166 rebates for renters. If you miss out one month, you have to reapply the following month. In July, these rebates were all gone within 3 days. The installers we work with tell us that they have at least 2-3 times more people wanting to buy solar than actually got the rebate in July. That’s not good for anyone!

MASH can help!

If you decide to purchase a solar panels system through the MASH Community Solar Bulk-Buy, we can help you with the rebate application process. It’s important to get your quote sorted first (i.e. before the 1^st of the month). Then on the 1^st of August, you are welcome to come to a free drop-in session:

Castlemaine Senior Citizens Centre, Mechanics Lane, Castlemaine, 9am-11am
At the office of the MASH solar provider, Macedon Ranges Solar Power at 2/44 Barry Rd, New Gisborne, 9am-11am.

We recommend that you come as close to 9am as possible due to the predicted high demand for rebates in August. If these sessions prove popular, we will look to repeat them in September.

Payback

Without the rebate, the typical payback on solar is around 5-6 years. With the rebate, it can be a little as 3 years if you can use around 40% of the electricity you generate from solar during the daytime. So even without the rebate, going solar makes good cents (pardon the pun).

Next step

If you would like to get an obligation-free quote from the MASH community solar bulk-buy, visit mash.org.au or call 1300 466 274. To learn more about the Vic rebate visit solar.vic.gov.au or call 1300 363 744.

MASH is available in Mt Alexander Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire, Hepburn Shire and the City of Greater Bendigo. MASH is a project of the not-for-profit organization, the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance, based in Castlemaine.

Interest-free solar loans now available from the state government

The financial barriers to going solar are being whittled away – for both homeowners and renters – thanks to a revamp of the state government’s solar rebate program.

From July 1 2019, the state government is offering interest-free loans for solar panel systems in addition to the solar panels rebate. This article explains how the loan works, the financial benefits and eligibility criteria.

First homeowners, then renters too!

Initially the interest-free loan will only be available to homeowners. But towards the end of 2019 renters, together with their landlord, will be able to apply too. From July 1, those in rental properties will be able to access the rebate without the loan.

The loan amount will be equivalent to the value of the rebate. The rebate is worth up to $2,225 – so that means you could get an interest-free loan of up to $2,225, as well as the rebate.

Savings must be more than loan

Interest-free loans must be repaid within 4 years or sooner, if you like. The savings from going solar, over the first 4 years, must be more than the loan. The bill savings information has to be provided by your solar retailer as part of the application process.

Upfront cost reduced

If your application is successful, your solar provider would be reimbursed for the rebate and loan amounts. You would pay your solar retailer any remaining balance. In some cases, depending on the cost of the solar system, you may have no upfront cost.

An example

If you were to purchase a MASH Standard 3kW Solar System, the cost would typically be $4,500. If you were eligible for the maximum rebate of $2,225, this would reduce the cost to $2,275. If you were also able to get the interest-free loan of $2,225, then you would pay $50 upfront with the rest paid back over 4 years at $556 each year. And with typical bill savings of around $600-$700 a year, you’re already ahead from year 1!

Who’s eligible

The eligibility criteria include:

a combined household taxable income of less than $180,000 per year
the property is valued at under $3 million
you do not have an existing solar PV system (the exception is if you installed your system before 1 November 2009)

All up, this new interest-free loan is well worth considering if you are thinking of going solar.

If you would like to get an obligation-free quote from the MASH community solar bulk-buy, visit mash.org.au or call 1300 466 274. For more information about the Victorian Solar Rebate, visit solar.vic.gov.au

Vic Solar Rebates “Like Buying Concert Tickets”

It will be ‘first-in-best-dressed’ when it comes to getting one of the Victorian solar rebates on July 1. That’s because the state government has changed its solar rebate scheme to cap the number of solar panels rebates to about 3,300 homes each month, with a further 166 rebates for landlords and renters.

Applications need to submitted through an online portal on the 1^st of each month. Those in first, and approved, will get the rebate. If you miss the boat one month, you need to reapply the following month.

The Victorian solar panels rebate is currently worth up to $2,225. According to The Age, “this maximum rebate will drop to $1,888 from January 1 and again to $1,850 for the 2020-21 financial year.”

An interest-free loan equivalent to the amount of the solar panels rebate will also be available to homeowners. The rebate and loan amounts will be deducted from the cost of your system – so you only have to pay any outstanding balance on installation.

With the two-month hiatus in Victorian residential solar sales caused by the pause of the solar rebate in April, we expect that the pent-up demand will literally hit the roof come July 1.

If you’re keen to get a rebate in July, you’ll need to get cracking now. The steps are:

Start looking for an approved solar provider who will install solar panels systems that are on the approved list.
Get quotes and select the one that you are happy with.
Come the 1st of July, your preferred solar retailer will enter your quote on the Victorian solar rebate online portal
You submit your proof of income and a Rates notice via the online portal.
Once it’s confirmed that you are eligible, your retailer will claim the rebate on your behalf and deduct the rebate amount from the total cost of your system.

As The Age says, its going to be “like buying concert tickets”. That’s because the rebate is well worth having as it brings down the payback on solar panels to around 3 years, for many households.

If you interested in the battery rebate and you live in the MASH area of central Vic, the news isn’t good. The state government has published a list of postcodes where the battery rebate will be available and it doesn’t include anywhere in the Mt Alexander Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire or Bendigo region. They say that they may add postcodes to the list, so fingers crossed!

The MASH community solar bulk-buy has a Macedon Ranges based solar provider who is approved for the Victorian solar rebate and is a Clean Energy Council Accredited Solar Retailer. If you are interested in getting a quote, visit mash.org.au or call 1300 466 274. For more information about the Victorian Solar Rebate, visit solar.vic.gov.au