Now’s a great time to go solar, with generous rebates available from the Victorian government for solar panels and battery storage as well as federal government support in the form of Small-scale Technology Certificates which can reduce your upfront cost by around 30%.
Slashing the cost of solar
The bottom line is that when you combine these rebates and the government interest-free loan, the up-front out of pocket cost for, say, a 3.3kW solar power system through our bulk-buy is just $350 (find out more about how this works here).
For battery storage, instead of paying close to $15,000 for a Tesla Powerwall 2 battery, you can get it through our bulk-buy for $10,654.
About the rebates:
1. Solar panels rebate – Victorian government
The Victorian State Government’s Solar Panels Rebate is worth up to $1,850 for solar panel (PV) systems for eligible households.
There’s also an interest-free loan of up to the same amount as the solar panels rebate, for eligible homeowners.
The first step in the process for applying for a rebate, is to select your preferred solar provider and get a quote. The supplier will upload the quote on the Solar Victoria website. Our solar provider will be able to advise you and support you with the rebate application process (which has been radically simplified in recent months).
At the time of writing (August 2020), the availability of these solar panels rebates from Solar Victoria is good – in that there are enough rebates to meet demand. Also, the process for applying for this rebate is now a lot simpler and more straightforward than it was a year ago. For example, there is no longer the requirement for facial recognition testing.
Links:
- Solar panels rebate
- Interest-free loans – repayable over 4 years
- Solar panels for rental properties
2. Battery storage rebate – Victorian government – blue areas are eligible
Homeowners across most of the Bendigo, Macedon Ranges and Mount Alexander Shires can now apply for the solar battery rebate from the Victorian government, worth up to $4,174 (from 1st July 2020). As you can see from the following maps, virtually all postcodes in these shires are now classed as ‘eligible postcodes’ under this state government scheme.
Whilst this rebate is positive news for homeowners, the issue at the time of writing (August 2020) is that there is a limited supply of these rebates which does not cover the demand. There is no guarantee that even if you do meet all the eligibility criteria and have all the paperwork ready, that you will get a rebate. The only organisation that will provide the rebate is Solar Victoria. For the last allocation of rebates (at the beginning of August), the supply of 40 battery rebates for the whole of Victoria was allocated in under half an hour. Every two weeks there is a new allocation of battery rebates (40); if you miss out then you need to apply all over again – there is no waiting list.
The full list of eligibility criteria are on the Solar Homes website, and include:
- If you already have solar panels and want to install a battery – you must have at least 5kW of solar panels installed
- If you do not have solar panels or a battery at the moment, you can apply – but only for the battery rebate (you can’t get both the solar panels rebate AND the battery rebate).
- The property address where you want the battery installed must not already have received a rebate from the Solar Homes program (i.e. solar panels rebate etc)
Link:
3. Federal Government ‘Solar Rebate’
The Federal Government ‘rebate’ is known as Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme under which Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) are issued. The STCs are worth around $555 per kilowatt of solar installed (at Feb 2020).
This amount is almost invariably treated as a point-of-sale discount, which means that the price you are quoted for a solar power system – in almost all cases – is net of the value of the STCs.
Link:
Which rebates do you need to apply for?
- You do need to apply for the Victorian Solar Panels and Battery Rebates. The solar provider for the Hepburn Solar Bulk Buy, Cola Solar, can advise you on the rebate application process.
- You don’t need to apply for the Federal form of ‘rebate’ – i.e. Small-Scale Technology Certificates – as the paperwork is all handled by your solar provider. This is available to anyone buying a solar power system for their home or business, providing that the system is not larger than 100kW.
