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NSW Solar Bonus Scheme

NSW gross feed in tariff

As the fireworks erupted from Sydney Harbour Bridge at 12:01am January 1 2010, the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme opened for business. It means that NSW solar panel owners will be able to collect 60c for every kWh produced for at least the next 7 years.

It will be available to panel buyers until all the installed generators under this Scheme  reach 50 MegaWatts.

Panel owners who are eligible are the small electricity consumers. They are those consuming up to 160 megawatt hours of electricity annually.

Generally, this includes typical households,schools, small businesses and most community organizations.

Under this scheme, people will be able to get Solar PV Systems and Wind Turbines up to 10 kiloWatts in size.

According to Energy Minister John Robertson, the industry is expecting to install around 33,000 new solar systems during the life of the program.

The government is banking on solar PV costs decreasing over the next few years. Many are expecting that within the next 3 to 7 years, solar energy’s unsubsidized cost to consumers will be near that of dirty fossil based generation.

But in the mean time, the NSW Gross Feed In Tariff is giving a head start to the NSW solar industry so they can tool up, scale up and bring costs down and ROI up for Solar PV buyers.

Let’s hope the Feds watch and learn!

NSW Feed In Tariff Surprise: It’s Gross (in a good way!)

Yesterday the NSW Government surprised renewable energy fans by switching the new feed in tariff from a net to a gross tariff.

This means that owners of solar systems in NSW will now get 60c per kwh for all the electricity they generate.

Previously you were only going to get paid for the power exported to the grid (i.e not the power you used in your house)

This makes a huge difference to the economics of buying a solar power system in NSW.

Plugging the numbers into my solar calculator shows that a good quality 1.5kW system will pay for itself in just over 4 years.

In fact you’ll be getting around $120 per month of income from the outset. And the benefits will only go up as electricity prices rise.

Even if you take out a $7000 loan at 7% interest the system would be cash flow positive from the outset. See for yourself here.

That’s a better return, and much lower risk than most other investments these days.

Have a play with our solar calculators to see if it makes financial sense for you. Just put ‘Feed In Tariff %’ as 100% and ‘Feed In Tariff Price’ as 60c and the calculator will work out the payback and monthly savings.

Renters Are Finally Getting A Shot At Home Batteries. Let’s Not Stuff It Up.

WA is about to become the first state to legalise plug-in solar and batteries. The draft standard, modelled on Germany’s rules, is open for comment until 9 December. [Read more…]

Emergency Backstop Mechanism: Slamming The Brakes On Your Solar

Power grid with SolarQuotes written in the upper right.

Rooftop solar generates around 14% of Australia’s electricity demand, as more than one in three freestanding households own a system. Our electricity system operator needs an emergency plan for the rare occasions when multiple things go wrong, and uncontrolled rooftop solar generation threatens system security. NSW is set to be the latest Australian state to introduce an Emergency Backstop Mechanism – here’s what it all means.

[Read more…]

New Batteries, V2L & Why Your Home Should Be An Esky


Solar industry Christmas has just rolled around again, and like the rest of the renewable industry it just keeps growing. From insulation tips to the latest solar gear, here’s an account of this installer’s adventures at All Energy Australia in Melbourne. [Read more…]

All Energy 2026: Batteries & EVs Charge Into A New Era

All Energy Australia 2026 attendees

Surging EV and home battery uptake has insulated many Australians from global oil and gas price shocks, but more can be done to maximise their benefit to the grid.

So heard attendees of All Energy Australia 2026, with the country’s largest clean energy conference converging on the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre October 28-29 to chew over the big issues facing the power grid.

[Read more…]

Australia’s Best Solar & Battery Installer In 2026 Revealed

Australia's best solar installer in 2016RESINC Solar & Batteries has been recognised as Australia’s best-rated solar installer for the second year running.

The NSW-based company accepted the Customer Choice Award on stage at SolarQuotes’ Installer Night on Tuesday, October 27 at Melbourne’s Showtime Events Centre.

[Read more…]

Back The Hell Up

backup indicator

Last week two flaws in PHP went public. PHP is the programming language behind SolarQuotes and a big slice of the web, and these bugs had been sitting in its code for about 14 years. AI models found them. Within 45 minutes of the announcement, Cloudflare was seeing tens of thousands of attempts to exploit them. By that evening it was millions. [Read more…]

How Batteries Land Electricians In Hot Water


Customers buying home batteries are often going for “whole home” backup on the assurance that going forward, everything will be solar powered.

People are however alarmed when bills lob in the letterbox with hundreds of dollars consumption charged out. How is that even possible?

[Read more…]

ACT & Tasmania’s Best-Rated Solar Installers: 2026

Top-rated installers 2026 Tas and ACT

Two new winners have emerged in the ACT and Tasmania as SolarQuotes wraps up its 2026 state and territory installer awards.

The awards use a weighted calculation of customer reviews published on SolarQuotes between September 1, 2025 and September 1, 2026. This gives smaller installers with fewer reviews a fair chance against larger businesses.

To qualify, installers must have received at least 15 reviews during that period. All installers with SolarQuotes review listings are considered, not just those in our installer network. [Read more…]

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