Victorians wanting to install a solar power system and a battery at the same time are now eligible for the state’s solar battery rebate.
Prior to last Friday, the subsidy was only available to households with solar panels already installed.
“We have listened to industry and Victorians. Increasingly, people want to bundle a new solar PV system with a battery or upgrade their solar to maximise the return from their battery,” said Minister for Solar Homes Lily D’Ambrosio on Friday.
However, what hasn’t changed is households will need to choose between receiving the solar panel rebate or the battery subsidy. Currently the solar panel rebate is up to $1,400 and for a battery, up to $3,500 – it’s a bit of a no-brainer really.
But Victorians don’t miss out on financial support for panels as they are also eligible for the national solar rebate (more accurately, an up-front subsidy), which is based on total panel capacity.
The change has been made to boost battery uptake – only around 4,000 Victorians have accessed the battery rebate since it kicked off in 2019. Originally, it was limited to just a couple of dozen postcodes while the government was testing the waters. Uptake was poor and eligibility was subsequently expanded to cover 80 postcodes in November 2019, and there was still little interest. Then it was available in 270 postcodes, and finally across the state.
Among the eligibility requirements for the slightly re-jiggered rebate:
- The solar system must be over 5kW capacity
- Pre-approval from the applicant’s Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) for connection a battery to the mains grid is required.
- It must be a battery approved by Solar Victoria. The approved list can be downloaded here (current as at September 13).
Further eligibility and other details can be viewed here.
Under the arrangement, the solar retailer claims the rebate on behalf of the applicant, and that amount is deducted from the cost of the overall system and installation.
What Victorians Should Know About Solar Batteries
Even with the maximum possible subsidy, a home battery is a big investment and worth careful consideration before parting with a bundle of cash. SolarQuotes Founder Finn Peacock recently built on his popular “101” guide series with three new guides dedicated to residential energy storage.
The first in the series deals with understanding battery storage – how it works, basic but important concepts to be familiar with and the different types of technologies. The second offers advice on buying solar batteries and part three provides some important tips on owning a battery system, including making the most of it.
Other relevant useful tools here on SQ include a clever solar and battery calculator that will show you how system payback and savings are impacted by storage and solar panels separately. There’s also SQ’s solar battery comparison table with estimated prices before installation and specifications of a bunch of models you can compare side-by-side.
Another handy resource for research is the solar battery reviews section, which includes information on dozens of manufacturers and reviews from Australians who have installed their energy storage products.
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Hi,
I couldn’t see Enphase Batteries on the very extensive list.
Is there a reason?
Regards,
Ron
Encharge batteries are in their final Australian testing and approval stages. Enphase has noted that the Encharge 10 should be ready Q1 of 2022. So probably why they’re not on the list at the moment.
Exciting times ahead with batteries from 2022. Hoping to see huge price drops and increased storage capacity over the coming years.
Quite a few different storage technologies on the horizon.
Of course there is low uptake of the rebate. The conditions ensure this to the point that the rebate is quite disingenuous. How Many households that earn less than $180k can afford to shell out $13k for a battery that will take 20 years to pay off? No wonder no one is taking up the rebate.
Until they either severely increase the subsidy to make batteries economically viable or remove the conditions to allow wealthy early adopters who can afford to pay more to be more environmentally conscious, the rebate is a joke.
Hi,
Is there any rebates/insensitives for poor humble NSW (Wagga Wagga) as it seems like every other state has a discounted prices on batteries but NSW?
Or is it that NSW has their battery rebates hidden from the population?
Thanks
live on a farm i use solar to pump house garden and farm cheap and painless. am at the end of a single mains line. I have back up systems. I would go stand alone BUT that looks like a lithium battery.and THAT looks like outdated technology. I don’t see how I get any subsidy. Do we have any idea when a bromide based system may be a sensible option.Historically I have lived off the grid for about 15 yr. I don’t need this to be painful.