Victorian Solar Homes Program Update

A solar battery rebate reduction is on the horizon and a ban on door-to-door sales (finally) kicks in very soon for the Victorian Solar Homes Program.

In August 2018, the Victorian government established the Program, which these days is providing support for the installation of solar panels, batteries, solar hot water, heating and cooling, and more recently for the purchase of electric vehicles. It has also also expanded to include small businesses under a PV subsidy scheme.

Home Battery Rebate Reduction Looms

Rebates for solar batteries under the Program are currently up to $4,174 – which will remain until this batch of rebates have been fully allocated, and they’ll then reduce to $3,500.

According to the Program website, as at yesterday afternoon there were 812 of the higher maximum value rebates left. As to how long those will last is anyone’s guess, but in July there were 603 applications.

Under the scheme, the retailer claims the rebate on behalf of the household and the amount is deducted from the cost of  the overall system and installation.

Further information here.

Door To Door Solar Sales Ban

While there wouldn’t be much of it going on at the moment given restrictions, as announced in May 2021, a ban on door-to-door sales under the Homes and Business Programs will come into play next week on Wednesday, September 1.

“The ban is about protecting consumer rights in the booming solar industry while strengthening Solar Victoria’s existing Safety and Quality Assurance Framework,” says the agency.

Updated Retailer Terms and Conditions will need to be accepted by participant retailers when signing into the retailer portal.

Unfortunately, the ban only covers activity occurring under the Program, and some of the worst instances of shonky practices have occurred outside of it in Victoria. Door-to-door solar sales don’t have a great reputation anywhere in Australia and there have been calls in the past for a blanket ban on the practice across the country.

Buying solar from a door-to-door salesperson is a risky business. It’s important Australians are aware of the potential pitfalls and understand their rights.

Electric Vehicle Subsidy Uptake

In other news from the Program, Solar Victoria says it has allocated more than 1,000 Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) subsidies since the scheme kicked off three months ago. The first round offers a total of 4000 subsidies valued at $3,000 each for eligible new ZEVs purchased on or after 2 May 2021.

Unfortunately, the state also introduced an electric vehicle tax, which was dubbed the “worst EV policy in the world” when announced – the subsidy was announced  following backlash. The ZLEV Road-User Charge, which SQ’s Ronald called “robbing Peter to pay Peter“, came into effect on July 1 this year.

PV Rebate Progress

The most popular aspect of the Solar Homes Program is the Victorian solar panel rebate, which is currently providing a subsidy of up to $1,400 or 50% of the price of a solar power system – whichever is lowest. Solar Victoria reports there were 7,660 application approvals for July, predominantly for applications started in late June.

As for the relatively new Solar for Business Program that opened in June, 351 applications were approved in July.