Who is Solar Victoria?
Solar Victoria is a government department, part of the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning.
What do they do?
They are responsible for delivering the “Solar Homes Program” which give discounts to Victorian home owners and small business owners who purchase a solar system.
Residential
Solar Panel Rebate
Up t0 $1,400 immediately deducted from the cost of your system
Interest Free Loan
Up to $1,400 immediately deducted from the cost of your system, paid back over 4 years interest free.
Battery Loan
Solar battery loans of up to $8,800 reduce the upfront cost of installing a solar battery, with repayments made over a four-year period.
Am I eligible for the rebate and loan?
Residential:
The key criteria for home owners:
Earn less than $210,000, as a household annually.
Be the owner of an existing home or home under construction, valued at less than $3 million.
Neither the property address or owner have previously received the rebate/loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Solar Victoria rebate/loan different to the STCs discount?
Yes.
The STC discount is in addition to your Solar Victoria Rebate/Loan and it is not dependent on any application or eligibility criteria. STC stands for Small-scale Technology Certificate. An STC is a ‘carbon credit’ that you earn for putting solar panels on your roof. STCs are calculated based on the kilowatt size of your system and the area of Australia it’s installed in (Victoria is in zone 4).
We can trade these credits on the ‘green market’ for a dollar value. Which we then deduct directly from your bill as an immediate discount. The STC discount often equates to thousands of dollars off your total system price.
In Australia, electricity retailers need to buy STCs to offset their large carbon emissions. We sell the carbon credits earned by installing a solar system to these organisations and this helps to lower their overall emissions in line with federal regulations.
Can you apply for the solar panel rebate and the battery loan?
Yes.
You can only claim one of these rebates (1 x $1,400 panel rebate or 1 x $2,950 battery rebate).
This means that if you are installing a system with a battery you can choose only one of the rebates, so it makes sense to choose the greater battery rebate of $2,950.
Is there a limit to the system size that you can claim the rebate on?
Residential: No.
However the rebate is capped at a maximum of $1,400.
Commercial: Yes.
The system must be 30kW or less. Anything over 30kW is not eligible for the Solar For Business rebate