More small businesses will be able to access the benefits of solar power with the support of a solar rebate thanks to a recent announcement by the Victorian Government.
Now, Victorian businesses with up to 50 employees can apply for a $3,500 solar panels rebate. Previously only businesses with up to 20 employees could apply.
The business solar rebate is available to those businesses who lease their premises, as well as businesses who own their premises.
The business solar rebate is available via the Victorian Government’s Solar for Business Program which is administered by Solar Victoria.
New: Victorian Government interest-free loan
The state government also announced that businesses can now apply for a government interest-free loan of between $1,000 and $5,000 to further reduce the purchase cost of a solar panel installation.
You have the option of paying over 12 or 24 months or can be repaid sooner in one lump sum.
This interest-free loan is also available via the Solar for Business Program.
Total value of Victorian Government’s business solar incentives
The upfront cost of a solar panel installation can be reduced by up to $8,500 for those businesses who successfully apply for the business solar rebate and government interest-free loan available from the Solar for Business Program.
On this blog:
- Is my business eligible for the Victorian business solar rebate?
- What size solar system is eligible for the Victorian business solar rebate?
- Can I also get the federal government solar rebate for my small business?
- What’s the total value of the Victorian and Federal Governments solar rebates?
- Are these rebates going to reduce anytime soon?
Is my business eligible for the Victorian business solar rebate?
Eligibility criteria for the Solar for Business rebate include:
- The business must operate from premises that are non-residential
- You must be the owner of a business that employs at least one person, not including the business owner, and less than 50 full time equivalent (FTE) employees
- The solar panel system must be installed by a Solar Victoria approved Solar Retailer such as SolarRun and be on the approved product list published by Solar Victoria.
- The premises must be individually metered
Full eligibility details are on the Solar Victoria website
What size solar system is eligible for the Victorian business solar rebate?
The Victoria Solar for Business rebate and interest-free loan are available for grid-connected solar panel systems up to 30kW in size.
This size limit is based on inverter capacity, not solar panels capacity. This means businesses may be able to install up to 39kW of solar panels with a 30kW solar inverter. (The reason for this is because most network distributors allow the solar panels to be oversized by up to 133% in relation to the solar inverter capacity).
Why would you want to oversize solar panels for your commercial solar system?
Oversizing solar panels results in a faster payback for most solar owners, compared to sizing the panels the same as the inverter. This is because:
- Your system generates more solar power (that’s because solar panels rarely produce as much power as their rated capacity so adding more panels helps the inverter to run at higher efficiency).
- Your business receives a bigger federal government solar rebate because the federal solar rebates (known as STCs) are calculated on the solar panel capacity – not inverter capacity.
Can I also get the federal government solar rebate for my business?
The Victorian Government’s business solar rebate and interest-free loan are in addition to the federal government solar rebate, referred to as Small-scale Technology Certificates or STCs.
STCs reduce the purchase price of a grid-connected solar system by around 30 per cent and are available for solar panel systems up to 100kW in size.
What’s the total value of the Victorian and Federal Governments solar rebates?
The total value of Victorian and Federal Government solar rebates and incentives on a 39kW solar panel system is around $24,880. This comprises:
- Federal Government STCs – worth around $430 for every kilowatt of solar panels installed at the time of writing (May 2022)
- Victorian Business Solar Rebate – worth up to $3,500 (Solar for Business Program)
- Victorian Business Solar Interest-free Loan – worth up to $5,000 (Solar for Business Program)
This table shows the total value of Victorian and Federal Government solar rebates and incentives for small businesses based on three different size systems.
| Size of solar panel system ( based on panel capacity) | |||
| 20kW | 30kW | 39kW | |
| Victorian solar rebate | $3,500 | $3,500 | $3,500 |
| Victorian interest-free loan (up to) | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| STCs | $8,600 | $12,900 | $16,380 |
| Total (up to) | $17,100 | $21,400 | $24,880 |
To be eligible for the STC rebate, you must have your system installed by a Clean Energy Council Accredited Installer, such as SolarRun, and the solar panels and inverter must be on the Clean Energy Council approved product list.
Are these rebates reducing anytime soon?
Yes, both the Victorian and Federal Government’s business solar rebates will reduce in value over the next six to twelve months.
- Victorian Business Solar Rebate – this will drop from $3,500 to $1,750 once the current allocation of rebates has been used up. As of 18/5/2022, there are just over 3,200 business solar rebates. When these are fully allocated, the value of the rebate will reduce.
- Federal Government Solar Rebate (STCs) – the value of STCs fluctuates as STCs are a tradeable commodity. Currently the STC price is quite strong (at around $36 per STC certificate) however this could reduce at any time should the number of STCs being traded increases. In addition, the value of STCs will reduce by around nine per cent on the 1st of January every year. This because the deeming period for the STC program is reduced annually which, in turn, reduces the STC value. The STC program will close on 31st December 2030.
Get in touch
If you’d like to find out more about business solar rebates, and receive a quote for a commercial solar system, get in touch.
SolarRun is a Solar Victoria approved Solar Retailer, a Clean Energy Council Accredited Solar Retailer employing Clean Energy Council Accredited Installers.
We are one of Australia’s top four Solar Retailers. This means we can offer your business the best prices for high quality commercial solar power systems. Plus, our customer service and system warranties are amongst the best in the industry.
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