State and Federal Government Solar Rebates for Power and Hot Water

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Government Solar Rebates

The Australian and Victorian government offer great rewards to those who install renewable energy systems, whether for home, business, grid connect, off grid, hot water or solar power. You can save around 50% of the cost of a small solar PV installation (much more for off grid).

You can then get credit of approximately 3 times what you pay for electricity when you feed power to the grid! Here’s an overview of what’s on offer.

Government Solar Credits - Boosting Your RECs returns

The current Australian Federal Government rebate for solar panel installation is in the form of a tradable ‘Renewable Energy Certificate’ (RECs). This rebate is designed to support households and businesses going solar while growing the renewable energy industry to meet Australia’s clean energy targets.

Under the solar credit scheme, systems of up to 1.5 kilowatts in size will receive a Solar Credits multiplier bonus which multiplies by five the value of RECs. In practice this means 133 RECs for a system in Melbourne, with the price for these certificates fluctuating from $25-$40 for a rebate of between $3325 and $5320.

This rebate is valid until 2012 at which time the multiplier will begin to decrease annually.

SolarQuip offers customers a discount equivalent to the market value of RECs at the time of installation.

Government Rebates for Solar Hot Water

The Victorian and Federal Government offers various rebates for replacement hot water heating systems.

The Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme replaces the solar hot water rebate and applies to installation of a solar hot water system where the applicant has not previously applied for either a solar hot water system or home insulation. The rebate amounts to $1000 for solar hot water or a rebate of $600 is available for installation of a heat pump system.

The Victorian Solar Hot Water Rebate is available to many who are not eligible for the Renewable Energy Solar Bonus and varies according to location, the system being replaced and the system being installed. This rebate can be from $300 up to a maximum of $1600.

Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates - VEEC Rebates

The Victorian Government offers an incentive for those who install solar hot water systems, where replacing or upgrading an inefficient electric system. This rebate is valued as equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide.

Systems eligible for this rebate include gas or electric boosted solar hot water as well as solar pre-heaters and retrofit kits. The number of VEECs applicable vary according to the system up to 61 VEECs for a gas boosted solar system, worth approximately $450 depending on the current market value.

Electricity Feed In Tariff for Victoria

Home and business owners of Victoria with solar power systems can now enjoy the benefit of high returns on all excess power that is fed into the grid.

The feed in tariff means that you can earn 60-68c (depending on which electricity company you are connected with) for every kilowatt of power that is not used in your home.

This return will be different for every home as it depends on how much power you use at different times of the day. Of course your solar system is producing most energy during the day when most people are using least electricity so this is when you should be earning money off your roof.

For a small 1.5kW system, the returns could be from $400 to $1500 per year and go a long way towards paying off the cost of installation in a few short years.

Australian Government National Solar Schools Program

The National Solar Schools Program is a federal government program to help schools take practical action to tackle climate change and conserve water.

Every school is eligible for rebates of up to $50,000 to install a solar power system up to 2kW and implement other energy efficiency measures including solar hot water. The program is subject to an annual budget limit so schools are encouraged to see the guidelines and enquire now for 2011-12 program.