Commercial Solar Rebate — Now Up To 1MW

The Government intends the change to apply to mid-scale solar installed from 1 October 2026, subject to the necessary regulations being in place. It was announced on 5 August 2026. Because the detailed rules are still being made, confirm current eligibility before you lock in an installation date.

The Government estimates around 20% off the installed cost. Its worked examples put that at roughly $68,000 on a 250kW system and $136,000 on a 500kW system. There’s no fixed dollar figure — the value depends on system size, your postcode’s solar zone, the deeming years and the STC price at the time certificates are created. On the Mid North Coast, which sits in Solar Zone 3, a 250kW system works out to roughly 1,727 certificates.

Federal. It’s delivered through the existing SRES and administered by the Clean Energy Regulator, so it applies the same way in Taree as it does in Townsville — only the solar zone rating changes. State-run programs, including the NSW commercial battery incentives under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme, are separate schemes with their own rules.

It comes off the price. In practice you assign the right to create the certificates to your installer, and the value is shown as a discount on your invoice. You don’t wait for it, claim it at tax time, or handle certificate trading yourself. Ask for the certificate count and assumed price to be listed separately on any quote so you can see what you’re actually being credited.

No. The expanded eligibility applies to systems installed from the commencement date, so a system installed before then falls under the existing rules — meaning the 100kW cap still applies to it. If your project is above 100kW and you can wait, the timing genuinely matters. Design and connection work can and should happen in the meantime.

Nothing changes for you. Systems under 100kW have always been eligible for upfront STCs and remain so — the Clean Energy Regulator has confirmed existing arrangements below 100kW are unaffected. Worth noting, though, that certificates for smaller systems lose a deeming year every January as the scheme winds down to 2030, so waiting costs you rather than saves you.

No — this expansion is solar PV only. Batteries sit under separate programs with their own eligibility rules, and a site installing both can generally benefit from each on its respective equipment. We can walk you through what currently applies to storage at your site, but it’s a different conversation to this one.

Not necessarily. Leased sites can work where the landlord consents and system ownership is documented properly — but it needs sorting before design, not after. If you’re on a lease with five or more years to run, it’s usually worth raising with your landlord early, because the payback often outlasts the term.

Plan on months rather than weeks, with most of it before anyone gets on the roof. Interval data analysis and roof survey, structural and switchboard assessment, system design, then the Essential Energy connection application — which on a regional network is usually the longest single step. The installation itself is a comparatively short part of the schedule.

Older sheds and packing plants sometimes need purlin reinforcement, and some roofs simply won’t carry the load. Ground-mount arrays and solar carports are both options where you have the land or the carpark, and both fall under the same capacity ceiling. A site inspection tells you quickly which way to go.

Across the Mid North Coast of NSW — Coffs Harbour, Sawtell, Woolgoolga, Bellingen, Urunga, Nambucca Heads, Macksville, Kempsey, South West Rocks, Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Laurieton, Taree, Wingham, Forster-Tuncurry and the surrounding hinterland. If your site is nearby but not listed, call us — we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit.