Hand on the Bible, I can tell you right now that if you live in Canberra, you may just be in the best place to install a solar system. For one, it’s sunny, so it makes sense. But, more importantly, the incentives and solar rebates in ACT just might be the most impressive in all of Australia.
Apart from STCs and feed-in tariffs that virtually all Australians can be eligible for (more on this later), the ACT also has incentives for batteries, low-income households, no-interest loans, and others.
I’ll walk you through all of these rebates and incentives, starting with STCs and feed-in tariffs, but if you already know what those are and want to skip ahead, simply tap on the bullets below to jump straight into them.
- Small-scale Technology Certificates (STC)
- Feed-in Tariff (FiT)
- Next Generation Energy Storage Program
- ACT Home Energy Support
- ACT Sustainable Household Scheme
STC (Small-scale Technology Certificates)
STCs are the rebate that most Australians, including those from Canberra, enjoy.
You can get STCs when you install a solar system in your household, given that you qualify for the following easy requirements:
- Your installer is CEC accredited.
- Your solar panels and inverters meet Australian standards.
- Your system is smaller than 100kW.
Aside from the size of your solar power system, the right installer can help you meet the other criteria.
This is where we come in. We have a network of pre-vetted installers all around Australia. We’re confident in their skill and honesty that, truly, we trust them with our solar energy systems. If you’re ready, we can get you 3 FREE quotes from them right away.
Circling back to our topic…
How much you save with rebates depends on how many STCs you’re eligible for and the value of the STCs.
How much you save money directly correlates to how many STCs you’re eligible for. It’s determined by:
- Where you plan to install the system: Canberra is in Zone 3, meaning you qualify for more STCs than those in Zone 4 (e.g., Melbourne) but less than those in Zones 1 and 2 (e.g., Darwin, Alice Springs).
- The size of the system: The larger your system, the more STCs you get.
- Years left from installation until 2030 (deeming period): As of 2024, the deeming period is at 7 years, but this is reduced by 1 every year. The more years you have left, the more STCs you qualify for.
The deeming period should be incentive enough to get solar panels installed as soon as you can. Also, you can use the Australian government’s STC calculator to see how many you qualify for.
Moving on, the value of STCs changes from time to time. As of right now, a single certificate is worth $39.90. So if you were installing a 10kW system that’s eligible for 96 STCs, your rebate would be precisely $43,830.4.
Check the current value of STCs here. Also, note that quotes often already include rebates.
And, for your reference, here’s how much rebates you could potentially have if you installed solar panels today:
Sample Savings Profiles for Solar Systems in ACT
| System Size (kW) | Number of STCs | Rebates ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | $359.10 |
| 2 | 19 | $758.10 |
| 3 | 29 | $1,157.10 |
| 4 | 38 | $1,516.20 |
| 5 | 48 | $1,915.20 |
| 6 | 58 | $2,314.20 |
| 7 | 67 | $2,673.30 |
| 8 | 77 | $3,072.30 |
| 9 | 87 | $3,471.30 |
| 10 | 96 | $3,830.40 |
The values above are calculated assuming that the solar system was installed in 2024 with a deeming period of 7 years, and the STC value is $39.90
Get 3 Solar Quotes From Quality Local Installers.
Feed-in-Tariff
A feed-in tariff isn’t technically a rebate you get with solar installation. Rather, it’s more of an incentive for feeding your excess solar energy back to the grid for everyone else to use.
The value of these tariffs varies from retailer to retailer and plan to plan, though, so make sure to do your research to see what suits you best.
To give you a general idea, here are the 3 retailers with the best feed-in tariff rates in ACT:
Next Generation Energy Storage Program
The Next Gen Energy Storage Program is specifically for solar batteries should you want to include them in your system.
As far as I know, the Nex Gen Energy Storage Program is only available for Canberra households. This is massive because a solar battery, although more affordable now, is still quite pricey. This lightens that load significantly. Lucky you, eh?
There are a few simple requirements, though:
- First, you need to also have solar panels. Understandably so.
- Next, your solar system has to also be connected to the grid. If you don’t live in remote areas, this should be easy.
- And, lastly, your entire system must be new and not previously supported by this rebate.
If you qualify, you can get as much as $3500, half the price of the new battery system, or whatever is lower.
ACT Home Energy Support Program
The ACT Home Energy Support program is both a rebate and an interest-free loan. In total, you could get as much as $15,000 (yes, fifteen thousand!) from the ACT government to transform your home.
As usual, there are a few requirements:
- Only ACT residents who are Australian Government Pensioner Concession Card or Department of Veterans Affairs Gold Card holders are eligible.
- You own and live on the property where the system will be installed.
- You attended the free workshop provided by the ACT government.
The workshop is done online and will discuss the details of this program as well as how you can apply.
Get 3 Solar Quotes From Quality Local Installers.
There’s more information about ACT’s Home Energy Support Program, but here are the key points:
- You can get a rebate of half the total price of your rooftop solar system, but the max is set to $2,500.
- You can get another rebate of half the total price for other energy-efficiency products (i.e., electric stove tops, hot water heat pumps, and reverse cycle heating and cooling). Again, the max is set to $2,500.
- You can get a loan interest-free worth $10,000 from Brighte. There will be “modest” fees should you miss your payments.
ACT Sustainable Household Scheme
The ACT Sustainable Household Scheme is an interest-free loan of up to $15,000 from Brighte. You can pay it over 10 years or earlier if you want to without any fees whatsoever. You could also loan a higher amount, but the excess comes with interest.
This incentive is meant to help you when purchasing and installing energy-efficient products for your home. This, of course, includes solar panels, but you can also use it for electric stoves, electric vehicles, and other sustainable energy-efficient upgrades.
To be eligible for the ACT Sustainable Household Scheme, you must:
- Be a resident of ACT with a home or driver’s license (if you’re using the loan to buy an electric vehicle).
- Meet both Brighte’s lending criteria and the scheme’s eligibility criteria
- Attend a free online workshop
Conclusion
In their own words, the ACT government is “committed to net zero emissions by 2045.” I have to say, that is a noble but also very ambitious goal that can only be made possible by the many ACT solar rebates and incentives they’ve launched.
That being said, I highly urge you to make use of one, if not all, of these incentives to make your home more energy efficient. It does both your pockets and the environment some good.
