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Rebates for installing solar panels in NSW

Homeowners instaling solar panels in New South Wales are entitled to the Federal Government's STC 'rebate'. This financial incentive comes in the form of Small-Scale Technology Certificates, more commonly referred to as STCs. When you install a solar power system, a certain number of STCs are created based on the size and location of your solar installation. Each STC carries a monetary value, and the total value of these certificates equates to your 'solar rebate.'

Your chosen solar company will handle the application for the rebate on your behalf and apply the value of this rebate as a discount at the point of sale. You can read more in-depth about the STC rebate in our recent blog post on the subject. To make life easy, we have calculated the value of the STC rebate you are entitled to in NSW for common solar system sizes in the table below:

System Size	Federal Government Rebate (STC's)	State Government Rebate
2 kW	$1080	Empowering Homes Program
3 kW	$1620	Empowering Homes Program
4 kW	$2160	Empowering Homes Program
5 kW	$2736	Empowering Homes Program
6.6kW	$3600	Empowering Homes Program
10 kW	$5472	Empowering Homes Program

*Please note that the STC rebate calculations are based on solar panels installed in Sydney, NSW (Zone 3) using an STC price of $36.00.

In addition to the Federal Government STC rebate, you may be eligible for one of the following rebates under the New South Wales State Government Empowering Homes Program:

Empowering Homes Program - this program offers interest-free loans of up to $9,000 per battery system and up to $14,000 per solar + battery system for 300,000 NSW homes in a scheme to be rolled out over the next ten years.

Solar for Low-Income Households (trial) - this program offers a free 3kW solar system to 3,000 NSW households that opt for a free solar system instead of a low-income household rebate. This scheme is currently in a trial phase and will only be available for people that live in the Central Coast, North Coast, Sydney-South, Illawarra-Shoalhaven, and on the South Coast of NSW.

Current feed-in tariff rates for retailers in NSW

Solar feed-in tariffs (FITs) are the amount you get paid by your energy retailer for the excess energy your solar system exports back into the grid. During the day, it’s typical for your solar power system to generate more power than is being used in your home. This excess means that if you have a grid-connected solar system, the energy you don't use feeds back into the grid, and your energy retailer will pay you a fixed amount per kWh of energy that you send to them. The retailer-provided solar FITs listed here do not include any bonus feed-in tariff that may be provided by the NSW State Government.

Energy Retailer	Min rate (per kWh)	Max rate (per kWh)
Origin Energy	8.0c	21.0c
Enova Energy	9.0c	16.0c
Energy Locals	11.0c	16.0c
Amaysim	0.0c	15.0c
DC Power Co	15.0c	15.0c
AGL	10.2c	15.0c
Click Energy	10.0c	14.0c
Energy Australia	12.5c	12.5c
Diamond Energy	0.0c	12.0c
Commander	11.6c	11.6c
Dodo	11.6c	11.6c
Discover Energy	6.0c	11.5c
Sumo	11.1c	11.1c
Red Energy	11.1c	11.1c
Powerdirect	10.2c	10.2c
Powershop	10.2c	10.2c
Mojo Power	10.0c	10.0c
Powerclub	0.0c	10.0c
CovaU	0.0c	8.5c
Elysian Energy	8.0c	8.0c
Simply Energy	0.0c	8.0c
Amber Electric	8.0c	8.0c
ReAmped Energy	8.0c	8.0c
QEnergy	8.0c	8.0c
Pooled Energy	8.0c	8.0c
Alinta Energy	7.5c	7.5c
Momentum Energy	0.0c	7.0c
Future X Power	7.0c	7.0c
Kogan Energy	6.8c	6.8c
Blue NRG	6.2c	6.2c
1st Energy	6.0c	6.0c

*The feed-in tariff rates you are entitled to vary depending on the energy plan you choose with the retailer. Feed-in tariff rates displayed are correct as of March 2020.

Simple guide to sizing your solar system in NSW

Choosing the right system size depends on many factors, including how much power you use during daylight hours, your roof orientation, whether shading will be an issue, and how much roof space you have at your home or business. As a rough guide, you can compare the average daily power usage on your power bill to the average daily output of common system sizes we have calculated in the table below:

System Size	Avg daily output	Return on Investment
2 kW	7.8 kWh	3 - 5 years
3 kW	11.7 kWh	3 - 5 years
4 kW	15.6 kWh	3 - 5 years
5 kW	19.5 kWh	3 - 5 years
6.6 kW	25.7 kWh	3 - 5 years
10 kW	39.0 kWh	3 - 5 years

*Please note that the location used for the daily output calculations is Sydney, NSW - based on the Clean Energy Council GC Design Guidelines.

Finding the best solar panels for your home in NSW!

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