STCs are government incentives that help reduce the upfront cost of installing your solar system. The value of STCs your system receives differs depending on its size and location. To be eligible for STCs, your solar system must be installed by a Clean Energy Council accredited installer.
For more information on STCs, visit the Clean Energy Regulator website or download their guides for households or businesses.
Inspire Energy offer point of sale discounts for installation of solar by assigning the STC or LGC rebate credits to Inspire Energy.
One big mistake that people make when it comes to solar is misunderstanding how government rebates and feed-in tariffs work. To clarify, net metering/grid credit is what you’re paid for sending your excess solar energy back into the grid. A rebate is a government financial incentive. In order to reduce the upfront cost of solar power systems, the government has introduced subsidies to entice people to install solar. The government currently subsidises about $650 per kilowatt installed.
Once you do the maths, that’s about $3,250 off a typical 5kW system. You’ll find that this is normally applied at the point of sale or payment.
You’ll want to take advantage of installing panels sooner rather than later. Why’s that? The current government legislation means that the solar rebate will reduce one fifteenth every year from Jan 2017, until it drops to zero in 2032.
The dollar value of this ‘rebate’ will drop at any time, should the demand for solar hugely increase. Take it from us – you’ll want to jump on this trend now, before you potentially lose these benefits.
If the market for solar soars, the value of this ‘rebate’ declines with a thing called the “STC price” (which stands for Small Scale Technology Certificate, applicable to installations up to 100kw). The STC is essentially a commodity. This commodity can have a value from $0 to $40. $40 is the highest it can go by law. Currently, (as of mid 2018), STC prices are at about $37-$38.
To summarise, the current ‘rebate’ for systems up to 100kw is called the STC program. STC’s are created when new solar systems are installed. Just to confirm, the government doesn’t classify this ‘rebate’ as a government based financial compensation. It’s a government scheme that is propelled by other people buying your certificates (remember, certificates are based around the market rate of $37 – $38 per kilowatt).
Whether you’re looking at solar to save money, create clean energy or to do your bit to reduce carbon emissions, Inspire Energy can tailor a solar solution for you.
