what is a stc assignment form

How does STC trading work? A Solar Installers and Retailers Guide to STCs

The Federal Government created the Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) trading market in 2001 to encourage consumers and small businesses to install renewable energy systems. It does this by setting a requirement for big polluters to buy a certain percentage of energy each year from renewable energy sources.

There’s no denying that these STCs have been a critical part of the solar boom in the last decade. By creating an upfront discount, they’ve decreased the cost of installation by an average of $500-$600 per kW. However, the additional paperwork could be challenging when you first start selling on your own. You just want to get back to doing what you do best, designing and installing rooftop solar PV systems. So to help you simplify your business administration, we’ve created this guide to help solar installers on how to manage your STCs.

In this article, we cover:

• how the small-scale renewable energy scheme works
• how to calculate STCs

STC eligibility requirements

Stc legal paperwork, how to become a rec agent, historical stc prices.

• and how to answer Common STC questions from consumers.

How the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme works

The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, or SRES, is the name of the STC market.

• The Federal Government creates Renewable Energy Certificates. STCs are awarded to solar projects below 100kW.
• The government awards your customers (the homeowners) STCs, when they purchase solar PV systems from you, .
• Your customer signs the rights to the STCs to you (optional).
• The STCs are registered and sold on the market. This is typically done via a specialist STC broker. The total value of the STCs allow you to offset the upfront cost of the solar system.
• The STCs are then sold to fossil fuel generators and other large polluters.

How to calculate STCs

The formula used to calculate the number of STCs each solar system should be awarded is quite simple. First, multiply the DC capacity of your customer’s solar panels, the years left in the SRES on date of install, and the rating given to your customer’s STC region. After that, round down the result as the CER does not award partial STCs.

For example: 5 (kW) x 13 (years) x 1.382 (zone 3) = 82.92 = 82 STCs

Assuming your STCs can be traded for $35 each, this is a saving of $2,870.00.

NOTE: The number of years in the deeming period decreases over time was designed to incentivise consumers to get solar sooner, rather than later.

Zone multipliers

• Zone 1 – 1.622 multiplier
• Zone 2 – 1.536 multiplier
• Zone 3 – 1.382 multiplier
• Zone 4 – 1.185 multiplier

The eligibility requirements cover five facets, and they are:

• you and your company’s qualifications
• the solar project’s size
• the solar project’s adherence to safety and quality standards;
• the certificate creation date
• and protecting your customer after the install.

You and your company’s qualifications.

The solar system must be designed and installed by CEC accredited technicians to be eligible for STCs.

Working on Grid-connect or Stand-Alone systems requires separate accreditations. Depending on your business needs and where you choose to take your career you can get accreditations for both design and installation. You must hold an unrestricted electrical license to apply for any Install accreditations.

The solar design and installation.

The output capacity of STC projects is limited to 100kW. This refers to the solar panel ‘rated’ output, and not the inverter. Over this size, LGCs are the relevant Renewable Energy Certificate.

The only solar panels and inverters which can be installed under the SRES are those approved for use by the Clean Energy Council at time of STC creation. If a product has been de-listed between installation and attempted creation of STCs, the system is no longer eligible.

The design and installation follow the relevant CEC guideline:

• Grid-Connected Solar PV Systems: Install and Supervise Guidelines for Accredited Installers
• Grid-Connected Solar PV Systems: No Battery Storage, Design Guidelines for Accredited Installers
• 30-100kW Grid-Connected Solar PV Systems: No Battery Storage, Design Guidelines for Accredited Installers

Your installation complies with the service and installation rules for your state

• ACT: ActewAGL Service and Installation Rules
• NSW: NSW Trade and Investment: Energy Supply Industry Service and Installation Rules
• NT: PowerWater Power Network Policy Installation Rules and Power Networks Service Rules
• SA: SA Power Networks Service and Installation Rules
• TAS: Tas Networks Service and Installation Rules
• QLD: Queensland Electricity Connection & Metering Manual
• VIC: Victorian Service and Installation Rules
• WA: WA Department of Commerce Electrical Requirements

Your installation complies with the electricity safety Acts for your state.

The design and installation follow the Australian Standards.

• AS/NZS 3000:2018, Wiring rules
• AS 4777.2:2016, Grid connection of energy systems via inverters
• AS/NZS 5033:2014, Installation and safety requirements for photovoltaic arrays
• AS/NZS 1768:2007, Lightning protection
• AS/NZS 1170.2:2007, Structural design actions, Part 2: Wind actions
• AS/NZS 4509.1:2009, Stand-alone power systems, Part 1: Safety and installation (for off-grid systems)
• AS 4086.2:1997, Secondary batteries for use with stand-alone power systems, Part 2: Installation and maintenance. (for battery systems)
• AS 5139:2019, Electrical Installations—Safety of battery systems for use with power conversion equipment (for battery systems)

Certificate creation date.

The STC certificates can be created no later than 12 months post-install.

Post-install.

The STC assignment form is completed and submitted to the party who registers the STCs. This is either you or your chosen trader. Then, certificates of compliance are given to the customer with a copy retained by yourself.

These include:

• a certificate to confirm the system meets all relevant Australian Standards, and all local, state or territory requirements
• an on-site verification statement by the system owner that the accredited installer or supervisor has attended the system installation
• an on-site verification statement by installers
• a certificate to confirm your company has at least $5 million public liability insurance
• a certificate of electrical safety
• and an engineering certificate from your solar panel mounting bracket supplier stating that the array frame is certified to AS1170.2 for their location.

Replacement System STC Eligibility

If you are replacing an entire system, the new system is eligible for STCs. If you are replacing panels, the system is not eligible for STCs for the new panels. The reason: at least one major component (i.e.; panel or inverter) has been used previously to claim small-scale technology certificates for the same project.

Solar Panel Validation Initiative

To prevent fraud, industry players and manufacturers have coordinated to create solar panels validation apps under the Solar Panel Validation Initiative. This program is designed to discourage unscrupulous manufacturers and suppliers from selling fake solar panels.

This task is an optional extra that speeds up the CER’s mandatory pre-sale STC audit. Without solar panel validation, it could take up to 4 weeks. With solar panel validation, auditing is typically around 48 hours.

• BridgeSelect

Participating in the STC market

The easiest way is to have STC traders sell AND register your STCs for you. Alternately, you can register and have the traders sell for you, or even do all the registering and selling yourself. If you’re interested to know how to do it all yourself, we explain the necessary steps in the How to become a REC agent section below.

Traders register and sell your unregistered STCs

This is the most common choice of small to mid-size installers and retailers. It saves time and creates a more predictable cash-flow.

Traders will buy your unregistered STCs same-day for a typical cost of $1 per STC. This looks like a $1 lower unregistered STC price and gives you faster access to cash. This price usually ranges from $32 to $38 per STC, depending on market conditions.

That price will always be a little lower than the current STC spot price. For their business to operate, they need to have some margin when they aggregate and sell the STCs themselves - a small price to pay for convenience and cash-flow.

Registered STCs

Large retailers often favour this option as the two-day to four-week registration timeline won’t impact cash-flow at your scale. Having access to large quantities of STCs also allows you to trade at the 5,000 minimum market parcel size at the spot price.

You register your STCs yourself and traders sell them

To register STCs yourself, you have to become a REC agent first. This application process can take many months.

Additionally, because the CER audits and validates all STCs before they can be sold, it adds a couple of days to your process time.

After you create your first 250 STCs in the REC registry, which are free, each extra certificate costs 47 cents to create. That is offset by traders offering you an average of $1 more for your registered STC.

Once you have negotiated a price with the traders, you transfer ownership through the REC registry.

Registering and selling the STCs yourself

After you create the STCs on the REC Registry, you have two options. You can then place them on the STC Clearing House or contact the big polluters to sell them directly.

On the Clearing House, you’ll get a guaranteed price of $40 (excl. GST). Your STCs will get added to the back of the queue as sales are processed on a first in first served basis. When they are sold, you’ll get an email, and the money should arrive in your account within three working days.

It can take weeks and months for STCs to be bought from the Clearing House because it’s the highest price. Unless the spot price is around and over $40, there is no financial incentive for the big polluters to buy from there.

Either way, to create and sell STCs, the following paperwork is required. They must be ready to give to the Clean Energy Regulator during the audit process if requested. I have attached links to the Clean Energy Regulator’s templates which they strongly encourage you to personalise for your company.

• The STC assignment form
• The on-site verification statement by the system owner
• The on-site verification statement by the accredited designer and installer
• Written statements that say you (included in the STC assignment form template): are accredited by the Clean Energy Council; have installed a system that meets the Australian Standards; have at least $5 million in public liability insurance; have installed the system according to local and state rules, and have completed the installation

List of STC traders

Traders offer a variety of options to help you with STCs registration and selling. These include online and paper (scanned) submissions, built-in solar panel validation, payment for selling your STCs to them same-day, within three business days, and even payment after the audit. Some have online apps, but all of them have their own STC assignment form template.

I’ve listed the specialist STC traders below to help you save time working out which one is right for you.

• Trade in Green
• Green Energy Trading
• RET Australia
• Sol Distribution
• One Stop Warehouse
• Powerark Solar
• Habitat Energy Systems
• Emerging Energy
• REC Traders
• REC Services

To register your STCs yourself, you’ll need to become a REC agent.

First, create an account on the Clean Energy Regulator Portal . After that, the Clean Energy Regulator asks that you complete SRES Smart, which aims to check that you know your obligations under the scheme as an installer.

You’ll need to pass every test with a score of at least 80% within five attempts.

Then you make an online application through the REC Registry. It may take up to 6 weeks for the CER to assess your application and get back to you.

If your application has been successful, you then ‘Upgrade’ your account in the settings to get access to the STC Clearing House. As a REC Agent, you can now register STCs.

If you’re interested in some historical STC prices, Demand Manager has a good overview of the last 12 months.

The easiest way to explain STCs to your customers

“The Solar PV system creates STCs. These belong to the owner of the solar system, you. So that you don’t need to deal with the whole STC creation and selling process, you transfer the rights to the STCs to me for a discount on the system price and I sell them for you.

Four factors determine the size of the STC financial incentive.

• the kW size of the solar system
• years till 2030 - the end of the SRES STC scheme
• the postcode you live in (your STC zone)
• the per STC price”

Common questions customers ask

Does it top out.

Yes. As a program for small-scale solar renewable energy installs, the maximum output capacity is 100kW. For renewable projects above 100kW, large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) are awarded.

Are off-grid solar PV projects included?

Yes, it also covers off-grid.

Are there income requirements?

No, the STC solar incentive program is not means-tested.

Who is the STC program for?

It’s for any solar PV project no matter the type of owner - homes, small businesses, schools, community groups.

What about batteries?

The STC solar incentive is not intended to cover energy storage because it doesn’t directly create additional solar energy production.

What about caravans, boats, houseboats, motor homes, and RVs?

It can apply to portable housing as long as it’s your primary place of residence.

Is this a rebate?

Despite how it appears, the STC ‘rebate’ is actually not a rebate. The STCs are a federal government incentive structure.

What is the STC rebate?

STCs are Australian Federal government issued certificates designed to reward the installation of small-scale renewable power generators. The number of STCs that are generated depend on the total kW size of the solar system, the number of years remaining in the deeming period and the multiplier factor that depends on the location of install."

How are STCs calculated?

Do you have to be on the grid to earn stc’s.

No, you don’t need to be connected to the grid to generate STCs

Alan Lam is a solar specialist with over 5 years of experience supporting solar businesses in Australia. Alan understands the nuances of government incentive schemes for solar in Australia and beyond in detail and has a wealth of knowledge to give solar installers.

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• Offers And Incentives
• Small Scale Technology Certificates

Small-scale Technology Certificates

Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) are a financial incentive to encourage the installation of solar and heat pump water heaters under a Federal Government operated scheme.

STCs are available for solar & heat pump installations in every state of Australia.

One STC is equivalent to a megawatt hour per year (MWh/yr) of electricity displaced by an eligible system.

Solar and heat pump water heaters predominantly use 'clean' renewable energy to heat water, thereby displacing the use of electricity.  

Eligibility Criteria

• STCs can only be created for solar and heat pump water heaters listed on the Clean Energy Regulator's 'Registers of Solar Water Heaters' and 'Heat Pump Water Heaters'.
• Installations in new and existing homes are eligible
• STCs can only be claimed by the owner of the solar or heat pump water heater
• Australia is divided into climate zones, 4 for solar and 5 for heat pump \(see map below\). The postcode of the location of the installation determines the climate zone in which it is installed,
• Effective 02/03/2021 the current price Rheem pays is $36.00 per STC (excludes gst and subject to change)
• The right to create STCs can be assigned to a Registered Agent of your choice in return for a financial benefit. Rheem is a Registered Agent and can look after this process for you.
• For more information on STCs, visit the Clean Energy Regulator website

How many STCs am I eligible for?

Each solar or heat pump system is eligible for a different number of STCs, which relates to the systems' capacity, efficiency and installation location. Enter your post code in the Rebate Register to find out how many STCs a Rheem solar or heat pump is eligible for at your home. Note: Effective 02/03/2021 the current price Rheem pays is $36.00 per STC (excludes gst and subject to change).

STC Calculator

How to claim the financial benefit of stcs through rheem.

Claiming your STCs is easy. At the time of installation, simply complete a STC assignment form with your plumber and return this to Rheem with the required attachments.

• Payment is made by Rheem Australia Pty Ltd (for STC claims made directly to Rheem)
• Payment is made via EFT
• Payment usually takes approximately 4 - 6 weeks
• Terms and Conditions

DISCLAIMER: Information contained in this site is based on publicly available data from Government authorities, and is provided as a guide only. All rebate and incentive schemes are subject to change, and require strict eligibility conditions to be met. STC values are nominal and are subject to change due to market fluctuations. Rheem reserves the right at its own discretion to refuse multiple assignment requests. Rheem advises to check full program terms and conditions with the relevant Government department or authority prior to purchasing a product for which you intend to claim a rebate(s). Rheem will not be held responsible for any cost, loss or damage incurred due to reliance upon the information contained in this site should such information be incorrect or contain an error. This page last updated 2nd March 2021.

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Small-Scale Technology Certificate Assignment Form

Owners of eligible small generation units installed on or after 1 January 2011 qualify under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000: (the Act), to create Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs). STCs exist electronically in an internet-based registry managed by the Clean Energy Regulator (CER). In the context of photovoltaic systems, each STC represents the equivalent of one megawatt hour of renewable energy generation. STCs have a value determined by the market in which they may be traded. Owners of eligible small-generation unit installations have two options to benefit from STCs:

1. Register with the CER, apply to create STCs, negotiate the sale of STCs to an interested party and transfer STCs to the purchasing party; or

2. Assign their right to create STCs to an Agent. In return, the Agent may provide a rebate or credit which reduces the cash payable for the purchase of the photovoltaic system, offer a one-off payment for the right to the STCs, or agree to some other financial arrangement. The financial value of a STC is dependent on the supply of and demand for STCs and may vary between buyers from day to day. STCs may only be created once for a photovoltaic system and they must be created within 12 months of the photovoltaic installation date. Any instance of improper creation of STCs, under Section 24 of the Act, may result in referral for prosecution regardless of the reason for the improper creation. Providing false or misleading information under Part 11A of the Act is a criminal offence.

For further information on STCs and photovoltaic systems, please see the CER website: http://ret.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au or contact the CER on 1300 553 542.

Consumer Declaration

1. By signing this Form, you irrevocably agree to assign all your rights and interest to create or use any STCs under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 or any other environmental rights that are associated with the installation of the photovoltaic system to: Greenbot Pty. Ltd ABN:  83 614 837 124

2. You acknowledge and agree that any rebate or credit (identifiable benefit) offered to you by the retailer who sold you the small generation unit (Retailer) is facilitated by, and conditional upon, your agreement to assign to Greenbot Pty. Ltd your rights to create or use the STCs. You agree that such rebate or credit by the Retailer is sufficient consideration for your agreement to assign the STCs under this Form.

3. You understand and agree that you will not sell, assign, promise or dispose your rights to the STCs or any other environmental rights (or your rights to create or use the STCs or any other environmental rights) to anyone else and that once you, as the owner of the photovoltaic system, have assigned all your rights to create or use the STCs upon acceptance of your offer by the Retailer, no other STCs or other environmental rights can be created or used by you concerning the photovoltaic system.

4. You understand that by signing this Form you are certifying that you have not previously sold, assigned, promised or disposed of your rights to the environmental rights, including the STCs, (or your rights to create or use environmental rights, including the STCs) in respect of this installation.

5. If you have an Australian Business Number (“ABN”), you must quote that ABN to us in the System Owner Details. If you do not have an ABN, you warrant the assignment of your rights to create or use environmental rights is not a supply that you make in the course or furtherance of the enterprise you carry on in Australia.

6. You can only assign your rights to create or use the STCs within 12 months from the date of installation and commissioning.

7. You agree that Greenbot Pty. Ltd and its contractors and/or the CER have the right to inspect the installed system with reasonable notice.

8. You acknowledge and agree that information on this form, and any other information collected by the Retailer or their contracted installers from you in connection with the sale or installation of the small generation unit, the STCs or the Scheme will be disclosed to Greenbot Pty. Ltd , its related companies, and the CER to create STCs under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, for related verification, audit and scheme monitoring purposes, and to the extent that such information contains your personal information, per the Privacy Collection Statement set out in the annexure to this Form.

9. You are aware that penalties may be applied for providing misleading information in this form under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000

What are STC’s (Small-scale Technology Certificates)?

STCs, or Small-scale Technology Certificates, are a commodity that you can use for trade. You can obtain these certificates when you purchase a renewable energy system.

Currently, when you install one of these pieces of equipment, solar hot water systems included, you can claim STCs.

The amount of electricity that is generated or displaced by your system will determine the number of STCs assigned to you.

Solar hot water systems can reduce – or displace – the amount of electricity your household requires from the grid. Rather than using traditional electricity, solar hot water systems use the sun to generate power to heat your water.

The number of megaWatt hours of electricity created will determine the number of STCs you receive. A bigger system will naturally garner more of these certificates as it has a bigger capacity and means less electricity needs to be taken from the grid.

The number of these certificates you will be entitled to can also vary depending on your geographic location and the size of your system.

What are my STCs worth?

Since these certificates are not physical copies, but exist only online in the RET (renewable energy target) registry database, you may wonder just what their purpose is.

They can be sold either through the open STCs market, where prices will be subject to market forces, or through the STCs clearing house. Here, the certificates are price fixed at $40, which excludes GST.

Alternatively, STCs can be assigned to an agent so they can be exchanged for a discount or delayed cash payment.

Apricus Australia has a solar hot water rebate calculator , which you can use to get an indication of the value of STCs you are eligible for.

What paperwork do you need to get when a system is installed?

When you purchase a solar water system, you will be given a copy of the STC Assignment Form, which you need to sign after installation is completed.

You may also need to ensure you have any additional documentation required by your state in order to certify installation, such as a certificate of installation report.

Another thing to bear in mind is if you are installing a larger unit that contains more than 700 litres you will also need a statutory declaration to the effect that the unit will remain in its current location and configuration for its lifetime.

Apricus will supply another statutory declaration about the unit model, location, storage, usage, appropriateness and the expertise of the installer.

To chat to an expert about what your requirements, rights and responsibilities are, contact the friendly team at Apricus, who are here to help you through the entire process. Or watch our video on how Evacuated Tube Solar Hot Water System works.

Remember, you can check your STC eligibility using the Apricus Solar Rebate Calculator.

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Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STC) Compliance Update

Stc compliance process update – 01 april 2022.

From the 1st of April, several changes have been implemented into the compliance process for Solar STCs. These changes directly affect solar installers and designers, agents and retailers.

This set of changes has been brought into effect under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Regulations 2021. There are a series of changes that will unroll throughout 2022. The aim of the reforms is to strengthen the compliance requirements to create a sector with greater integrity, ultimately decreasing the risk of fraudulent STC claims.

What has changed?

1. the stc assignment form and written statement requirements.

An STC claim must have written statements from the associated retailer, designer and installer. 

There is a sample form found here that will assist in the development of these forms for your STC claims. 

The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) recommends that a witness signature should be incorporated into the forms. Despite not being mandatory, it assists in providing further assurance of the validity of the STC claim to the regulator. 

The written statement can only be completed once the solar system has been installed and energised. A copy of the form must be provided to the owner of the solar system, and the registered agent who will create the STCs.

2. Invoice Evidence

Under these reforms, the regulator may request a copy of the invoice proving the solar system is meeting the requirements as per the contract.

3. Physical Site Attendance

Installers must have evidence proving their physical site attendance (in either a supervising or physical installation role). This requirement has been in place since 2013, and with the April 1st changes documentation in the form of a written statement will provide further evidence.

Three check points are required for each site:

• The job set-up
• Mid-installation check up
• Testing and commissioning

The evidence can be a geotagged photo at each stage. If the installation spans multiple days or weeks, the installer is advised to supply sufficient notes to the registered agent to be submitted with the STC claim.

4. STC Sign Offs per Day

An accredited installer can sign off on 2 complete installations in one day and be eligible for STCs.

5. Bulk Uploads and Information Requirements

The requirements for bulk upload of STCs, and the information required to claim STCs for Small Generation Units have also been updated. The new information can be found here.

6. Fraudulent Activity

The new regulations will allow the CER to declare an individual designer or installer ineligible to participate in the SRES, as opposed to a company. A declaration of ineligibility can last for up to 3 years.

For any further information or for questions you may have, please contact our SRES team at [email protected]

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STC Program – The Solar Rebate That Is Not Officially a Rebate

STC program is the abbreviation of Small-scale Technology Certificate. STC is a government program that gives financial incentives issued with qualifying solar power systems and solar panels. This can be redeemed as a dollar value that is deducted from the cost of the solar system. The value of STC can be varied depending upon the market conditions.

What Is The STC Program?

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The STC program comes under the solar credits program which says every megawatt-hour of qualifying energy generation is eligible to get Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). These certificates can be split into two types: small-scale technology certificates and large-scale generation certificates (LGCs). STCs are the ones applicable to residential solar installations.

The government says it cannot be referred a solar rebate. The clean energy regulator website says that under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, the cost reduction in your solar panel is not a rebate. You will not be eligible for any Government-based financial compensation at the completion of any process relating to STCs. This only means the reduction in solar system price you are getting is not coming from the government.

You can get the benefit of this program while purchasing a solar power system from any reputed solar installers. Probably the installer discounts the STC value for you in your solar quote. They will take over the hassle of registering and selling STCs from you.

Read more about renewable power incentives given by the Australian government

If you buy a solar energy system now, it is subsidized by the government scheme worth around $650 per kW installed. For a typical 5kW system that cost reduction will be about $3250. This cost reduction will be applied at the point of sale.

The solar rebate started to reduce one fifteenth every year bases on the current legislation. It started in 2017 and it will gradually reduce until 2032 when the reduction will end up at zero.

If the demand for solar panels gets increased the value of the rebate will go down with STC price. The STC price can be varied between $0 and $40. This means the maximum value of STC set by law is $40.

Most of the owners are assigning a registered agent to create their small-scale technology certificates. But you have the option to create and trade the certificates by yourself. To claim your certificates, you need to follow the steps given here.

• Determine the eligibility of the solar power system or other small-scale renewable energy systems to be installed.
• Calculate the number of STCs to claim for your system.
• Obtain and complete the proper compliance paperwork.
• Create an account in the REC registry that includes verifying your identity and an assessment as a fit and proper person
• Creating STCs in the REC Registry within 12 months of the installation date.
• Wait for the Clean Energy Regulator to validate the certificates
• Find a buyer for the STCs or place them in the STC clearing house queue for sale.

Currently, the value of the solar rebate is about $38 per STC. It translates into a solar rebate of $525 per kW installed. As the STCs are traded in the open market it is exposed to market fluctuations. The historic low price of STCs has fallen into is $17. But still, the rebate will be worth around $221 per kW installed.

STCs are issued with eligible solar PV systems and solar panels and their dollar value can be redeemed which is usually deducted from the cost of the solar system. Most of the accredited solar installers take over the hassle of registering and selling STCs on the market from you and give the point-of-sale discount based on your STCs.

You can assign the certificates to the solar system installing agency will complete the registration process with the Renewable Energy Regulator on your behalf. But you don’t have to wait for that and will get an immediate cost reduction for the solar panel installation.

The amount you get can from this program is based on 3 factors:

• Dollar value of STC
• Zoning:Australia is divided into separate zones based on how much solar energy can be generated by the panels in a given area. You can see your zone by using the postal code.

See the Postcode zone ratings and postcode zones for solar panel systems given on the Clean Energy Regulator website to check your zone.

Each zone has a particular rating number which is used for the calculation of the number STCs the system eligible for. Those ratings are:

Zone 1 – 1.622 rating Zone 2 – 1.536 rating Zone 3 – 1.382 rating Zone 4 – 1.185 rating

• The deeming period: Since the solar rebate is gradually reducing one fifteenth every year until it gets completely ended, the deeming period will reduce each year.

Here are the approximate values of financial incentives for a 6.6kW solar energy system based on the $38 STC price:

Zone 1 – $4066

Zone 2 – $3852

Zone 3 – $3466

Zone 4 – $2971

As already mentioned, the amount of solar rebate can be varied according to the current market price of STC. Now the dollar value of STC is about $38 and the rebate will be worth around $525 per kW installed. When there is a high demand for solar panel installation, a lot of STCs will be created. As the supply of STC increases, the demand decreases and therefore the STC price and subsidy gets reduced.

Currently, a 6.6kW solar system is eligible for a rebate of $3465 (6.6kW x $525 = $3465). If the demand for solar panels increased too much, that can cause the STC price to drop. This means if you get quotes for solar now, you can get the rebate based on the current STC price.

The renewable energy certificates are introduced to attracts people to have renewable energy systems. They can also buy the right to other people’s energy systems in the form of RECs. The Small-scale Technology Certificate is a special type of REC. The value of STC can be redeemed as its dollar value. Most likely the installer will take care of the STC registration and other hassle related to it and you will get a reduction in cost during installation.

To calculate the rebate, you need to find out the number of Small-scale Technology Certificate your system eligible for. This can be calculated by the following equation?

Solar system size (kW) x Zone Rating x Deeming Period = Number of STCs

Then to find the solar rebate use the formula given below.

Number of STCs x Dollar value of an STC in the market = Amount of subsidy

The solar incentive program is open to a large group of people. Homeowners, small businesses, and community groups are all eligible for the program. The only eligibility criteria are:

• Your solar PV system should be less than 100kW.
• The system should be designed and installed by Clean Energy Council accredited professionals.
• Only use the solar panels  and inverter that are approved to use in Australia by the Clean Energy Council.

The renewable energy system owners must complete the STC assignment form to assign the certificates to an agent in exchange for a financial incentive. The form can be completed after the system installation is complete.

Commonly, the homeowners will assign the solar installer to create their small-scale technology certificates. You can ask a residential solar installer whether can manage the procedures to claim the STC solar rebate. But you can create and trade the STCs by yourself. The steps that need to be followed to claim by yourself have been explained above.

For 2020, the solar rebate value in Western Australia (WA) was $814 which translates into 22 STCs for a 1.5kW system. If you have a 2kW system, the incentive will be about $1110 or 30 STCs. All these estimates are calculated based on the $37 STC value.

Tags: energy rebate , solar panel rebate , stc incentive , stc solar rebate

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Solar Rebates | STC's

Small-Scale Technology Certificates What Are They? How Do You Claim Them? Are They Being Reduced?

What Are STC’s?

Most of our customers at Teho ask “are there any Government incentives for going solar?”. Our answer? Yes, yes there are, and they are known as STC’s. They aren’t technically a rebate however that is the name they have got over the years and when something looks like a rebate and smells like a rebate, maybe it’s a rebate?

An STC is a Small-Scale Technology Certificate. You will also hear them referred to colloquially as the Solar Rebate. Introduced in 2011 STC’s are a part of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target. This incentive or “rebate” serves the purpose of reducing the cost of installing solar on your home or business through the creation of these technology certificates.

The amount of STC’s which are applicable to your solar system depends on the size of the system being installed.

An average 6.6kW solar system in 2020 is entitled to 100 STC’s with the value of an STC being around $35. So, on a 6.6kw solar system you would get a total STC rebate of around $3,500.00

How Do I Claim Them?

When purchasing solar you will notice on the quote the price is listed AFTER STC’s, this is because in most, if not all cases you will assign the STC’s over to your solar installer or retailer.

You might be wondering “why would I assign my rebate over to someone else!?” STC’s need to be claimed and this process is best handled by your installer or retailer. Once the system is installed, the installer or retailer will ask you to sign the STC’s over to them. Once this is done the installer or retailer will place this document with an aggregator for the rebate to be turned into real money. It takes the aggregator around 4 weeks to convert STC’s into cash . Plus, they can’t do it one job at a time – they need to combine 5,000 STC’s together to then be able to place them on the market at the current spot price. That is the equivalent of around 50 solar installations!

Are The STC’s Being Reduced?

Solar retailers and installers love to use the lowering STC amount as urgency to get customers to purchase immediately, no one likes missing out – and they know this!

However, they sometimes use language which insinuates its ending very very soon, which just isn’t the case.

The reality is that they are being phased out but not as quickly as anyone makes it out to be.

The beginning of the phase out of the STC program officially started on the 1st of January 2017.

Prior to 2017, you were given 15 years of STC’s in advance. As of January 1st 2017, it was reduced to 14. Every 1st of January for each year until 2030, it is reduced by one year until the program will end. So to put it more simply, the value of STC’s is reducing at around 7% a year compounding, until 2030 when it will be nil.  

So, they are being reduced but at no where near the rate lots of installers and retailers want you to believe.

In saying that, the benefits of solar are vast so if you are in a position to install solar, the sooner the better does ring true to some degree.

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