The solar PV system is the viable option, which Australian people have finally found to harness the energy to erode the highest electricity bill. Besides, the extraction of energy from the coal plant will also pollute the environment to a greater extent; the Australian government is firmed to tackle the problem to make Australia greener and zero-carbon
emission-free so that the country can thrive on getting rid of any carbon-related hazards. For those reasons, Australia has emphasised the solar PV system to install solar systems across the country, and Victoria, in particular, has championed installing the highest number of solar systems.

According to Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator, there are approximately over 508,795 solar PV systems installed across Victoria – all are less than 100kW in a capacity as of December 31, 2020. Recently established Victorian solar homes program, which enables and encourages Victorians to install a city of solar panels by providing with all the amenities and necessities, ensures that not a single homeowner misses out on this once in a lifetime opportunity to make their city free of any unethical electricity rising cost or carbon flooding. Let me elucidate to you about the solar homes program Victoria, so that you can decide for yourselves whether or not you wish to adorn your house with this prerequisite.

What is Victorian Solar Homes Program?

This solar home program is intended to serve the Victoria’s people, and it consists of solar panels, solar hot water, solar battery, solar panels for rentals, solar for business, heating, and cooling, and zero-emission vehicles. They are all about either rebates or incentives to help Victorians install the solar PV system or the other latter systems so
that they can reduce their electricity bill and retrench their savings. At the same time, it will cause less carbon emission due to overusing of carbon-producing sources, such as coal.

However, we will mainly describe the first four categories in detail as Solar Emporium is directly attuned to these four sectors and have been rendering them to the Victorians for a very long time with a series of successful records. Let’s delve into how they work, what they are, how they are blessing the Aussies, their criteria, and how they are applied.

Details of Victorian Solar Homes Package

1. Solar Panel Rebate:

Victorian solar panel rebate, aka state rebate, is one of the rebates to help Victorians save a whopping amount of money while purchasing fully-fledged solar PV systems. This ensures that the system’s price won’t restrict the customers from buying it, and at the same time, it will take the burden out of the shoulder, particularly for the working-class people. This rebate system was first introduced in 2009 and resumes until 2012. Although this rebate system was not active between 2013 and 2018, the government has decided again to put this system back in place in 2019, in which 24,000 households managed to occupy the solar PV systems up until June 30, 2019.

The success of the first round had led to the second round that intended to see a hefty installation at around 650,00 homes. This solar Victoria rebate program is one of the pioneering schemes of the Victoria solar homes program. According to the program, the household can claim up to $1,400 upfront at the time of the solar purchase. Whatever the system costs, you will get up to $1,400, which will be deducted from the original price of the system. This new amount was started on July 1, 2021 and will continue until June 30 of 2022, after which the amount will change.

Current solar panel rebates remaining in this release:

• 5,954 (Value as of 03/09/2021)

The value has been reduced to $1,400 from the previous value of $ 1,850. This means that you can get a rebate of up to $1,400 or 50% of the system’s total price. For instance;

• If your solar system’s price is $2,000, you will get a rebate of $1,000
• If the system costs $5,000, the rebate will be $1,400 as the amount is capped to $1,400
• If the system costs $10,000, yet you will get a rebate of $1,400, not $5,000

You will be delighted to hear that not only will you be given a rebate of up to $1,400, but also, you can claim an interest-free loan of up to $1,400. For example, if you are granted a rebate of $1,200, you will also obtain an interest-free loan of $1,200. Whatever your rebate amount will be, your interest-free loan will be exactly the same. And this interest-free loan will have to be paid over 4 years or 48 months, either per month or a lumpsum amount at once, depending on your financial convenience. By installing a solar panel system, you can save around $890 on your electricity bill, which is enormous for any households currently residing in Victoria.

Are you eligible for the Victorian solar homes rebate?

• You have to be a landlord or owner-occupier of the rebate-claimed property
• Your combined taxable income must be less than $180,000 (based on last year’s Australian Tax Office Notice of Assessment)
• Your property for which the rebate is claimed must be worth less than $3 million
• You still haven’t claimed or acquired any Victorian rebate under the Solar Homes Program
• You don’t own any existing solar PV system (unless your system is installed prior to November 2009)

Claiming process of Victorian Solar home rebate

• First, make sure you understand the whole process of claiming and eligibility and then select the CEC authorised solar retailer like Solar Emporium
• Your solar product must be from the authorised product list
• Once after thorough research when you find the authorised retailer, you better request for the quote
• Your authorised solar retailer will then send you a written quote stating all the pertinent information, including the system’s price. This quote will help you make an informed decision. Your retailer will also upload the quote on
  Solar Victoria Panel, for which you will get the notification alert. NB: Solar Victoria never asks for signing any quote or contract for purchasing the solar without confirming the eligibility.
• Through your notification, you can directly go to the portal in which you can start your process by starting the application for eligibility
• If you are deemed eligible, you will be provided with a unique eligibility number and QR code, which will be required and scanned by the installer to proceed with the installation
• Make sure that you have two forms of ID of the following documents to submit to apply for the rebate, such as driver’s licence, Medicare card, Australian passport, Australian birth certificate, foreign passport with a valid Australian visa, or immicard
• Proof of income of the owner or multiple owners must be submitted of that financial year
• Once you are successfully done with the above procedures, you then wish to book a date on which the installation will take place

Can anyone claim both Victorian home rebate and the federal rebate?

Of course. Federal rebate (Small-scale technology certificates) and state rebate (Victoria solar rebate) are two different things. If you purchase any new solar system, you will also be provided with an incentive like a federal rebate. Furthermore, if you reside in Victoria, you will be offered a rebate of up to $1,400 in addition to your federal rebate. However, if you had previously installed a system, you will not be offered any
state rebate. Also, if you upgrade your existing system in Victoria, you won’t be given any Victorian solar rebate either.

2. Solar Battery Rebate

One of the most expensive things about the solar system is its battery system. Their range is anywhere between 10K to 18K, depending on the brand and power most of the time. Therefore, the battery and any part thereof must be included in the approved product list. It is the case as the battery and other solar products must maintain the standard set by the Clean Energy Council (CEC), Energy Safe Victoria, and other authoritarian entities. In this rebate system, you are eligible to get a rebate on your purchasing battery up to $4,174 until rebates are fully allocated, after which it would be reduced to $3,500.

Current battery rebates remaining in this release:

• 604 (Value as of 03/09/2021)

Installing a battery can save Victorian households up to $640 a year. The beauty of this Victorian solar homes program battery rebate is that your authorised solar retailer will claim the rebate on your behalf and deduct the amount from the original price. The remaining amount you will have to pay upfront to your retailer.

How do You know you are eligible for this rebate?

• If you already own a solar system with a capacity of 5kW or greater
• You have got the approval from the Distributed Network Service Provider (DNSP) to connect the battery to the grid
• You are the landlord of the property where the system is going to be installed
• Your combined taxable income must be less than $180,000 (based on last year’s Australian Tax Office Notice of Assessment)
• Your property is an existing property, valued at under $3 million based on the current council rates notice
• Your property address has never been involved with any solar homes program
• You agree to receive information from your relevant DNSP about taking part in battery trials owing to maximising your battery value.

How to apply for the battery rebate?

Everything else is exactly the same as you would have done for the solar panel rebate mentioned above. However, when it comes to submitting documentation, here are the exceptions for the battery rebate as a part of the Victorian solar Homes Program –

• Any pre-approval number or reference coming by from the DNSP must be submitted
• Property ownership, such as local council rates notice, should be submitted too
• Proof of income documentation of one landlord or multiple landlords should be required for the same financial year

3. Solar Panels For Rentals

Victorian solar homes program has become more famous due to this newly emerging option, called solar panels for rentals. Now, both landlords and tenants can benefit from this new scheme, which will enable both to use solar-based electricity to sever the high cost. The amount is exactly the same as the Victorian rebate, which is up to $1,400, and alongside, you will also receive the interest-free loan of up to $1,400, requiring to be paid over 4 years or 48 months.

Current solar panel rebates for rentals remaining in this release:

• 378 (Value as of 03/09/2021)

An owner-occupier can apply for two individual properties at once for this specific rebate, as one application can be submitted for one particular address. The interest-free loan will also apply for both properties, provided that the Solar Homes Landlord-Tenant Agreement form should be signed prior to applying for the rebate. Bear in mind, to become eligible for the loan, you will need to submit a satisfactory credit report, which is less than 12 months old. In case you don’t have it, you can still get a free credit report online using Moneysmart website; You will get the credit report within 10 days.

Another interesting fact is that not only can the landlord pay for the system, but also, if the renters decide to pay half the amount of the main amount along with the landlord, that can happen too, and for that, you as a landlord will have to agree with the co-contribution option. If you don’t use the co-contribution method, you have to pay $29.17 per month, whereas using the co-contribution option, you have to pay 50% or $14.59, and so does the renter.

When both landlord and tenant agree to co-contribution, the percentage of the payment for each

• Must be agreed upfront at the time of signing Landlord-Tenant Agreement
• The tenant must pay the payable amount to the landlord
• The amount, by any means, cannot be altered or changed once the loan has been sanctioned

For more information about this scheme under the Victorian Solar Homes program for renters, click here. NB: Once the renter vacates the property – who signed to pay for 4 years or until leaving out of the property – cannot be charged excess or forced to pay the payable amount once the tenant vacates the property, they will no longer be subject to the repayment agreement.

If you are confused about what the percentage of repayment will have to be paid, take a look at the table;

Table Source: https://www.solar.vic.gov.au/information-landlords

How to apply for this rebate?

• Make sure that you understand the whole process of this rebate, and lodge the landlord-Tenant agreement with your rebate eligibility application prior to your apply for the rebate
• Proceed with the quote sent by the retailer once you were satisfied and agreed to start the application
• Get your pre-approval from the DNSP
• Complete the application by demonstrating your property ownership, such as submit your completed Landlord-Tenant Agreement, upload your satisfactory credit report
• Submit the required documents, such as a copy of your quote, Landlord-Tenant Agreement form, property ownership, credit report, two out of any of the following proof of identities, such as Driving licence, Medicare card, Australian passport, Australian birth certificate, foreign passport with a valid Australian visa or Immicard.
• Then book the date for the installation, and arrange your installation

4. Solar For Business

The revolutionary change has come to an effect when the rooftop solar PV system has been taken into account for boosting the economy and financial status of the small businesses in Victoria up to 30kW. Any small business of that capacity
will be eligible to receive a rebate of 50% of the original price of the system or a maximum of $3,500. There will be 15,000 solar PV rebates available for the small businesses for the next three years as a part of this solar homes Victoria rebate. This rebate was implemented from May 2021, for which the Victorians have been waiting eagerly for so long.

For example, if a solar PV system’s price is worth $5,000, 50% of it will be $2,500, which you will get as a rebate. On the other hand, if the system costs $10,000, the rebate will be $3,500 as the amount is capped at this value, and it can’t go beyond that. Remember, initially; the rebate will be applicable to those businesses which are running at their own premises, followed by it will further expand to those which will rent their premises.

Current small business rebates remaining in this release:

• 2,055 (Value as of 03/09/2021)

How do you know your small business is eligible?

• You are the owner of the business that is comprised of less than 20 employees and employs at least one other person, excluding the owner
• Business is not operational in the residential premises
• Business is operating with individual metre system
• The system is installed by the solar Victoria approved solar retailers
• The solar system size should be up to a maximum of 30kW

In essence, it can be stated that the Victorian solar homes program is a blessing for the Victorians, who would otherwise have been struggling financially to cope up in bearing the cost of the high electricity bill or installing a new solar PV system and its accessories. As soon as it got opened in 2019, Victorian solar rebate had witnessed a spurt of customers moving along to buy the systems for their properties. To remain updated and for more information, do visit Solar Emporium.