Western Australia Solar Feed-in Tariff Information

Western Australian solar households in Perth and the south-west region of the state have Synergy as their electricity provider and receive a solar feed-in tariff under the Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme (DEBS).

For 2023/24:

Electricity exported between 3pm to 9pm – 10 cents per kilowatt-hour
Electricity exported between 9pm and 3pm – 2.25 cents per kilowatt-hour

And just as comparison, for 2022/23:

Exports between 3pm to 9pm earned 10 cents per kilowatt-hour;
Electricity exported at other times earned 2.5c/kWh.

…and in 2021/22:

Electricity exported between 3pm to 9pm earned 10 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh);
Electricity exported at other times earned 2.75c/kWh.

While the rate for much of the day is low, it is still very much worth going solar in Perth, particularly given the low cost of systems. In fact, Perth boasts the cheapest solar installations in Australia, and likely the world.

Those in regional areas of WA have Horizon Power as their electricity provider. Rates vary according to location, but in significant population centres feed-in tariffs in 2023/24 are:

Electricity exported between 3pm to 9pm earns 10 cents per kilowatt-hour
Electricity exported between 9pm and 3pm earns 3 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Note: some regional towns have far higher FiT rates.

Western Australia’s Older And Higher Feed-In Tariffs

West Australians who applied for rooftop solar panels from the 1st of July 2010 until the 30 of June 2011 could lock in a 40 cent feed-in tariff for 10 years, and those who applied in July 2011 could lock in 20 cents for 10 years.

If a system’s solar inverter size was increased, the high feed-in tariff would be lost. It was possible to increase the panel capacity, but this had to be approved by the electricity retailer and the panel capacity was required to be within 133% of the inverter capacity.

Following that scheme, the the Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme (REBS) was introduced. Just before DEBS kicked off in November 2020 (and it applied to systems installed from August 31, 2020), the solar feed-in tariff under REBS was 7.135 cents per kilowatt-hour in Perth and the south-west region. Horizon REBS solar customers were receiving 7.14 cents to more than 51 cents per kilowatt-hour – but availability was limited depending on location.

Those lucky enough to be on the REBS rates at the time DEBS commenced have been able to keep their higher rates, subject to REBS terms and conditions.

The WA government’s official solar feed in tariff information is here.