Victoria’s Solar Rebate – Update

Leading up to November’s first Victorian solar panel rebate allocation tomorrow, Solar Victoria has released some statistics on the last round.

According to the agency, the release on October 16 saw 4,308 solar PV rebates allocated in just over 12 hours. This was significantly longer than previous releases, but still shows the program’s ongoing popularity and that supply continues to fall well short of demand.

The October 16 allocation was comprised of the “normal release” of 3,250, further boosted by 1,058 expired applications from the previous allocation. The number of expired applications was up significantly from the 750 in the release prior and Solar Victoria is urging retailers to remind customers to complete and submit their applications within the 14-day timeframe.

Other statistics from the October 16 release:

• 66 per cent of rebates were secured by retailers that aren’t in the Program’s Top 20.
• The maximum percentage of rebates that went to any single retailer was 4%.
• 39 per cent went to solar providers in regional areas.
• 1,341 solar power system installations were scheduled as at yesterday.

The update notes a growing number of approved customer applications still waiting to proceed to installation. Solar Victoria has reminded retailers that once a customer has been confirmed as eligible and receives their QR code, the solar installation must be completed within four months. The agency has also reminded retailers they cannot apply for the rebate on behalf of their customers and will continue to monitor for such activity.

Solar Victoria has also started publishing lists with the number of applications secured by all retailers in each month of the program since its second phase commenced on July 1.

Tomorrow’s Solar Panel Rebate Release

Tomorrow’s release of rebates will kick off at noon. 3,250 subsidies will be available for allocation, plus any “top-up” from expired applications. Another round of 3,250 will be available in November, but in December the allocations will drop to 2,500 each release (plus expired application top-up, if any) to the end of the financial year; except for January when there will be two releases of 2,000.

Starting January next year, the maximum rebate level will reduce from $2,225 to $1,888 – a drop in maximum value of just under 18%.

According to a recent Andrews Government announcement, more than 46,000 solar power installations have been completed in Victoria since the Solar Homes program launched.

You can learn more about Victoria’s solar panel rebate here.