{"id":26152,"date":"2018-11-29T05:34:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-28T19:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=26152"},"modified":"2024-07-03T10:48:14","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T01:18:14","slug":"solar-regulations-review-mb0843","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-regulations-review-mb0843\/","title":{"rendered":"Amendments To Australia’s Renewable Energy Regulations Proposed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image: schropferoval<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

When is a small-scale solar power system a large-scale system? The Department of Environment And Energy wants to clarify this through changes to renewable energy regulations.<\/p>\n

The Department is quick to point out that its proposed amendments will not affect incentives provided to Australian households and businesses installing solar power systems under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES); i.e. the “solar rebate<\/a>“.<\/p>\n

Section 3(2) of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 states an eligible system under the SRES is a device with a capacity of no more than 100kW and that generates no more than 250MWh of electricity annually.<\/p>\n

But what is considered a “device”? It’s not unheard of for a single site to have multiple 99kW commercial solar<\/a> systems, making all of them potentially eligible for inclusion under the SRES.<\/p>\n

The Department states there needs to be clarification on what should be considered the boundary of a solar PV device.<\/p>\n

“The lack of clarity is creating uncertainty for scheme participants and adding burden for both scheme participants and the Clean Energy Regulator,” it says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By providing more explicit criteria, the Department says this will prevent gaming of the system; stopping large solar projects from participating in the SRES instead of the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET).<\/p>\n

Among the proposed related amendments contained in the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Small-scale Solar Eligibility and Other Measures) Regulations 2019, 2 or more photovoltaic systems will be considered a device if at least three of the following criteria are met:<\/p>\n