Mid-scale solar rebates go live for business rooftops
Canberra's STC scheme now covers 100kW-1MW systems, cutting business solar costs ~20%. Here's what it means for household solar and battery pricing.
Canberra has switched on a new round of solar incentives, but this one is aimed squarely at businesses and farms rather than households.
What happened
According to Renew Economy, federal energy minister Chris Bowen confirmed that mid-scale solar systems installed from 1 October 2026 are now eligible for support under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), which has previously been capped at 100 kW. The change extends SRES support up to 1 MW, targeting what Bowen's department estimates is roughly 80 gigawatts of untapped rooftop potential on factories, warehouses, farm sheds and other large commercial buildings.
Renew Economy reports that the Clean Energy Regulator (CER), which administers the scheme, says the reform should cut the upfront cost of installing a mid-scale system by about 20%. Bowen's office gave two worked examples: a 250kW system could save a business around $68,000 on installation plus a further $50,000 a year on energy bills, while an 850kW system — big enough for a factory or large retail complex — could attract an upfront discount of around $232,000.
There's a catch on timing. While systems installed from 1 October 2026 are eligible, Renew Economy notes that applications for the small-scale technology certificates (STCs) that deliver the discount won't open until mid-to-late November 2026, as the CER builds the systems needed to process them. The regulator told Renew Economy this delay only affects when a claim can be lodged, not eligibility — installers still get the benefit of a fixed five-year deeming period used to calculate the certificates. Businesses in the 100kW–1MW range will also be able to choose between claiming STCs or participating in the separate Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin scheme, but not both for the same deeming period.
Renew Economy also reports that the pace of rollout for these larger systems is expected to be slower than for household and small-business solar, since bigger installations involve longer planning timelines, switchboard and structural upgrades, and separate negotiations with distribution network operators.
What it means for your costs
None of this changes the rules for a typical household rooftop system — this expansion is specifically for mid-scale commercial installs between 100kW and 1MW, well beyond the handful of kilowatts most homes install. But it's a useful reminder of how the underlying STC mechanism works, because it's the same discount already built into the household solar quotes we track.
For a standard 6kWp home system, our live cost model puts a basic install at $7,500, with mid-range systems typically running $6,950 – $11,600 (typical $8,900) and premium setups up to $10,600. As with commercial systems, these household figures are quoted after the STC discount is applied — a federal incentive that reduces in value in steps each year until the scheme winds up in 2030, so the earlier you install, the larger the discount tends to be relative to the system cost.
If you're adding a battery to a home solar system, the separate Cheaper Home Batteries Program works the same way, using certificates that step down every six months through to 2030. See
| Material | Typical | Usual range | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| No battery | $7,500 | $5,850 – $9,750 | – |
| 5 kWh battery | $8,900 | $6,950 – $11,600 | – |
| 10 kWh battery | $10,300 | $8,050 – $13,400 | – |
| 13.5 kWh battery | $11,300 | $8,850 – $14,700 | – |
for how battery size changes the typical cost. Depending on where you live, state-based support can stack on top of the federal discount: Victoria's Solar Homes program offers a rebate of up to $1,400 on panels for households under the relevant income cap, and in Western Australia, Synergy and Horizon Power both offer battery rebates — up to $1,300 or $3,800 respectively if you join a virtual power plant.
Full details and a breakdown by system size are in our Solar panels. Given how many variables feed into a solar quote — system size, battery choice, STC pricing at the time of install, and any state rebate you're eligible for — it's worth running your own quote through our "is my quote fair" tool before signing anything, especially while STC values continue to step down each year.