Do you understand the difference between the solar rebate and solar feed-in tariffs

People get these mixed up all the time. To keep it simple:

The “solar rebate” acts like a point-of-sale discount off the cost of a solar system, and is claimed on your behalf by your solar installer.

The “feed in tariff” is what your electricity retailer pays you, per kWh, for feeding excess solar into the grid. It pays to shop around, as retailers can pay anywhere from 0-20c per kWh.

If you see prices quoted online, on the telly, or in the paper, there’s a 99.99% chance that the quote price already has the ‘discount’ from the solar rebate applied.

It’s worth about $650 per kW of solar panels installed, but this will vary depending on where you live.

As an example, a 3kW system attracts around $1,950 in rebates.

Anyone can claim the rebate, even if you’ve already bought solar power systems in the past and want to buy a new system.

Want to learn more about how solar works? Check out this article by Finn Peacock, former engineer for the CSIRO.