The world is moving toward renewable energy sources with the growing popularity of the Green Concept worldwide. Australia has also made efforts to increase the contribution from renewable energy sources to the total energy requirement.
Are you a green person who wishes to protect the environment and conserve non-renewable energy sources?
Then you have made the right choice to install solar panels into your home in Ballarat. You are helping to increase the contribution from solar homes to the total renewable energy in Victoria – Australia.
What is the most used renewable source of energy?
Solar power is the largest renewable energy source in Australia.
There are various renewable energy sources in Australia, including wind power, solar energy, hydroelectricity, etc. According to the Clean Energy Council (CEC) data, renewable energy sources have generated 32.5% of the total energy requirement in the country.
Following are the percentages contributed by each renewable energy source in 2021.
Energy Source | Percentage (%) |
Wind | 35.86 |
Small-scale solar | 24.88 |
Hydro | 21.58 |
Large-scale solar | 12.29 |
Bioenergy | 4.3 |
Medium-scale solar | 1.1 |
One might say that wind power is the largest renewable energy source in the country. But if you look closely, solar power has contributed more in total to achieve the targets of Australia.
What is the renewable energy in Victoria?
The Federal Government has initiated a policy to ensure that at least 33000 GWh (Giga Watt-hours) should be generated by renewable energy sources in 2020. This policy is known as Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET).
How Australia is planning to achieve renewable energy targets
The Energy Statistics of Australia indicated a growth in the generation of renewable energy in 2021 compared to 2020. This has been growing over the past couple of years.
If you have already installed solar panels into your home, you have helped achieve these values. However, if you are planning to install the panels, you are helping to achieve the total renewable energy target of the country.
Now you might wonder how a homeowner could help achieve Australia’s renewable energy targets? Let’s not get too technical and make this complicated. The government expects to fulfill the renewable energy targets through large and small-scale producers.
Large scale producers are massive solar plants, wind farms, etc. who produce energy on a massive scale. They are required to provide a part of the total energy requirement of high energy consumers in the region.
The CEC states that the country has achieved the target energy contribution of 33000 GWh from this sector alone in 2019, one year before the target deadline.
The small-scale producers are homeowners and small business owners who wish to install rooftop solar panels, solar heaters, etc. There are no energy targets given for the small-scale energy producers in the country.
They are expected to grow until 2030. Therefore, local governments promote small-scale renewable energy production by providing incentives and financial assistance. This is where your small solar energy project helps to increase the country’s total renewable energy contribution.
What are the incentives provided for solar homes in Victoria?
Are you planning to install solar panels into your home in Victoria? Then we have good news. The Victorian government provides incentives to the homeowners in their region who wish to contribute to the small-scale renewable energy targets.
There are a couple of incentives. One such incentive is that you can get a rebate of up to $1,850 from the cost you spend on your solar system. Solar Victoria has improved their system to help you apply for the rebate quickly and easily through its portal.
The Victorian Government also provides an interest-free loan to assist the homeowners further. The eligible applicants can get an interest-free loan up to the rebate amount. The loan can be rapid over four years or go for an early settlement.
Are you eligible for an incentive program
Not every household is eligible for an incentive program in Victoria. If you want to apply for an incentive program, you must fulfill certain criteria. These criteria are:
- The applicant should be the owner or occupier of the property where the system is being installed.
- The property address should not have taken part in the Solar Homes Program previously.
- The value of your property should be under $3 million.
- You shouldn’t have already received a rebate as an owner or occupier under the Solar Homes Program. .
- The owners should have a combined household taxable income of less than $180,000 per year (based on last year’s Australian Tax Office Notice of Assessment).
- You should not have an existing solar PV system.
- You should have a valid quote from a Solar Homes authorized solar retailer.
While all the criteria are personally relevant for the applicant, the last fact depends on an external party. Therefore you must be careful to pick an authorized retailer if you want to apply for an incentive program in Victoria.
How to find a Solar Homes authorized solar retailer
There are numerous solar retailers in the market. However, choosing an authorized retailer to get your solar system has various benefits.
Therefore Solar Victoria has released a list of authorized retailers in the region. The list will allow homeowners or the potential applicants to check for the credibility of the retailers in the market. You should pick a solar retailer from this list in order to be eligible for the rebate and loan programs.
In a previous article, we have emphasized how to find a reputable solar panel installer and a retailer. You should check it out for further details.
Why you should hire Ballarat Solar Company
Installing solar panels in your home can be costly. This is why the government provides financial assistance to help you get started. However, this can be a once-in-a-lifetime investment if you do it right.
Our company has been in the industry for more than ten consecutive years. We are a CEC accredited solar installation company in Ballarat. We are also authorized by Solar Victoria as a retailer. This means that if you hire us, you are one step closer to applying for the rebate program in Victoria.
Don’t worry, our expert team will provide total solar solutions, from assessing your energy requirement to guiding you to apply for the rebate program.
