For: Home owners; Renters; Landlords [House]
Overview
South Australia's Solar Feed-in Scheme rewards households and small electricity customers that install solar (photovoltaic - PV) renewable energy systems by paying them for the excess electricity they generate.
The South Australian Scheme is a net tariff scheme. You are paid for the excess electricity that you feed back into the grid at any time during the day, not just any excess at the end of the billing period.
On 30 September 2011, the 44 cents a kilowatt hour (kWh) feed-in tariff category closed to new applicants. Eligible customers in this category will receive this feed-in tariff rate until 30 June 2028.
From 1 October 2011 to 1 October 2013, the feed-in tariff category will be 16 cents per kWh for new customers. Eligible customers in this category will receive this feed-in tariff rate until 30 September 2016.
Other important changes have been made to the solar feed-in scheme.
Key eligibility
To be eligible for the feed-in tariff, you must:
- purchase and install a new PV system and connect it to the SA electricity grid, or have an existing system that is connected to the SA electricity grid
- be classified as a small electricity customer, generate surplus electricity and hold an electricity account with a network that supplies electricity to more than 10,000 domestic customers, currently ETSA utilities
- have appropriate metering installed to record the electricity you return to the grid
- have a PV system with a capacity of up to 10kVA for single phase power and 30kVA for three-phase power.
Homeowners, landlords, renters and small businesses are eligible to apply. Renters should check with their landlord before installing solar energy systems.
A number of other conditions apply. Check your eligibility on the South Australian Government Climate Change website.
Items covered
The electricity feed-in tariff pays you for surplus electricity generated from PV systems.
The amount of electricity you generate will be deducted from your electricity bill at the rate of 44 cents (or 16 cents for new customers from 1 October 2011) for every kilowatt hour of excess electricity that you feed back in to the grid.
You could also be eligible for financial assistance to help with the cost of installing a small-scale solar system under the Australian Government's Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES).
Next steps
Make sure that you understand the full program information before you purchase a solar system.
If you already have a solar system installed, you'll need to contact your energy retailer to check that you comply with all requirements.
Feed-in credits or payments you receive may have implications if you receive any Centrelink or other benefit payments, they may also be considered as assessable income by the Australian Taxation Office.
Solar Feed-in Scheme
