Overview

The Victorian Feed-in Tariff scheme rewards households, community organisations and small businesses that install a renewable energy system by crediting them for the excess electricity they feedback into the grid.

Feed-in tariffs are available to eligible customers for small and large systems.

The Transitional Feed-in Tariff scheme is available for small-scale solar PV systems of 5 kilowatts or less from 1 January 2012 until 2016.

A Standard Feed-in Tariff is available for:

• solar PV renewable energy systems greater than 5 kilowatts and less than 100 kilowatts in size
  
• wind, hydro and biomass renewable energy systems less than 100 kilowatts in size.
  

The Standard scheme has no end date.

Both schemes have a net feed-in tariff. This means that you're credited only for the surplus energy you produce that's in excess of your own requirements and is returned to the electricity grid.

Key eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the Transitional Feed-in Tariff you must:

• be a household, community organisation or small business
• have a grid-connected solar PV system no greater than 5 kilowatts in size
• claim only one solar PV system per site
• claim for and install the solar PV system at your principal place of residence if you're a residential customer
• have the correct two-way metering in place
  
• enter into a feed-in tariff contractual agreement with your electricity retailer.

To be eligible to apply for the Standard Feed-in Tariff you must:

• be a household, community organisation or small business
  
• have a grid-connected solar PV system that's greater than 5 kilowatts and less than 100 kilowatts in size (making you ineligible for the Transitional Feed-in Tariff)
• have a grid-connected wind, hydro or biomass renewable energy system that's less than 100 kilowatts in size
• claim only one renewable energy system per site
• claim for and install the renewable energy system at your principal place of residence and/or your holiday home if you're a residential customer
• have the correct two-way metering in place
  
• enter into a feed-in tariff contractual agreement with your electricity retailer.

Homeowners, renters, community groups and small businesses are eligible to apply. If you're renting, you'll need permission from your landlord before you install renewable energy generation equipment.

A number of other conditions apply. Check your eligibility on the Victorian Government Department of Primary Industries website.

Items covered

The Victorian feed-in tariffs are available to customers with new and existing renewable power connections.

The Transitional feed-in tariff provides a guaranteed minimum credit of 25 cents per kilowatt hour for excess electricity returned to the grid by your small-scale solar PV system.

The Standard feed-in tariff provides a "one-for-one" standard retail rate for excess electricity returned to the grid by your solar PV, wind, hydro or biomass system.

All electricity retailers with 5,000 customers or more must offer a feed-in tariff to their eligible customers. It is worth shopping around as different electricity retailers may offer different rates and/or terms and conditions above the required minimums.

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 power system.

Feed-in credits or payments you receive may have implications if you receive any Centrelink or other benefit payments. They may also be considered assessable income by the Australian Taxation Office.

dpi.vic.gov.au/energy/sustainable-energy/solar-energy/solar-energy-for-consumers/feed-in-tariffs