Cheaper Home Batteries Program (Australian Federal Battery Rebate / Battery STCs)

Full details are emerging of rebate conditions. We urge you to be cautious about any promises to customers until the full details have been confirmed. The information provided here is indicative  and for full details, please see https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/programs/cheaper-home-batteries

 

How to add the battery STC rebate to a quote

The Battery STC Rebate is applied in SolarPlus in the same process as for Solar STCs

1. Go to the Pricing > 'Rebates' tab
2. Ensure your chosen STC certificate price is up to date
3. Under Battery Rebate click 'Eligible for battery STC' to confirm this is to bee applied to the quote
4. If the client is GST-registered, click the Apply GST to STC checkbox
5. Based on the designed system size you will see the battery usable capacity shown 
6. If you wish to adjust the battery usable capacity for the calculation of STCs check the box to 'Manually enter kWh capacity' and enter the amount.
7. Visit the 'Edit Quote' tab to review the rebate display

Note that the battery STC 'Eligible' option will be automatically applied in line with your Business Setting after an initial period in which usable capacity for all battery products is being confirmed. 

Note that the 'Apply GST' option will be automatically selected for Customers set as Commercial

Alternative method of adding the rebate to a quote

Alternatively, you can create an inventory item for the rebate.

1. Go to More Settings > Inventory and click  + Create Custom Item
2. Select Category: Subsidy
3. Enter name: Battery Booster Program / Cheaper Home Battery Subsidy
4. Click create. 

5. Scroll down to Pricing Options and click to edit

6. Select Use formula to compute pricing

7. Enter the following formula - substitute '37' for your preferred STC price. 

        (floor((MIN (usable-battery-kwh,50) * 9.3 )))* 37)

This formula is based on the following logic:

• Cap the usable battery capacity at 50kWh (using the MIN function)
• Calculate the number of certificates: multiply the usable battery capacity by 9.3. The 9.3 figure is a number decided on by the government to arrive at a price that would give a suitable incentive value. 
• Round down to the nearest whole number, because you can only trade whole certificates, not fractions of a certificate (using the floor function)
• Multiply the number of certificates by your STC price. In the sample above this is $37, please edit this price as needed. 

8. For now until July 1, to help with cashflow, you may want to make sure that 'Subtract from Total Payable' is NOT selected. Because it defaults to being selected for Subsidies, you'll need to un-tick it. The subsidy will then appear on quotes to customers like this: 

 

 

The calculation for Battery STC rebates

As per solar STCs, the claimable amount will decline each year between now and 2030. The number of years claimable is the 'deeming years' period. The government has announced the STC factor for each year as seen in the table below.

The calculation for the number of STC is:

Usable-capacity * STC-factor-for-current-year (rounded down)

The STC line item amount is:

STC-certificate * STC-price  + GST (if applied)

where STC price is set in the rebates area or previously set in Business Settings.

Source: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/energy/programs/cheaper-home-batteries

STC Rebates in Customer View

As per Solar STCs, the battery rebate line item is added below the Retail Price inc-GST and the Final Price.

The line items will display:

• Number of STCs
• Certificate price
• If GST is enabled, it will show the calculated GST included in the line item **

* GST on STC is a point of sale discount and not included in the GST on the system sale quote/invoice. A separate invoice should be generated for the STC sale by the customer and this will include the applicable GST. Refer to the ATO for details https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/gst-excise-and-indirect-taxes/gst/in-detail/your-industry/gst-and-the-small-scale-renewable-energy-scheme 

See also Solar STC 

https://solarplus.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/10916024748815-Subsidies-STCs-LGCs-VEECs-ESCs-PRCs-etc

Eligibility criteria

• Battery size: 5kWh-100kWh nominal capacity, though the discount will be provided for up to 50kWh of a battery system's usable capacity. 
• Date: Commissioned on or after July 1 2025. Can be installed beforehand, but not switched on. A battery system is considered ‘installed’ when it is electrically connected and a certificate of electrical compliance or equivalent is signed which confirms that the system complies with relevant state and territory electrical safety regulations. If you are roughing in before July 1, do not terminate any cables - termination and testing must be done on or after July 1. 
• VPP ready. Battery inverter must be capable of participating in a VPP, but doesn't have to actually participate in one.  This does not apply to off-grid systems. 
• Sites:
  • Residential or Commercial, no means test etc
  • Must have PV installed (existing or new)
  • Grid connected and Off-grid
  • Sites with existing batteries that want to add more are eligible. The subsidy applies to new battery installations. 
• According to the CER, other state-based rebates and low-interest loans are still eligible to be claimed, however some state authorities may have conditions that don't allow this, or impose additional requirements. Please check with your state-based authority. 
• Can only be claimed once per site 
• Note that eligibility criteria is still being finalised, and will be confirmed in  regulations, and until then, requirements may change. 

See the listing here of products that are expected to be compatible

How to adjust progress payments before July 1

To help with cashflow, for eligible systems which you install now but can't commission until July 1, you might want to add an additional payment term, like in this example: 

• 30% deposit payable due when order is place
• 65% progress payment due when system is installed
• 5% final payment due when system is commissioned (after July 1)

1. On the Pricing page of a quote, scroll down to Payment terms
2. Click Edit Payment Term
3. Click Add a Payment Term
4. Adjust the Percentage Amounts, Event and Label as needed - below is a suggestion
5. Click Save. 

How it will appear to the customer: 

How to communicate the subsidy to customers before July 1. 

To help cashflow, you may want to include a statement in the Quote-specific conditions, which you can find at the bottom of the pricing page. Please adjust the wording to suit your business operations, and avoid making any promises to customers until the full details of the subsidy are confirmed. 

It will appear to the customer on the proposal like this (each proposal template will vary):