More solar savings for apartment residents

The Federal and Victorian Governments have invested an additional $16 million for the second round of Solar for Apartments – making 5,000 more rebates available and opened eligibility to residents living in townhouses and units with body corporates.

The program offers funding to install solar panels of up to $2,800 per apartment or up to $140,000 per building covering up to 50 apartments. By installing solar, an average apartment household could save up to $500 a year on their electricity bill.

To help meet the significant demand for the program, the new round is open to eligible strata townhouses and units with a common property rooftop, as well as multi-storey buildings containing two or more units. This is expected to benefit households in regional areas, which are more likely to have this building type.

Around 12 per cent of Victoria’s 2.5 million households live in apartments, and approximately 65 per cent of those residents are renters.

During the first round of the program, Solar Victoria received massive demand for the program with more than four hundred applications from Owners Corporations for 12,000 kilowatts of solar capacity, covering more than 5,000 apartments, almost 50 per cent of which are occupied by renters.

Uptake to the program is spread across metropolitan Melbourne, with the highest number of applications coming from the City of Port Phillip with 61 applications, 44 applications from City of Yarra, 43 applications from City of Stonnington, and 40 applications from City of Darebin.

These additional rebates bring the total number Solar for Apartment rebates to 10,000. Solar Victoria has supported the installation of more than 360,000 solar panel, hot water, and solar battery systems through rebates and interest-free loans. For more information, visit solar.vic.gov.au/apartments.

Quote attributable to Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio

“We’re making it easier for renters to access the cheaper energy bills that solar provides.”

Quote attributable to Commonwealth Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen

“We’re doubling down on our solar for apartments program to help more Victorians families and renters bring down their energy bills by unlocking solar.”

Quote attributable to Member for Dandenong Gabrielle Williams

“It’s not just apartment residents that benefit, companies like Allume that manufacture components for Solar for Apartments are having a surge in business as well, creating more jobs and supporting industry in Victoria.”