Solar Homes Program expands to meet community demand and boost energy supply 

The Victorian Government’s Solar Homes Program is on track to see a record year of solar installation on Victorian roofs with the announcement of an additional 23,000 rebates this financial year.

The announcement also includes a decision to increase the frequency of rebates to twice a month, meaning there will be two separate rebate allocations each month.

For September, the program will release 6500 rebates on Sept 2 and a further 3250 rebates two weeks later, for a total of 9750 rebates across the month. In October, 6500 rebates will be released across the month.

Some rebates will be reserved for manual applications for those who choose not to engage online.

It’s a significant boost to the number of rebates available for owner-occupied rooftop solar.

The government announced the expanded program today as part of a major push for Victoria to reach its target of 50 per cent of its energy to be provided by renewables by 2030.

The next round of Solar Homes rebate allocations opens at 9am next Monday, 2 September, instead of Sunday the 1st. The value of the rebates remains the same.

The Minister for Solar Homes, Lily D’Ambrosio, said expanding the program will boost installation rates in the lead-up to summer when maximum cost-cutting on energy bills can be delivered.

A number of enhancements to the Solar Homes Program have also been announced including:

• retailers will soon be able to lodge final online quotes on the Solar Victoria portal at any time. This will apply from Thursday 29 August and will reduce pressure on them and the system when applications open each fortnight.
• establishment of an Industry and Customer Reference Group as a commitment to strengthening our engagement with industry and to provide a conduit for their feedback to Solar Victoria
• expansion of industry briefings and webinars
• a business mentoring program to be conducted by Small Business Victoria
• further increasing the emphasis on safety with more post-installation audits

In the first year of the program Victorians who have benefited from rebates are estimated to have saved $45 million.

Apart from the extra 23,000 rebates of up to $2225 available for rooftop solar panels on owner-occupied homes in 2019/20, there are also installation opportunities for rental properties (rebate of up to $2225), solar hot water ($1000), and batteries ($4838) for targeted areas.