Your Solution Is Just a Click Away
As a business, it’s best to look for scalable investment opportunities that serve multiple purposes. One-time investments like solar, hydro, or wind are exactly that. It not only makes perfect sense from a cost-saving perspective but also makes sense from a CSR point of advantage. Do you have to pay a huge chunk of cash upfront to go solar? Absolutely not! The government of Australia has many incentive programs running on both federal and state levels to encourage small to large businesses to make a move towards this amazing change. Let’s look at what solar schemes are available for business.
Federal Solar Rebates
Back in 2008, the Renewable Energy Target (RET) was first introduced by the Australian federal government. The government’s RET program aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector (fossil fuel run) and promote the increased production of energy from sustainable and renewable sources like solar panels, wind, hydro, etc.
With this target in place, they set two schemes in motion for businesses to enjoy, which are –
- SRES (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme)
- LRET (Large-scale Renewable Energy Target)
Under the SRES scheme, you can generate STCs (Small-scale Technology Certificates), and under the LRET scheme, you can generate LGCs (Large-scale Generation Certificates). These certificates are what spawn the monetary valuation of both schemes, which entices businesses like you and mine to go green. Ultimately fulfilling the government’s goal to depend less on non-renewable sources of energy.
How Do STCs Work?
STCs are available to households and small enterprises who have or need solar panel systems with a capacity of 100KW or less. If exceeded, this marker, then you will not be eligible but rather considered for LGCs.
Here’s what you need about the scheme –
- 1 megawatt of electricity replaced by your opted renewable energy source will generate 1 STC
- These certificates are meant to be sold to large electricity retailers who emit the most GHG gasses
- Only CEC-approved solar installers are eligible to sell these certificates (in the case of solar)
- The number of STCs generated will be dependable on the MWh of energy replaced by your system over the course of one deeming year or 5 years
- The price of each certificate is determined by the supply and demand of certificates
- A cash amount will be adjusted from the final bill after the estimation of STC numbers are at hand by your installer
- Deeming period in STC means the number of years left before you can take advantage of the scheme, and with each year passing till the end year of 2030, the incentive amount decreases.
- The Small-scale Technology Percentage (STP) determines how many STCs the liable parties must submit
- The 2023 STP is 16.29%, meaning large energy retailers are legally obligated to surrender 28.5 million STCs to meet their SRES goal.
- STCs can be traded in the open market or in a clearing house. The clearing market offers a fixed price per certificate, whereas the open market prices fluctuate. N.B- price per certificate cannot exceed $40 Aud.
- Depending on the size of the system, zone, date of installation, etc., the calculation of STCs will differ. An accredited person only is eligible to do so.
Learn more extensively about how STC works on the government website here. For simple elaboration, follow this link.
How do LGCs Work?
Large-scale Generation Certificates work on the same principles as the STCs. When your system exceeds the 100kW mark, it’s no longer eligible for generating STCs; rather, it can now generate LGCs with the help of a designated registered person.
Here is a brief explanation of how LGCs operate. –
- Businesses exceeding the 100kW mark are eligible for this scheme
- Similarly, to STCs, 1 megawatt of electricity replaced by your opted renewable energy source will generate 1 LGC
- An owner or operator of the ‘power station,’ AKA your business property, will have to follow through with all the steps to become a registered person to be able to generate the certificates. In this case, even the business itself can be registered for the position.
- In case of multiple owners, a nominated person will do the job
- You will have to apply through the REC registry to become a registered person and follow through with all the steps mentioned. Learn more here
- Calculate the amount of carbon your renewable energy source had omitted after the date of becoming a registered person and create LGCs. (LGC creation formula)
- Pay the LGC creation fee
- LGC prices are much higher than STCs. Last year (Dec 2022), it was $65 per certificate.
- Like STCs, liable parties (large energy retailers) have legal obligations to buy these off from you
Here is exact and updated data on recent STC price and LGC price – Click me.
Solar For Business – Victoria Solar Rebate for Businesses (State Rebate)
Apart from federal solar rebates, there are also state rebates available for grabs. The Victorian government has set up incentives up to $3500 for businesses that install a 30kW renewable energy power source or less. Essentially the rebate is designed to cover 50% of the net cost of installation but is limited to $3500 for eligible businesses.
Also, Victorian businesses have the option to enjoy a $1000 to $5000 loan for opting to a renewable energy source free of interest. If claimed, you will have 12 to 24 months to pay it back in installments, or you can pay the grand total in one go.
To be eligible, you will have to
- operate from a non-residential property
- be individually metered
- have less than 50 FTE (Full Time Equivalent) employees (excluding the owner)
- partner up with Victoria-approved solar retailer
- install less than or equal to 30kW solar
- use CEC-approved equipment
- not receive this exact rebate (solar for business) previously
- rented or owners of the property both can apply, but the landlord cannot on behalf of the business
- Solar for business FACTSHEET.
Reach out to us today to know more about these schemes. You can also register for a free consultation session with our experienced solar engineers to get more insights customized to your property.
The post What solar schemes are available for business appeared first on Cyanergy.
https://cyanergy.com.au/blog/what-solar-schemes-are-available-for-business-2/
Weather Guard Lightning Tech
As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?
While most of Europe has spent most of this year itemizing reasons it cannot, should not, and will not use Chinese wind turbines or components, accusations and arm-twisting tactics have garnered most of the attention.
But we invite you to consider a future – maybe just five, or ten years from now?- in which those same countries and companies are eagerly awaiting orders from wind turbine manufacturing facilities in… India.
What?!
You know that the country has a lot of installed wind.
You may think – and many in the industry would agree – that India’s blade manufacturers are a few revs behind blade-makers elsewhere in the world. But the country is newly committed to manufacturing and it’s busy installing more – provided that it’s made in India, with Indian technology, by Indian workers.
Of course, similar domestic-focused policy currents are running through European countries – where wind OEMs are almost inarguably a decade ahead of Indian manufacturers. But there’s an important reason why we say, “watch India” in wind turbine manufacturing.
It’s because you might learn something.
If you follow The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast, you probably heard this discussion a few weeks ago. It wasn’t the headline story – we try to highlight as many major news items and trends that we can, and follow up as credible information becomes available. India’s quiet moves to strengthen its own renewable energy industries didn’t grab the headlines. But it comprised a good bit of our panelists’ discussion.
With India’s expanding manufacturing capacity, and Suzlon’s strategic offerings for the European market (Blue Sky), there are reasons for European developers to take a closer look at Indian manufacturers.
If Europe continues to squelch deals with Chinese manufacturers due to data security issues, India is a relatively obvious candidate to fill the void, for several reasons:
- The country has depth and breadth in R&D: India (Suzlon, specifically) has a track record of involvement and relationships across the continent, as it operates research and development centers in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
- Indian service providers have reach: Inox and Adoni Wind operate multiple wind turbine manufacturing plants and wind farms throughout several Indian states, and Apraava Energy has been commissioning wind projects, working with multiple OEMs, for more than 16 years.
- The country’s energy sector has size: Tata Power is estimated to be worth about US$16 billion and employs 22,000 people.
And major manufacturers from other countries have had a strong presence in the country for years:
- GE Vernova has turbine blade and nacelle manufacturing operations and multiple tech/R&D centers in India;
- Vestas has a R&D technology center in Chennai; and
- China’s SANY Wind has had assembly facilities in India since 2017, and in 2024, it signed a licensing agreement with JSW allowing SANY to manufacture blades and generators for JSW – enabling JSW Neo Energy to produce wind turbine generators and major components in-country.
So while there is hard data suggesting that India is already a global hub for wind turbines, sometimes the real strength comes from soft skills. Like sharing information.
We’ve noticed that Indian manufactures aren’t stingy with information. They share what they learn in the field and on the shop floor, so that the whole industry can move faster to solve problems. That bodes well for the industry overall, and particularly well for companies who figure out how to solve problems that some manufacturers aren’t even ready to admit to having.
We’ll be watching India with a great deal of interest in the coming months. Subscribe to The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast and follow along with us.
We’re not financial analysts. We’re engineers who watch the wind industry very closely. This is what we’ve noticed, and we thought it was worth sharing.
Where do you think you’ll be looking for solutions, components, and service providers in the next few years or the next decade? Tell us what you think. We’d love to hear from you.
As Europe Shuns Chinese Turbines and Components, Who Will Fill the Gap?
To the author of the meme here:
“Either” refers to two choices; “any” refers to three or more.
More importantly, it’s amazing how shamelessly the ultra-right wing exaggerates. The left side of the Democratic party would like to see the United States look like social democracies in places like Scandinavia. Having government programs that benefit the common person, e.g., Social Security, public schools, emergency relief, libraries, environmental responsibility, etc., does not equate to Stalinism.