Govt Solar Energy Scheme in Queensland
The Renewable Energy Target is an Australian Government scheme designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the electricity sector and encourage the additional generation of electricity from sustainable and renewable sources.
To power our homes and businesses, Australia generates electricity from coal and gas fired power stations, as well as a range of renewable energy sources including large-scale hydropower facilities and wind farms, and small-scale solar hot water and solar rooftop panels.
The Renewable Energy Target is an Australian Government scheme designed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the electricity sector and encourage the additional generation of electricity from sustainable and renewable sources.
The Renewable Energy Target works by allowing both large-scale power stations and the owners of small-scale systems to create large-scale generation certificates and small-scale technology certificates for every megawatt hour of power they generate. Certificates are then purchased by electricity retailers (who supply electricity to householders and businesses) and submitted to the Clean Energy Regulator to meet the retailers’ legal obligations under the Renewable Energy Target. This creates a market which provides financial incentives to both large-scale renewable energy power stations and the owners of small-scale renewable energy systems.
Small-scale technology certificates can be created following the installation of an eligible system, and are calculated based on the amount of electricity a system produces or replaces (that is, electricity from non-renewable sources).
Generally, householders who purchase these systems assign the right to create their certificates to an agent in return for a lower purchase price. The level of this benefit differs across the country depending on the level of solar energy.
How the scheme works
The Clean Energy Regulator administers the Renewable Energy Target’s two schemes:
- The Large-scale Renewable Energy Target, which encourages investment in renewable power stations to achieve 33 000 gigawatt hours of additional renewable electricity generation by 2020, and
- The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, which supports small-scale installations like household solar panels and solar hot water systems.
The Large-scale Renewable Energy Target is designed to deliver the majority of the 2020 target, while the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme supports the installation of small-scale renewables, such as household solar rooftop panels and solar hot water systems.
There is also a secondary market for certificates that does not involve the Clean Energy Regulator, and includes financial institutions, traders, agents and installers.
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How to participate in the Renewable Energy Target ?
Small-scale renewable energy systems and large-scale renewable energy power stations can be used to generate power for our community, homes and businesses from sustainable natural resources, such as the sun, wind and water.
Participation in the Renewable Energy Target includes:
- large and small-scale voluntary participants who wish to invest in, or generate renewable energy, and lower their consumption of main grid electricity, and
- participants who are required by law to surrender large-scale generation certificates and small-scale technology certificates to offset the generation of emissions intensive energy, and meet scheme compliance obligations.
Find out more about the eligibility requirements for each scheme.
The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme
The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme encourages investment in small-scale renewable energy, and creates a financial incentive for individuals and small businesses to install systems which produce electricity and deliver hot water.
To participate in the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, individuals and small businesses must choose and install a renewable energy system which meets the scheme’s eligibility criteria.
Owners of eligible systems may be eligible to receive either an upfront discount off the total cost of their system, or a quantity of small-scale technology certificates which can be created and sold following installation to recoup some of the cost.
Learn more about eligible small-scale systems and using a registered agent.
Watts up Solar and Electrical are Registered agents
Under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, retailers, traders and installers of small-scale systems may also apply to the Clean Energy Regulator to become a registered agent.