Government Grants & Funding

Renewable Energy Target

 The National Renewable Energy Target supports the reduction of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the proportion of Australia’s electricity generated from renewable energy sources. The Australian Government has committed to achieve a 20 per cent share of renewable energy in Australia’s electricity supply in 2020.

The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme

The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme creates a financial incentive for owners to install eligible small-scale installations such as solar water heaters, air source heat pumps, solar panel systems, small-scale wind systems, or small-scale hydro systems. It does this through the creation of small-scale technology certificates (STCs)—which Renewable Energy Target liable entities have a legal obligation to buy and surrender to the Clean Energy Regulator. Small-scale solar, wind and hydro systems are eligible if:

• The system is new
• Its’ components are listed in the Clean Energy Council list of accredited components
• It is installed and designed correctly by a Clean Energy Council accredited installer and designer
• It meets all relevant Australian and New Zealand standards
• It complies with all local, State, and Federal requirements for its type of installation

Documentation for small-scale systems—to demonstrate your compliance you must retain copies of documentation completed and signed by the owner, installer, and/or Registered Agent (as appropriate), and be able to produce it if requested by the Clean Energy Regulator. STCs can be created following the installation of an eligible system, and are calculated by the amount of electricity they produce or displace

Who can apply?
Any purchaser of a micro-generation unit that meets Australian standards and is installed by an accredited installer. This significantly expands the eligibility for government support for solar PV in Australia. This is open to both businesses as well as residential premises.

The Large-scale Renewable Energy Target

The Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) creates a financial incentive for the establishment and growth of renewable energy power stations, such as wind and solar farms, or hydro-electric power stations. It does this through the creation of Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs).

LGCs are created based on the amount of eligible renewable electricity produced by the power stations, and can be sold or traded to Renewable Energy Target liable entities, in addition to their sale of electricity to the grid. Liable entities have a legal obligation to buy and surrender LGCs to the Clean Energy Regulator on an annual basis.

To participate under the LRET, power stations must generate their electricity from approved sources such as solar energy, wind, ocean waves and the tide, geothermal-aquifers, wood waste, agricultural waste, bagasse (sugar cane waste), black liquor (a by-product of the paper-making process), or landfill gas.

Eligible power stations are entitled to create large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) based on how much additional renewable electricity they produce above their baseline.