Posts Tagged ‘rebate’

The Brisbane City Council has officially introduced a rebate for the installation of solar hot water in Brisbane.

The first 1,500 eligible residents receive an additional $400 off the standard solar hot water costs – on top of the $1,600 federal rebate and the renewable energy certificates (this payment varies and is currently between $1,500 and $2,000).

As a participating supplier, Ingenero (formerly SolarPay).com.au offers the rebate as a Point of Sale discount. You will see it when you go through the quoting process.

As with all other rebates, we look after the forms and handle the council contact. So all you have to do is to make a decision to go ahead.

With our stall at the Riverfestival yesterday, we have already spoken to many interested people (along with 4 other suppliers).

Brisbane Has Seen the Light

It is great that the Brisbane City Council has realised that solar hot water is the single biggest consumer of electricity in every household. Lord Mayor Campbell Newman highlighted that for most people it will only be a 4-5 year payback and then they save money “year after year”.

In his speech, he also points out that solar hot water will make a significant difference to the hip pockets of householders across Brisbane.

I hope that the council gets absolutely overwhelmed with the response and has to figure out how to make the rebate available to many more householders than they are planning for now. And that other councils who want to reach sustainable targets follow suit.

Good on Brisbane for taking that initiative. And thanks a lot to pigswillfly.com.au for alerting me to it.

Payment for renewable energy certificates have fluctuated between $10 as recently as 18 months ago and a current high of $49.

Every owner of a solar hot water system can generate a certain number of renewable energy certificates (REC’s) and sell them. We look after all the organisation and paperwork for you, so all you will notice is a reduction of the purchase price.

Why does the renewable energy certificate price fluctuate?

Simply because of the demand. Energy retailers have to purchase a certain number of REC’s to reach the mandatory renewable energy target. Other offsetting companies use them to offset greenhouse gas emissions. As more people are demanding these services, the price goes up.

You benefit, because you are paid the value of the renewable energy certificates that are created for your solar hot water system.

Can the prices fall again?

Yes most definitely. They can and have done so in the past.

Can they rise higher?

In theory yes. It just needs more buyers who are willing purchase at higher prices.

However, the mandatory renewable energy target stipulates a penalty rate of $40 (plus 30% company tax). This means that when prices rise above $52, it becomes cheaper to pay the penalty.

Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) have been set up by the Australian government as a form of currency. One REC can be created for every kWh of renewable energy that is produced.

Energy retailers on the other hand need to surrender enough REC’s each year to contribute their share to the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target.

Even though a solar hot water systems does not produce electricity, it produces energy in the form of hot water. Rather than measuring the actual output, a deemed number of REC’s is associated to each model of solar hot water unit. This varies depending on where you are located in Australia (your quote includes exact details).

Your obligation

It is up to you to create the REC’s. However, we prepare everything for you and actually reduce the price by what you get for the REC’s. That way you do not have to pay it first and then get it back. Instead you only have to check and sign the pre-filled form.

Please note that this is different to the Federal Solar Hot Water Rebate, which we cannot claim on your behalf.

Your choice

You may choose to voluntarily surrender your REC’s. That means that you indirectly help to create more renewable energy. If you do that, you cannot sell the REC’s and need to pay an additional $1,400 to $1,800.