ECOWORLD AUSTRALIA

Solar Credits are provided in the form of tradeable Renewable Energy Certificates or ‘RECs’ for eligible small-scale solar PV, wind and hydro electricity systems installed after 9 June 2009.

Ecoworld can help you process the sale of your RECs to a registered RECs Trader with the lump sum payment of the Solar Credits going directly into your bank account, typically within 14 days of the system being installed.

While system owners can register, create and sell the RECs themselves, in practice, customers find it much easier for Ecoworld to help organise the trading and cash payment, directly from the RECs traders in return for the Solar Credits.

How much can I expect to earn from Solar Credits for installing a solar PV system?

Calculating Solar Credits can be a bit of a black art at times, mainly because you need to know this weeks monetary value of Australian Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) so that you can factor that figure into your calculations. All Ecoworld System Quotations include the estimated value of your installations' Solar Credits based on that weeks value. Get a quotation now.

Solar Credits are calculated by first working out how many RECs your system represents over 15 years (max.) and then this figure is multiplied by the current value of Australian RECs to work out your one off selling price for that week. Some rounding as well as a 5 times multiplier are also incorperated into the calculation process.

(5 x Area Code Multiplier x 15 Years x Size of System in kW) x Current weeks single REC market value.

(5 x 1.382 x 15 x 1.4kW) x $40 = $5800

As the RECs value can fluctuate from week to week the amount of Solar Credits will also fluctuate, so timing is a factor when sending in your Solar Credits paperwork. With the example above, if this weeks RECs value was set at $50 the Solar Credits would become $7250.

The Solar Credits 5 times multiplier, seen above, only applies to the first 1.5 kilowatts (kW) of capacity of the system installed, above this value the RECs are traded 1 for 1.

The level of support provided by Solar Credits depends on the price of RECs (which can vary over time) and the location and size of your system. From Janurary 2011 the Australian Federal Governement are planning to fix the value of RECs for Small Generation Units (Grid Tied Solar Systems under 10kW) to $40, this will give certainty to both installers and customers alike.

Why do Solar Credits vary across the country?

The number of Solar Credits created for a system will depend on the amount of renewable energy the system generates.

• A solar PV system in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra will create the same number of RECs and receive the same amount of support.
• The same sized system installed in Melbourne or Hobart will receive fewer RECs as these areas have less sunshine so less renewable energy is produced.

How do I find out whether my system is eligible for Solar Credits?

The eligibility rules are prescribed in the RET scheme regulations, administered by the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER).

Key rules are summarised below. Details of the rules are available on the ORER website

• The system must be an eligible ‘small generation unit’; being a solar PV system of up to 100 kilowatts (kW) capacity; a small wind turbine of up to 10kW capacity or a micro-hydro system of up to 6.4 kW capacity.
• The system must be installed at an eligible premises. Examples include houses, townhouses, residential apartments and shops.
• The system must be a new and complete unit.
• There is to be no ‘double-dipping’ in relation to the Solar Homes and Communities Plan, the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP), or the National Solar Schools Program (NSSP). That is, a premises receiving a grant or rebate under any of these programs is not entitled to Solar Credits.
• No more than one system at an eligible premises (address) is entitled to Solar Credits.
• Solar Credits may only be created once for a particular installation, irrespective of whether the certificates are created for a 1-year, 5-year or 15 year deeming period.
  The system must have been installed no more than 12 months prior to the date of application for Solar Credits.