As the new owner of a solar PV panel system, you are entitled to create small scale technology certificates or STC’s with your purchase as part of the solar schemes and bonuses that the Australian government is offering. The number of STC’s that you can create varies depending on the size of the system you own, when you qualified for the program, and where you are located in Australia.

First and foremost of course you must qualify for the program; normally the qualifications are the same as those for the solar Feed-in-Tariff scheme and you need to abide by the guidelines for your area as the rules vary by state to state.

Here is a formula to help you work out the total of number of STC’s you can create;

Using a 1.5KWh system as an example;  (1.5KWh x 1.622 x 5 x 15) –

1) The maximum output of your system (in this  case 1.5) multiplied by 2) your post code zone rating (1.622 in our example) multiplied by 3) the current solar multiplier (5 till June 30^th 2011) then multiplied by 4) the deeming period chosen (we’ve selected 15 years, but you could choose 1 or 5 years as well)

In most states the maximum system size allowed to qualify for STC’s is 10 KWh. However as the average home can only fit about a 1.5 KWh system due to roof space limitations this is unlikely to be an issue for any homeowner wanting to reduce or eliminate their electricity bill by switching to solar energy.

Australia is divided into four zones based roughly on sunlight received, and each one is given its specific ratings accordingly;

• Zone 1 = 1.622
• Zone 2 = 1.536
• Zone 3 = 1.382
• Zone 4 = 1.185.

To check what zone you are located you will only need to know your postcode to find out via the following PDF courtesy of Australian Government’s Office of Renewable Energy Regulator website  http://www.orer.gov.au/publications/pubs/sgu-postcode-zones-0311.pdf

Otherwise you can visit their website to make use of their STC calculator https://www.rec-registry.gov.au/sguCalculatorInit.shtml but be aware that this is a guide only as there are varying factors which can be confusing.

That’s why at Premier Solar we offer our trained consultants who are happy to explain all the in’s and outs that you need to know during our Free In-Home Assessments. Book Yours Now

After calculating, the product is not always a whole number but you can get the total number of STC’s you can create by rounding it off to the nearest whole number; so .5 to .9 will be rounded up and .4 to .2 to be rounded down.

The solar multiplier was created to increase the number of STC’s you can create, and makes solar power much more affordable now for many householders. However it is only temporary, and you will see a significant decline in the multiplier each year over the next few years, so act sooner rather than later for the biggest savings!

• June 9, 2009 – June 30, 2010 = Multiplied by 5
• July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011 = Multiplied by 5
• July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012 = Multiplied by 4
• July 1, 2012 – June 30 2013 Multiplied by 3
• July 1, 2013 – June 30 2014 Multiplied by 2
• From July 1 2014 onwards no multiplier will be applied

As you will see the multiplier is dropping from 5 to only 4 very soon, and to gain the larger credit amount your new solar PV system must be installed on your roof by June 30^th. This represents over $1200 increase in your out-of-pocket costs, so now is an excellent time to purchase! Contact Premier Solar Today