Solar battery rebate - Updated August 22nd 2025
Sadly, the end of the WA battery rebate and loan...for us.
Before I explain why, Suzanne and I want to express how unhappy we are for our valued clients, many of whom have been with us for years.
This decision was not made lightly and we sincerely apologise to those clients impacted by this.
The $1,300 WA rebate was once a $5,000 promise made by the WA Government prior to the WA election.
They broke that promise.
Then a seemingly endless string of conditions were attached to the rebate that were never mentioned prior.
Conditions that impact YOU forever, not just for the 2 years of the VPP.
Conditions that impact us as retailers...forever
Conditions that impact installers...forever.
Conditions that impact inverter and battery manufacturers...forever
Let's start with YOU.
If you take the $1,300 rebate then you are required to be part of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) for two years.
You might think that is the end of it, but it's not.
In the conditions of the contract Synergy have the right to control active power of your solar and battery, forever.
That means they can reduce the output of your solar inverter and battery, whenever they choose.
You have lost control of your own asset, and they hide this away in the small print.
That means you may have to pay for grid power when your solar and battery could otherwise have handled your use.
That's forever, not just during the 2 year's of the obligatory VPP.
For a paltry $1,300, is it worth it?
Maybe if the rebate was the original promised $5,000?
Now we get to us and our installers..
The main point to take from this next section is that WE, Solar4Ever get paid the $1,300 rebate, not you.
They own us for eternity because of it.
Our installers are fantastic.
We have worked alongside them for 14 years.
They are not salaried employees. They are electrical contractors.
The days of retaining in-house installers are long gone.
So much more money to be made working for yourself.
The WA rebate rules require installers to ensure that the installation connects using Synergy's Installer Test Tool kit.
The test may work, it may not.
If it doesn't work, after often many hours of trouble-shooting, the installation is non-compliant.
Nobody is paying them an extra $500 or so after a hard install to try and fix someone else's mistakes.
If it works on install day and then fails in a subsequent test for any reason, then it is non-compliant.
That is a never-ending compliance requirement.
Any non-compliance, ever, comes back on us to fix because we got paid the rebate, not you.
The same applies to manufacturers.
They may have firmware that makes them compliant today but not later.
The rebate may have ended years earlier, but compliance is required for eternity.
Guess who ends up wearing the problem then? Yes, it's us again.
Our installers are continually bombarded with offers of work from other solar companies.
Solar companies offering more money perhaps, but often no WA rebate requirement.
They are loyal to us, but they say that the WA rebate rules are a breaking point.
Hours of 'testing' at the end of a hard install, for what?
Without installers, we have no business.
Today, we shall commence the demoralising process of contacting our clients and cancelling all orders for batteries not yet installed.
For those we have already installed, we shall just swallow the loss of the $1,300.
Our Terms and Conditions allow for cancellation by either side for any reason.
We never take deposits, so no refunds are needed.
We shall suffer terrible consequences, no doubt, from negative reviews, but we have absolutely no choice.
We shall offer some sort of negotiated compensation to our customers if they wish to remain with us, without the WA rebate on a case-by-case basis.
In some cases, Government interest-free loans are tied up with the sale, and without the rebate, there are no Government loans either.
A dark day indeed for Solar4Ever.
Ironic that it comes on the same day when Sigenergy, the most popular brand, is finally approved for the WA rebate.
Any time Government gets involved with business, everyone loses.
Top down management doesn't work in an industry where the qualified workers decide what work they will accept.
The WA Government is 100% to blame for this mess.
They don't understand anything, and were led by the nose by self-interested Western Power and Synergy managers to this disaster.
Any journalists or YouTube content makers, wishing to get the FULL story are most welcome to contact me.
Suzanne and I spent many days discussing this decision.
We have been stressed out, working 16 x 7 for months.
For what?
We turn away at the very least, 15 new enquiries every day because we are fully booked up until 2026.
Now we start from scratch. Clean slate.
No WA rebate BS to deal with. No frustrated installers.
It's a huge relief for us, but very damaging for our reputation.
We've been consistently booked a month in advance for 14 years.
That's all we want.
Steady work, not a flood that ends up being a nightmare for both us, and our valued clients.
A final word about the Federal battery subsidy.
Even this subsidy has raised some problems for all of us and means higher costs for some people.
The battery subsidy operates under the same legislation as the solar panel subsidy.
It's how the Government managed to get it up and running so quickly.
But ease of implementation turned out to be a double-edged sword.
Solar installers are only permitted to do 2 x STC jobs per day.
Each job must be uploaded with geo-located time and date stamped selfies taken throughout the install.
A sensible precaution to stop cowboys from claiming STCs for jobs they never attended.
No solar installer could ever do more than 2 x solar panel installs per day, so it made sense.
The battery subsidy treats the battery install as an STC claim.
So a solar and battery install counts as a full days work, namely 2 x STC claims.
That also means that 2 x complete new battery installs are a full day's work.
Also fine as each typically takes about 4 hours.
But what about just adding a battery to an already installed stack?
Also an STC claim, so two of those for the day and you cannot work any more.
Or adding a few more panels when installing a battery...that's 2 x STC claims.
The upshot of this is that the very in-demand installers won't do a battery add-on for the previous $440.
Now they want $1,200.
They won't add a few extra panels when you add a battery either unless you forgo the STCs on those panels.
Greed? Not really. It's simply being pragmatic because of the 2 jobs per day rule.
What needs to happen, and needs to happen FAST is for the Federal Government to change the legislation.
A simple change like...
"A battery installation does not count towards the 2 x STC claims per day limit."
To anyone considering getting into the solar industry, Suzanne and I recommend that you try everything else first.
Solar4Ever have been selling and installing solar in Perth, WA since 2011.
or email
This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
Before I explain why, Suzanne and I want to express how unhappy we are for our valued clients, many of whom have been with us for years.
This decision was not made lightly and we sincerely apologise to those clients impacted by this.
The $1,300 WA rebate was once a $5,000 promise made by the WA Government prior to the WA election.
They broke that promise.
Then a seemingly endless string of conditions were attached to the rebate that were never mentioned prior.
Conditions that impact YOU forever, not just for the 2 years of the VPP.
Conditions that impact us as retailers...forever
Conditions that impact installers...forever.
Conditions that impact inverter and battery manufacturers...forever
Let's start with YOU.
If you take the $1,300 rebate then you are required to be part of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) for two years.
You might think that is the end of it, but it's not.
In the conditions of the contract Synergy have the right to control active power of your solar and battery, forever.
That means they can reduce the output of your solar inverter and battery, whenever they choose.
You have lost control of your own asset, and they hide this away in the small print.
That means you may have to pay for grid power when your solar and battery could otherwise have handled your use.
That's forever, not just during the 2 year's of the obligatory VPP.
For a paltry $1,300, is it worth it?
Maybe if the rebate was the original promised $5,000?
Now we get to us and our installers..
The main point to take from this next section is that WE, Solar4Ever get paid the $1,300 rebate, not you.
They own us for eternity because of it.
Our installers are fantastic.
We have worked alongside them for 14 years.
They are not salaried employees. They are electrical contractors.
The days of retaining in-house installers are long gone.
So much more money to be made working for yourself.
The WA rebate rules require installers to ensure that the installation connects using Synergy's Installer Test Tool kit.
The test may work, it may not.
If it doesn't work, after often many hours of trouble-shooting, the installation is non-compliant.
Nobody is paying them an extra $500 or so after a hard install to try and fix someone else's mistakes.
If it works on install day and then fails in a subsequent test for any reason, then it is non-compliant.
That is a never-ending compliance requirement.
Any non-compliance, ever, comes back on us to fix because we got paid the rebate, not you.
The same applies to manufacturers.
They may have firmware that makes them compliant today but not later.
The rebate may have ended years earlier, but compliance is required for eternity.
Guess who ends up wearing the problem then? Yes, it's us again.
Our installers are continually bombarded with offers of work from other solar companies.
Solar companies offering more money perhaps, but often no WA rebate requirement.
They are loyal to us, but they say that the WA rebate rules are a breaking point.
Hours of 'testing' at the end of a hard install, for what?
Without installers, we have no business.
Today, we shall commence the demoralising process of contacting our clients and cancelling all orders for batteries not yet installed.
For those we have already installed, we shall just swallow the loss of the $1,300.
Our Terms and Conditions allow for cancellation by either side for any reason.
We never take deposits, so no refunds are needed.
We shall suffer terrible consequences, no doubt, from negative reviews, but we have absolutely no choice.
We shall offer some sort of negotiated compensation to our customers if they wish to remain with us, without the WA rebate on a case-by-case basis.
In some cases, Government interest-free loans are tied up with the sale, and without the rebate, there are no Government loans either.
A dark day indeed for Solar4Ever.
Ironic that it comes on the same day when Sigenergy, the most popular brand, is finally approved for the WA rebate.
Any time Government gets involved with business, everyone loses.
Top down management doesn't work in an industry where the qualified workers decide what work they will accept.
The WA Government is 100% to blame for this mess.
They don't understand anything, and were led by the nose by self-interested Western Power and Synergy managers to this disaster.
Any journalists or YouTube content makers, wishing to get the FULL story are most welcome to contact me.
Suzanne and I spent many days discussing this decision.
We have been stressed out, working 16 x 7 for months.
For what?
We turn away at the very least, 15 new enquiries every day because we are fully booked up until 2026.
Now we start from scratch. Clean slate.
No WA rebate BS to deal with. No frustrated installers.
It's a huge relief for us, but very damaging for our reputation.
We've been consistently booked a month in advance for 14 years.
That's all we want.
Steady work, not a flood that ends up being a nightmare for both us, and our valued clients.
A final word about the Federal battery subsidy.
Even this subsidy has raised some problems for all of us and means higher costs for some people.
The battery subsidy operates under the same legislation as the solar panel subsidy.
It's how the Government managed to get it up and running so quickly.
But ease of implementation turned out to be a double-edged sword.
Solar installers are only permitted to do 2 x STC jobs per day.
Each job must be uploaded with geo-located time and date stamped selfies taken throughout the install.
A sensible precaution to stop cowboys from claiming STCs for jobs they never attended.
No solar installer could ever do more than 2 x solar panel installs per day, so it made sense.
The battery subsidy treats the battery install as an STC claim.
So a solar and battery install counts as a full days work, namely 2 x STC claims.
That also means that 2 x complete new battery installs are a full day's work.
Also fine as each typically takes about 4 hours.
But what about just adding a battery to an already installed stack?
Also an STC claim, so two of those for the day and you cannot work any more.
Or adding a few more panels when installing a battery...that's 2 x STC claims.
The upshot of this is that the very in-demand installers won't do a battery add-on for the previous $440.
Now they want $1,200.
They won't add a few extra panels when you add a battery either unless you forgo the STCs on those panels.
Greed? Not really. It's simply being pragmatic because of the 2 jobs per day rule.
What needs to happen, and needs to happen FAST is for the Federal Government to change the legislation.
A simple change like...
"A battery installation does not count towards the 2 x STC claims per day limit."
To anyone considering getting into the solar industry, Suzanne and I recommend that you try everything else first.
Solar4Ever have been selling and installing solar in Perth, WA since 2011.
or email
This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.