We finally have some clarity and it is better news !!

This update is brought to you from the clear, concise and well explained words of:
Matt Loeb, WA Residential Battery Scheme, Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

Thank you very much Matt for clearing this up. It was VERY confusingly explained previously.

In answer to a question about rebates for a 30kWh battery he wrote...
A 30kWh battery would be eligible for the max $1,300 state rebate on batteries 10kWh and above,
plus the federal rebate on a 30kWh battery.

Therefore I'll further summarise...
The WA battery rebate is $130 per kWh of battery storage capped at $1,300.
The WA rebate is on top of the Federal battery subsidy.

There...that was so easy and it's exactly what everyone wanted to know.

From the WA Government announcement...
"The WA Residential Battery Scheme will complement the Federal Governments Cheaper Home Batteries Program
for a combined rebate of up to $5,000 for Synergy customers and $7,500 for Horizon Power customers."

No....WRONG !! You can't explain your own scheme properly.
Please get rid of the above from your advisory, WA Government, it is confusing and wrong.
There is no $5,000 cap on anything.
WA battery buyers can get far more than $5,000 from the combined State and Federal rebates.
All they have to do is purchase a battery with storage greater than 10kWh.

Here are some examples to show how it works out...(Fed means Federal Subsidy, WA means WA subsidy)
Fed. calculation = 9.3kWh per kWh of usable battery storage, rounded down to whole STC @ $37 per STC.
WA calculation = $130 per kWh of rated battery capacity (not usable), capped at $1,300.
I've used some popular batteries in the examples below.

5kWh iStore battery (5kWh usable), $1,702 (Fed), $650 (WA), combined battery subsidy $2,352.
8kWh Sigenergy battery (7.8kWh usable), $2,664 (Fed), $1,040 (WA), combined battery subsidy $3,704.
10kWh iStore battery (10kWh usable), $3,441 (Fed), $1,300 (WA), combined battery subsidy $4,741.
13.5kWh Tesla PW3 battery (13.5kWh usable) $4,625 (Fed), $1,300 (WA), combined battery subsidy $5,925.
15kWh iStore battery (15kWh usable), $5,143 (Fed), $1,300 (WA), combined battery subsidy $6,443.
16kWh Sigenergy battery (15.6kWh usable), $5,365 (Fed), $1,300 (WA) combined battery subsidy $6,665.
24kWh Sigenergy battery (23.4kWh usable), $8,029 (Fed), $1,300 (WA), combined battery subsidy $9,329.
32kWh Sigenergy battery (31.2kWh usable), $10,730 (Fed), $1,300 (WA), combined battery subsidy $12,030

Other requirements for the WA battery scheme
Battery retailer must be an NETCC approved seller and have a business address in WA.
There will be a list published of approver retailers, with probably some more criteria than just NETCC approved.

Solar4Ever are an approved NETCC seller and can therefore display this logo on our website, quotes and invoices.



I searched the NETCC list and found Solar4Ever and just 35 other Perth residential solar retailers that were NETCC approved.
According to my regular solar wholesalers, they think there are about 400 solar retailers in Perth.
Only 35 out of 400 currently NETCC approved to sell batteries with the rebate?
That will mean a mad scramble for hundreds to get NETCC approved...which is a slow and arduous and quite expensive process.
I suspect many won't bother and will sell batteries with the Federal rebate only and cite the unpopular VPP obligation as a good reason.

Inverter and battery must be scheme approved and VPP capable (list not available yet)
Battery installer must have SAA battery installation accreditation.
You must have a Synergy account.
You must agree to connect to a VPP plan. I think Synergy's at first, but not sure. Matt didn't mention it.

100,000 WA rebates now instead of 19,000
Let's say 100,000 households buy at least a 10kWh battery and gets the full $1,300 rebate from the WA scheme.
That's a total of $130 million of a $327 million budget allocation.

Where's the other $197 million going?
Surely not all earmarked for admin costs and interest-free loans?
Does it mean we might see ANOTHER 100,000 after this one? Hope so.

The reality is that 19,000 would have been over-subscribed many times over and so many people would have missed out.
It was simply, in conjunction with the Federal rebate (which was offered AFTER WA's) far too good a deal.
I remember writing here something along the lines that someone adding 16kWh of extra battery capacity to their Sigenergy stack
was going to get $10,500 rebates on a $12,000 installed cost. That really was totally ridiculous.
Now they will get $6,800 which is still a 57% discount !!

$1,300 is a lot less than the election promise of $5,000.
Yes, there's no real way of getting around this. They do try of course, but not at all convincingly.
"You are still getting $5,000 for a 10kWh battery it's just that the Federal scheme is paying about 70% of that."
I paraphrased that.

I'd recommend to the WA Government that they just drop that excuse, especially as it won't be $5,000 anyway it will be about $4,741.
You forgot to deduct the admin charges from the $40 per Federal STC that will bring it down to about $37.
$3,441 Federal for a 10kWh battery plus $1,300 from WA is $4,741 not $5,000.
If you persist with this $5,000 line, people might be asking later where their missing $259 is.

Virtual Power Plant requirement (WA).
It is now obligatory to become part of a VPP if you accept any money from the WA rebate scheme.
The most likely VPP is the one operated by Synergy.

This VPP scheme allows the VPP to dump power from your battery to the grid up to 30 times a year.
You will be paid $0.70 per kWh taken and they will extract no more than one full cycle of your battery each time.
With a 10kWh battery this might mean revenue to you of 30 x 10 x $0.70 = $210 a year.
I presume that would be deemed as taxable income by the ATO.
You also get 'offset credits' meaning you get credited for the battery power taken that you would have used yourself.
However, it also means you lose control of your own asset; your battery.
It means that your battery may be drained just when you need it during a grid outage.
The Synergy VPP is by no means unfair as far as VPPs go, but is it worth taking whatever small WA rebate you get?

Interest-free WA Government loans.
If your household income is less than $210,000 you can apply for an interest-free loan.
Is that taxable income, or after tax? Doesn't say.

What is 'useable' battery storage?
The Federal scheme specifically indicates 'useable' storage as the criteria for subsidies.
Some batteries may be advertised as a 10kWh battery, but only 9.5kWh is useable.
The other 0.5kWh is reserved to stop the battery being drained too deeply and reduce its life expectancy.
Many other batteries will have a useable capacity that's the same as their advertised rating.
The manufacturer has added a 'safety buffer' of additional storage on top of the rated amount.

If I get a battery will I have power to my house during a blackout?
Not necessarily.
Most batteries have this function but require additional, often quite expensive equipment, to be installed.
There's also usually a few hours work by an electrician at your switchboard(s) to make it all work.
Grid power in Perth is very stable (usually) and more and more batteries are only going to improve that grid stability.

Can I AC Couple a battery without solar?
Yes you don't need solar to charge a home battery, you can do it from the grid using off-peak priced power.
The Federal battery subsidy scheme requires the house to have solar though.

Only two battery installations per day per installer.
This rule from Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) enforced by the Clean Energy Regulator restricting solar installs to 2 sign offs per day is understandable.
It was born from the experience of shonky solar operators who signed off on multiple jobs per day they never went to.

However, it also applies to 'battery installations' and that's a big difference in terms of installer hours.
For example, if someone wants to add a couple of batteries to an existing stack, that usually takes an hour.
If they have an existing hybrid inverter and energy meter and want to add a new battery stack, that typically takes about 2 hours.
Therefore, under the '2 per day' rule, a battery installer is only going to be allowed to work for 3 or 4 hours a day.
I raised this with the CER and their email reply today was encouraging saying...
"We are in discussions with Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) currently regarding what this number may be in respect to solar batteries.
We expect this information to be publicised very shortly, as well as SAA's policy in respect to exemptions from this requirement"

Other news that's relevant to battery subsidies.
10kW inverters on single phase
From July 1st if the suggested changes outlined in this draft from Western Power come to be, we shall be allowed 10kW(kVA) on single phase.
This might mean a 10kW inverter or 2 x 5kW inverters.
It also says that there will be a 5kW export limit on not just single phase, but 3 phase as well.
Up until now the export limit was 1.5kW.
However what is not known is whether Synergy will change their feed in tariff payment limit.
As it stands if the inverter total capacity is greater than 5kW then there is no feed in tariff payment.
If that stays then you will have a 10kW inverter, export limited to 5kW with no payment at all on that 5kW of export.
Who cares about export when you have a battery to fill and a DEBs payment of 2 cents per kWh anyway?

For those people who have a 5kW inverter and want to replace it with a 10kW single phase model, it's not a simple swap.
Your AC and Earth cables and breakers will all have to be upgraded to carry the higher current of a 10kW inverter.


Solar4Ever have been selling and installing solar in Perth, WA since 2011.

(08) 9467 9655

or email

This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.