1300 516 474
Get a Free Quote

For your home

Solar Feed-In Tariffs

Installing solar power is a great way of saving money on your electricity bills. By effectively having your own mini power station on your roof (and using this free power during the day), you buy less from the grid. But what about the solar energy your system generates that you don’t use at the time of generation? This can also help you save even more money, thanks to available Solar Feed-In Tariffs (FITs).

What are Solar Feed-In Tariffs?

When your solar system produces excess electricity, it doesn’t get wasted. Instead, you can sell it back to the grid. The rate you get is known as a Feed-In Tariff (FiT) and it’s calculated per kilowatt-hour (kWh). FITs appear as credits on your electricity bill. If you have enough credits, this can go towards covering your night-time electricity usage costs and potentially even your daily supply charge (some energy providers will send you a cheque each quarter if you’re in credit or you can put the credit towards your next bill).

The Federal government is still making a generous contribution towards the cost of systems – around 30% of the overall cost – around $3,100 for a 6.6kW system.

How much will you get paid for your Solar Feed-In Tariff?

How much you get paid per kWh depends on how big your system is, how much surplus solar energy you have, which state you live in, and which electricity provider you’re with. As electricity providers change their rates from time to time, it’s worth keeping an eye on their latest FITs and then reviewing your current FIT to check you’re still on a good deal. We can help you with this if you’d like, as we regularly review FiTs to help our clients.
While receiving a generous FiT is definitely nice, it shouldn’t be your only consideration when it comes to choosing an energy provider. You also need to weigh up:

  • Electricity rates (what they charge you for the power you buy from the grid).
  • Daily supply charge.
  • Any terms and conditions such as ‘pay-on-time’ discounts or late payment fees that may impact you.

Not sure what Solar Feed-In Tariff you’re on?

The information will be on your electricity bill (it’s often referred to as a ‘Solar Credit’). If it’s not, call your provider to find out. Some electricity plans don’t offer a FiT, which is pretty cheeky, given they on-sell your power for a profit, so, it’s worth switching if your current provider doesn’t pay anything or if they only pay a small amount.

What about premium Solar Feed-In Tariffs?

Many years ago, early adopters of solar technology in Australia received extremely generous FiTs. These premium or legacy rates were as high as 60c/kWh, which was totally unsustainable. While current FiTs are nowhere near as high, this doesn’t mean that solar has stopped being a great investment.

In fact, the opposite has happened. Electricity bills have continued to skyrocket, while the cost of solar panels has plummeted. The amount you save on your system plus the free energy it generates more than makes up for the reduction in FiTs.