The federal government is expanding the scheme behind Australia's solar rebate so it covers systems ten times larger than it does today. From 1 October 2026, solar between 100 kilowatts and 1 megawatt will be able to create small-scale technology certificates (STCs), the same certificates that knock thousands off a household solar quote. The Clean Energy Regulator says the change should cut the upfront cost of an eligible system by around 20 percent.
What actually changed
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the expansion at the National Press Club in Canberra on 5 August 2026. Until now the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) has stopped dead at 100kW. Anything bigger had to chase large-scale generation certificates instead, a slower, less generous route designed for solar farms rather than a warehouse roof. Lifting the ceiling to 1MW pulls a whole class of project across into the simpler scheme.
- Eligibility cap rises from 100kW to 1MW, a tenfold increase
- Expected start date is 1 October 2026, subject to the regulations being finalised
- Estimated cost reduction of about 20 percent on eligible systems
- Systems under 100kW, including every household system, are unchanged
Why this matters even if you do not own a factory
Bowen calls this segment Australia's missing middle, and the numbers back him up. Australian households have put roughly 22 gigawatts of solar on their roofs. Businesses have managed only about 5.6 gigawatts, most of it squeezed under the old 100kW cap because anything bigger stopped stacking up financially. The roofs sitting empty are the ones you walk past every day: the supermarket, the primary school, the local cold store, the packing shed.
Filling those roofs matters to households for two reasons. More daytime generation close to where power is actually used takes pressure off the transmission network, and it puts downward pressure on wholesale prices in the middle of the day, which is when commercial buildings do most of their consuming.
The money
Industry estimates put the saving at roughly $68,000 off a 250kW system and around $136,000 off a 500kW system. Separately, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed $100 million alongside Infradebt to finance up to 16 hybrid solar and battery projects of up to 5MW. The SRES change itself runs through machinery the Clean Energy Regulator has operated since 2011, so it does not require a new program to be stood up.
What the industry wants next
The response from installers and community energy groups has been positive, with one consistent caveat: generation without storage only goes so far. A warehouse that suddenly produces 400kW at noon still exports most of it unless it has somewhere to put it. Expect the push for a commercial and community battery equivalent of the Cheaper Home Batteries rebate to get louder between now and the October start date.
What happens next
The regulations still have to be made before 1 October is locked in, and the government is working through the design, installation and compliance requirements that come with certifying much larger systems under a scheme built for small ones. It has also flagged work on grid connection for mid-scale solar, historically the slowest and most expensive part of these projects.
The WattsUp take
This is the most useful solar policy change in years for anyone who runs a business with a big roof and a big daytime load. If a solar proposal for your workplace, school or sporting club died on the numbers under the old 100kW cap, it is worth pulling that quote back out. Just do not sign anything before the regulations are actually made, because the start date is not final until they are.
Sources
- Clean Energy Regulator: Expansion of solar PV eligibility under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme
- Minister for Climate Change and Energy: Putting more roofs to work
- PV Tech: Australia to expand Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme to cover 1MW solar installations
- pv magazine: Expansion of rooftop solar rebate scheme to unlock Australia's missing middle
- New England Times: Expanded solar rebate welcomed, batteries are the next step