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If you have a home battery or are considering installing one, the new government incentives are now in effect and you may be eligible for significant savings, especially if your battery is connected to a Virtual Power Plant (VPP). These changes offer a valuable opportunity to reduce your upfront costs and maximise the return on your investment.

Let’s break down the changes in plain English:

What is a VPP?

A virtual Power Plant (VPP) is a group of batteries that work together to share energy and support the electricity grid.

Here’s how it works:

You have an existing or a new battery where you store your power.

  • You have a choice to use that stored power solely for your own personal use, or you can connect your battery to a VPP provider and feed some of your stored energy back to the gird and be paid for it.
  • You connect to a VPP by contacting a provider that has a VPP compatible with your battery (list of providers here: Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Comparison Table – SolarQuotes)
  • During peak demand (when power is expensive), your VPP could draw and sell up to 80% of your stored power back to the grid and pay you a premium for it. Just like exporting your solar and receiving a solar feed-in tariff, but for your battery. You are left with 20% for your own personal use to power your home and to take you through to the next solar window where you can charge it up again.
  • Not all virtual power plants work the same; some let you choose when you want to export or trade your battery power, while others do it automatically when the energy market needs it. It’s a good idea to compare options and pick the one that suits you best.
  • Joining a VPP not only reduces the payback period on your battery; you are helping to stabilise the grid and can receive up to 2k in a cash back rebate for joining up to one.

Federal Battery Rebate

The federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program (CHBP) is offering a new rebate to help more Australians afford the installation and purchase of batteries:

  • The rebate will discount the cost of a battery by around 30%.
  • The rebate is not means tested; all homeowners and small businesses can apply.
  • The rebate is available to all new battery installations from 1st July.
  • Batteries must be connected to Solar PV and must be VPP capable to be eligible for the rebate.

Example: For a 13.5 kWh battery, you could save around $4,625. This discount should appear on your quote as a point-of-sale discount so you can save straight away.

What additional rebates can you get and stack with the federal one?

  • South Australia is leading the way in clean energy and offers VPP rebates. Over the last two years, nearly $2 million in VPP rebates have been paid out to households connecting their batteries to eligible VPP providers.
  • When you connect your new or existing battery to an eligible VPP, you can claim a cashback rebate of up to $2,050
  • The rebate value varies depending on the size of your battery and your concession card status.
  • The state VPP rebate can be stacked with the federal rebate, meaning even more savings.

Want to see how much you can save - check out our calculators https://mactradeservices.com.au/south-australia/battery-incentives

With a falling solar feed-in-tariff, huge battery rebates and VPP subsidies, there has never been a better time to become energy independent. Virtual Power Plants are a key part of Australia’s energy transition, not just supporting households but also our energy grid in times of need.

Take full advantage of available rebates. Speak with our team today to check your eligibility and maximise every dollar in savings.

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