Commercial Solar, Rebated Like Never Before
From 1 October 2026 the federal STC rebate covers solar systems up to 1MW, not just 100kW. That takes roughly 20 percent off the upfront cost of commercial solar. We design and install systems for Sunshine Coast businesses, and the smart ones are getting quotes now.
For years, commercial solar in Australia hit an artificial wall at 100kW. Go one panel over and you lost the upfront rebate entirely, falling into a large-scale scheme built for solar farms, with certificates paid out slowly over years and serious admin overhead. The federal government has now fixed it: from 1 October 2026 the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme covers systems up to 1MW, with the same upfront certificate rebate that homes get. Canberra's own estimates put the saving at around 20 percent of the upfront cost. For a warehouse, factory, packing shed or school on the Sunshine Coast, that is the difference between solar being a someday idea and the best return on the balance sheet. Nuvolt is a licensed electrical contractor, not a sales outfit: we design, install, connect and certify commercial systems ourselves, and we are lining up October installs now.
Big Roofs, Finally Rewarded
The expanded rebate is aimed squarely at the buildings that use serious daytime power. If your operation runs through daylight hours, the numbers now work hard in your favour.
Warehouses, factories and workshops
Industrial rooves are the sweet spot for the new rebate: big, clear spans with heavy daytime loads underneath them, from refrigeration to machinery to air conditioning. A system sized to your actual load profile offsets power at the full retail rate you currently pay, and the expanded rebate cuts the payback period hard.
Farms and agribusiness
Pumping, cold storage, packing sheds and dairies chew through power, and rural properties have the roof space and land to match. Shed rooves and ground-mount arrays both qualify. For irrigation and cold chain operations the generation curve lines up almost perfectly with the load.
Schools, clubs and community facilities
Schools, sporting clubs, churches and community centres were named directly in the federal announcement. Daytime-heavy usage, large rooves and tight budgets make these sites exactly what the expanded scheme was designed for, and we handle the compliance and paperwork end to end.
Sites already at the old 100kW cap
Plenty of businesses installed 99kW systems years ago because the old rules punished going bigger. The cap now moves to 1MW of total onsite capacity, which opens the door to expanding an existing system with the rebate applying to the new panels. If you capped out under the old rules, you are one of the biggest winners here.
What a Proper Commercial Install Involves
A commercial system is an asset on your building for 25 years and a generator connected to the grid. These are the things that have to be right, and the things we handle for you:
- System sized from your actual interval data and tariff, not a guess off the roof area
- Structural and roof condition assessment before a single panel goes up
- Energex network connection application, export limits and protection settings handled for you
- Switchboard, metering and protection upgrades scoped honestly up front
- Tier one panels and commercial-grade inverters with monitoring you can actually read
- Installed, tested and certified by a licensed electrical contractor, with a lifetime workmanship warranty
Dealing directly with a licensed contractor (Lic# 92489), not a call centre or a commission salesperson.
Why get quoted now if it starts in October?
Because the rebate applies to systems installed and commissioned from 1 October 2026, and a commercial job has lead time: design from your interval data, network approval from Energex, stock ordering and scheduling. Businesses that get inspected and quoted now are first in the October install queue. Commissioning a large system even a week before the start date means missing the rebate entirely, so sequencing matters, and we manage it.
What is the rebate actually worth?
The federal government's own examples: around $68,000 off a 250kW system and around $136,000 off a 500kW system, roughly 20 percent of upfront cost. The exact value depends on system size, location and the certificate price at the time, and the fine detail of the scheme rules is being finalised by the Clean Energy Regulator. We put real numbers for your site in writing as part of your quote.
Inspected, Designed & Installed
Book Online
Book a $99 site inspection. We walk the site, look at the roof, switchboard and metering, and talk through how your business actually uses power.
Same Day Quote
You get a written quote the same day. For larger sites we also pull your interval data and follow up with a full system design and rebate numbers. The $99 is credited back when you go ahead.
Approvals & Scheduling
We lodge the Energex connection application, lock in equipment and book your install, sequenced so commissioning lands after 1 October to capture the rebate.
Install & Certify
Installed by our licensed crew, commissioned, certified and connected, with monitoring set up and a proper handover of how to read it.
Commercial Solar Questions
Straight answers on the expanded rebate and commercial solar, from the licensed contractor doing the work.
What exactly changed with the commercial solar rebate?
From 1 October 2026 the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, the same STC rebate that applies to home solar, covers systems up to 1MW instead of capping out at 100kW. Announced by the federal government in August 2026, it means a mid-sized commercial system now earns an upfront rebate worth roughly 20 percent of the installed cost, instead of falling into the slow, admin-heavy large-scale certificate scheme.
How much is the rebate worth in dollars?
It scales with system size and your location. The government's own published examples are around $68,000 off a 250kW system and around $136,000 off a 500kW system. The precise value for your site depends on the final scheme rules, currently being finalised by the Clean Energy Regulator, and the market price of certificates at install time. Your written quote from us shows the rebate for your actual system in dollars, not percentages.
We already have a system near 100kW. Can we expand and still get the rebate?
This is one of the best parts of the change. The old scheme capped total capacity at the premises at 100kW, which is why so many businesses stopped at 99kW. The new cap is 1MW of total onsite capacity, so adding capacity to an existing site is expected to qualify, with certificates created on the new panels. Final eligibility detail sits with the Clean Energy Regulator, and we confirm it against your site as part of the quote.
Should we wait until October to do anything?
No, and the timing matters in both directions. A 100kW plus system commissioned before 1 October 2026 misses the new rebate, but a commercial job also carries weeks of lead time for design, Energex approval and equipment. The right move is to get inspected and quoted now so your install lands in the queue right as the rebate starts. Certificate values under the scheme also step down over time toward its 2030 end date, so early systems capture the most value.
Does our site need three phase power?
Systems at this scale run on three phase supply, which almost all commercial and industrial sites already have. At the site inspection we check your supply, switchboard capacity and metering. If the board needs work to host the system safely, that is scoped and priced honestly in the quote rather than discovered halfway through the install.
What is involved with Energex approval?
Any system this size needs a network connection agreement before it can be installed, and Energex assesses things like export limits and protection settings for your part of the network. It can take weeks, which is exactly why quoting ahead of October beats starting the paperwork in October. We prepare and lodge the application and handle the technical back and forth as part of the job.
Do batteries qualify for anything?
Yes. A separate federal battery rebate applies to eligible small business battery systems, and pairing storage with solar lets you shift daytime generation into evening loads or shave demand charges. Whether a battery stacks up depends on your tariff and load shape, so we quote it alongside the solar rather than bolting it on by default.
How do I get a price?
Book a $99 site inspection online. A licensed electrical contractor walks your site, answers your questions on the spot, and you get a written quote the same day, with full system design and rebate numbers to follow for larger sites. The $99 is credited off the job when you go ahead.
Put Your Roof on the Payroll
Commercial solar designed, installed and certified by a licensed Sunshine Coast contractor, sequenced to capture the expanded rebate from 1 October 2026. Book a $99 site inspection, get your written quote the same day, and the $99 comes off the job if you go ahead with us.
Where we do this
We design and install commercial solar across the Coast and hinterland, from industrial estates in Caloundra West and Kunda Park to farm sheds and packing operations inland.