The Solar Credits scheme is available for all grid connected buildings, whether principle place of residence, rental, holiday home, commerical premises or rural construction. The scheme has no means test; the rebate threshold of a household taxable income of $100,000 has been removed.

In replacing the $8,000 rebate, the Solar Credits scheme operates by attributing a value 5 times the market value of Renewable Energy Certificates (REC,S).

There are 21 RECs attached to a 1kW solar energy installation. The value of a REC is subject to market variation, though the price has been static for some time. Green Bank has been buying RECs for many months at $46 each. This equates to $966 value in RECs for a 1kW installation. Under Solar Credits, this figure is multiplied by five, to give a total discount of $4,830.

Solar Credits will apply to the first 1.5 kW of capacity installed, meaning a maximum value of approximately $7k (subject to market fluctuation). For systems above 1.5 kW, customers will be eligible for the standard 1:1 rate of RECs. Customers can elect to either assign them to the installer to keep the upfront cost of the solar installation down, or hold on to them just as you would a share portfolio.