• • Cheaper Home Batteries Rebate upcoming launch
  • Electrification support announced by Victorian Government
  • City of Sydney bans gas in new builds

Cheaper Home Batteries Rebate launching soon.

With only two working days left until the Cheaper Home Batteries Rebate launches on 1 July—now increasingly labelled the Battery STC Program, the entire industry is bracing for what the next six months will bring.Many in the sector are coming to terms with the reality that STC processing times with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) could stretch beyond six weeks. The program is starting without systems in place for automated or bulk project uploads, leaving STC trading businesses reliant on heavily manual submissions and slow processing times.

Meanwhile, solar retailers are realising a key nuance in the government’s approach: while the Commonwealth has committed to purchasing battery STCs at $40 via the Clearing House, it will spend the allocated $2.4 billion to buy certificates as needed, rather than directly purchasing the battery STCs themselves as they are created.

This, combined with the costs of new software development, manual administrative work, and significant process changes for STC traders, means few customers are unlikely to see the full $40 value per STC. Further, a potential oversupply of STCs could depress prices.

Whilst the future looks bright in the solar and storage industry, the coming months promise intense activity and the potential for significant financial strain, with many solar and battery businesses poised to stretch lines of credit to levels unseen in recent times.

Victorian Government announces electrification support.

On Tuesday, the Victorian Government announced several measures aimed to support electrification in residential and business premises.

Under new regulations, from 1 March 2027:

• • when a gas hot water system reaches the end of its life, it must be replaced with an efficient electric alternative like a heat pump.
  • hot water systems must be replaced with efficient heat pumps at end of life.
  • gas heaters at end of life must be replaced with reverse-cycle air conditioners.
  • minimum R5.0 rating ceiling insulation must be installed at the start of a new lease where there is no ceiling insulation already in place.

From 1 January 2027:

• • all new homes will be built all electric.
  • all new commercial buildings (other than industrial, manufacturing and agricultural buildings) will also be required to be built all electric.

All upgrades are supported through the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Program.

City of Sydney bans gas in new home builds.

New residential builds in Sydney will have to be all-electric, after a council vote on Monday night.

The ban includes;

• • All new development applications submitted after 31 December 2025: no indoor gas appliances
  • All new development applications submitted after 31 December 2026: no gas use at all.

Aimed to reduce costs for residents and reduce emissions within the city of Sydney, the ban follows similar electrification policies seen in both Victoria and the ACT.

At Ecovantage, we consistently analyse market activity, policy changes, consultation releases, and creation rates in conjunction with wider landscape activity. This allows us to keep our clients at the forefront of all relevant changes, and to leverage the advantage that this presents. Thank you for your continued support, and please reach out if you have any general or project-specific questions.