Commercial solar and batteries. Reduce your business power bills.

How does it work?

Commercial solar systems work exactly the same way as residential solar systems. The solar panels are hit by sunlight which excites the cells inside which generates DC power. That power is then sent down to your inverter (or inverters) and converted into AC power for your business to consume.

Anything in your business that is electric and plugged in somewhere will be able to use the clean green power you have created saving you money. It is that simple.

How does solar save businesses money?

Commercial solar saves you money in two key ways: using your own power (self-consumption) and getting paid for what you export (feed-in tariffs).

Self-consumption is where the real money is. Every kWh your system makes is a kWh you don't buy from the grid. Feed-in tariffs for businesses are a fraction of what you pay for power, so using your own solar beats selling it every time.

Businesses are coincidently set up perfectly to get the most out of solar because of their operating rhythms.

If you think about a residential home, a lot of the time the sun is shining no one is home. This means less energy is being used and it can be a little harder to maximise your self consumption. When you are a business, that is flipped on its head. A lot of businesses in Australia operate while the sun is shining meaning self-consumption is much easier to do.

If you're open in the evenings, or getting stung by peak demand charges, a battery takes things to the next level by storing your midday surplus for later. More on that in the battery section below.

Solar also takes the sting out of price rises. Every kWh you make yourself is one your retailer can't charge you more for.

Other less obvious upsides of commercial solar

Saving money is the headline, but there's more wins in the fine print.

1. Your customers care

People and businesses increasingly choose who they buy from based on their environmental impact. So the moment you start your solar journey, tell your customers. Once it's installed, keep telling them. It drives brand retention, opens doors to new work and puts your brand ahead of the pack.

2. Climate reporting

Australia's biggest companies have been reporting their emissions since 2025. Large businesses joined from 1 July 2026 and medium-sized businesses will follow from 1 July 2027. Reports cover scope 2 emissions (the electricity you buy), and from year two, scope 3 (your supply chain).

Even if you're not reporting yourself, your big customers may soon be asking about your emissions. Solar cuts the power you buy from the grid, which cuts your scope 2 emissions, which is an easy win.

3. The incentives are better than ever

Upfront STC rebates now cover systems up to 1MW, there's federal and state support for batteries, and finance options to keep cash in the bank. At any given time, there's a mix of programs to help bring the cost down. We'll help you find the ones you qualify for.

How do commercial system sizes work?

There are four key brackets to be aware of when installing solar in a commercial setting.

‍

Less than 30kW

This one is the easy one, to be blunt. These connect to the grid much like a home system, so approvals are quick and simple. Perfect for small businesses that use plenty of power during the day.

You get full STCs, although they drop every January until the scheme wraps up in 2030.

30kW to 100kW

Now you're making some serious power. Your local network (the DNSP, or Distribution Network Service Provider) will want a closer look before you connect. They might cap how much you can export or ask for extra protection gear.

Not something you'll need to worry about, though, as long as you go with an installer who's done this plenty of times (us). Oh yeah, and you also get full STCs here too.

100kW to 1MW

Until 30 September 2026, once you cracked 100kW and the upfront rebate disappeared. Not anymore.

Systems from 100kW up to 1MW installed from 1 October 2026 can now claim STCs. Better still, they get a fixed five-year deeming period, so the number of certificates doesn't drop each January like it does for smaller systems. The government reckons that's around 20% off the upfront cost.

Think factories, warehouses, cold stores, wineries, farms, hotels, office blocks and shopping centres.

Expect a bit more paperwork. Planning approvals, engineering sign-off and a network connection agreement all need to be in order. STC applications for this bracket open in mid-to-late November 2026, but systems installed from 1 October still count.

Over 1MW

Now this size is a BIG deal.

Systems this size are treated as power stations, so STCs are off the table. Instead you can register as an accredited power station and create LGCs, or large-scale generation certificates, for the power you generate until the end of 2030. You can also create REGO certificates, which carry on after that.

If you think your system will land here, you 100% need to be talking to people who do this every day. Speak to Green.com.au and we'll point you in the right direction.

What finance and payment options are available?

Fortunately, thanks to the growth of solar and renewable energy, getting funding for solar projects is getting cheaper and cheap.

There are a few key options which we cover off in our article specifically about commercial solar finance however at a high level for this article we cover them off below.

A note here, if you aren’t sure, SPEAK TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT!

Cash

We won’t rave on about this one too much but you get the idea. If you have the cash to pay for it, go nuts and pay for it. Some businesses hate debt, some love it. You will see a lot of businesses use one of the finance options covered below due to the cost of funds being so low at the moment and they would rather hang onto their cash.

Loan (Chattel Mortgage)

A standard business asset loan or chattel mortgage is generally the cheapest way to access funds for solar. The rate you get will generally be based on the credit risk of your business and will be able to be financed over a period of up to around 10 years.

Lease

Leases are similar to a loan with the key differences generally being on paper. In the case of a lease, the goods, in this case the solar system are technically owned by the finance provider or lessor (E.G. the bank that gave you the money) and not you, the lessee. This has tax implications which we will cover off briefly below but important, SPEAK TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT.

PPA

A PPA is unique to energy. It is actually called a power purchasing agreement. A PPA is basically a lease agreement however you don’t agree to pay a fixed finance amount like a standard lease, you pay a discounted rate for energy generated from the system.

Picking which one suits you can be tough. The best thing to do is speak to Green.com.au today. We can help you understand more so you can go to your accountant ready to rock n roll.

Tax and commercial solar

We can’t stress enough, we aren’t tax professionals. Speak to your accountant. However, a few high level details to think about while you are in your research phase.

Depending on how you pay for your system, you may be able to claim the government’s instant asset write off. This means you can claim in one lump sum all of the depreciation of the asset (for assets under $150K) in one go. Pretty cool hey! You need to own the asset on paper though. Link to the ATO’s page about it here.

Also, when looking at a chattel mortgage/loan vs a lease, the way you can claim GST tax input credits also changes. With a chattel because you own the asset, you can claim all of the GST in one go. With a lease because you don’t technically own it, you can only claim the input credits as you pay each lease payment.

For more information, speak to your accountant to make sure you get the most out of your new renewable investment.

STCs vs LGCs

First things first.

STC = small-scale technology certificate

LGC = large-scale generation certificate

Which one you get comes down to system size:

• Up to 100kW: STCs
• 100kW to 1MW: STCs (new from 1 October 2026)
• Over 1MW: LGCs until the end of 2030

The big difference is simple. STCs are paid upfront. LGCs are paid as you go.

How STCs work

Your system is "deemed" to produce a certain amount of clean power over a set number of years, based on where you are, how big it is and when it goes in. That sets how many STCs you get. Your installer claims them for you and takes the value straight off your invoice. Simple!

For systems up to 100kW, the deeming period drops by a year every January until the scheme ends after 2030. For systems from 100kW to 1MW, it's locked at five years.

How LGCs work

These are a little more complex. You register your system as an accredited power station with the Clean Energy Regulator, then report your generation and create certificates as you go. You should most definitely get your solar company to help.

Heads up: LGC values have dropped right off, and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target ends on 31 December 2030. REGO certificates carry on after that, but it's a voluntary market, so future values are anyone's guess.

Do businesses need to own their building?

No.

Businesses who lease their premises often get solar. Most of the time landlords have no cares at all about solar being installed (assets getting installed on their building for free, not bad!).

The only other hurdle is when you are getting finance. A lot of the time, the finance company will just want to make sure your lease covers most or all of the term you are taking finance. They just want to know you will be there while you owe them money. Pretty simply.

We are starting to see landlords and tenants start to work better together on projects like this as they are starting to see the value it adds to the building in both short and long terms. Discounted rents for businesses paying for the whole install and even sharing the costs of installation isn’t as uncommon as it used to be.

What’s the difference between commercial solar panels and residential solar panels?

The big difference between commercial and residential solar panels is size. In a commercial setting size is very rarely an issue compared to residential. Residential panels need to be smaller to fit the most on a small roof space as possible where commercial panels can be much bigger given the roof space available.

Ground mounted systems are also more common in commercial settings, again, mostly driven by access to space. Meaning, if you don’t have the roof space, you might still be able to get solar!

Inverters

There are really two keys to commercial solar and that’s the panels and inverter. When it comes to inverter choices there are a few things that impact what way you go.

Inverter manufacturers do make very large central string inverters. This is generally the easiest way for smaller installations. They are simple to install and help keep the cost of installation down.

Like any string inverter though, they have the same inherent sticking points being performance when there are panels impacted within a string.

Your other options are joining many smaller sterling inverters together to de-risk performance problems as it will break the system down into smaller arrays. Installation is harder but only due to more work and it can help with performance over the life of your system. It will cost more as inverters get cheap at scale in capacity not in number of inverters.

Last option is micro-inverters or optimisers. Micro inverters and optimisers are the most expensive option, however, will generally/nearly always yield the best performance over the life of your system. For more detail on inverters check out our solar inverters article and video.

Solar batteries for businesses

Batteries have gone from nice-to-have to a serious part of commercial solar. They pay their way three ways.

1. Store your surplus: Bank the midday excess and use it after hours, instead of selling it to the grid for peanuts. Huge for businesses that trade into the evening.

2. Shave your peaks: Lots of business tariffs include demand charges based on your highest usage. A battery can cover those spikes so they don't set your bill.

3. Keep the doors open: With blackout protection set up, a battery keeps your critical gear running in a blackout. Nothing worse than losing power when you should be making money.

Battery incentives for business

Federal: The Cheaper Home Batteries Program isn't just for homes. Small businesses can claim STCs on batteries from 5kWh to 100kWh. Since 1 May 2026 the discount is tiered, with the biggest support on the first 14kWh, less above that and none past 50kWh. It also steps down every six months, so sooner is better.

NSW: From 1 September 2026, the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) offers incentives on commercial batteries from 20kWh all the way up to 30MWh. Install new solar at the same time and the incentive gets bigger. For batteries up to 100kWh, it can stack with the federal discount where both apply.

Other states. Programs come and go. Ask us what's live where you are.

There are options for every size of site, from a few stacked Tesla Powerwalls to purpose-built commercial batteries. Batteries can also be added to an existing solar system.

Want to know what a battery could do for your site? Request a call from Green.com.au and we'll talk you through it.

What monitoring is available?

Every inverter will come with its own monitoring platform. They vary with some definitely being better than others. However you don’t get much of the important information which is required to really understand and get the most out of your system.

Options like Solar Analytics should always be considered with commercial solar. Solar Analytics is an Australian based company that has designed and runs a solar monitoring platform. It gives you better data and insights and is easily installed.

If you are considering Solar Analytics, always mention it upfront as some inverters work with it better than others from a cost perspective (they have pre-built in tech which makes them nearly plug and play). For more information, check out our article on solar analytics.

We would recommend you get solar analytics if it is in your budget.

Do commercial solar systems need cleaning?

Just like residential solar, panel cleaning is really depending on the specific situation. If they are dirty, clean them, if they aren’t, don’t.

If you get Solar Analytics you will get some very strong insight into your system performance which can help determine if you have an issue like too much dirt and grime built up.

If you are heart set on cleaning your panels anyway, it definitely can’t hurt.

What maintenance do commercial solar systems need?

As per requirements by the CEC, an installer must provide a maintenance schedule to their customers. Generally the bigger the system, the more maintenance may be involved but either way you should be told this upfront, before you sign your life away.

Companies will either look after it themselves with it either baked in upfront or on a pay as you go model. Or, they will give you the planned schedule which it is up to you to follow.

How much will a commercial solar system cost?

The million dollar question (kind of, not really). Smaller systems won’t differ too much from residential rules of around $800-1200 per kW of installed solar. However, as systems grow, things can change.

Commercial installs can come with a few specific challenges which will impact the cost of installation. Things like roof access, administration for approvals, specialist knowledge for installations etc. all add up. Luckily, at scale the cost vs return is usually very very favourable.

If you want to know more, just speak to Green.com.au! We can help you get an exact quote so you know what you are up for. Best thing is, it’s obligation free.

Do commercial systems still get feed-in tariffs?

Short answer: usually, yes. But they're small.

Business feed-in tariffs are a fraction of what you pay for grid power, and bigger systems are often export-limited by the network, sometimes to zero. That's why a good commercial design starts with how much of your solar you can use yourself, and why batteries are worth a look.

Still negotiate the best feed-in tariff you can with your retailer, so any excess earns its keep.

Recap.

That's pretty much everything you need to know before you start your commercial solar journey.

If you own, run or manage a business that pays a power bill and doesn't have solar, ask yourself: why not? The savings are real, the rebates now reach all the way to 1MW, and what else saves you money and the planet at the same time?

Don't wait. Request a free feasibility study from Green.com.au today.