Independent Australian energy journalism · Est. comparison-era voice, rebuilt for long-form
Self-consumption beats a pretty feed-in rate
Feed-in tariffs, STCs, home batteries, solar-friendly retail plans and the Solar Sharer Offer — written for households who already have panels or are about to.
The Solar Sharer Offer is an opt-in standing offer in Default Market Offer areas: a three-hour midday window of free electricity for eligible smart-meter households, up to a daily cap commonly described as 24 kWh. It exists because the grid is stuffed with daytime solar.
The best solar plan is the cheapest whole bill, not the highest feed-in tariff. Rank import rates, daily supply, export credits and export caps at your actual usage before you let a banner rate choose the retailer.
The main national “solar rebate” is not a cheque. It is a bundle of small-scale technology certificates created when eligible panels are installed, which the installer usually turns into an upfront discount under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.
A home battery is a bet that stored solar — or cheap midday grid power — will replace expensive evening imports. Payback depends on your leftover exports, your tariff shape and the rebate rules on the day you install, not on a brochure cycle-life number.
A solar feed-in tariff is the credit your retailer pays for leftover rooftop generation sent to the grid. In 2026 those rates are low, often capped, and almost never the number that decides whether solar is worth running.
Usually not. Most solar households import power in the evening at the retail usage rate, which is worth far more than daytime exports. Compare the whole bill: import rates, supply charge, feed-in tariff and any export cap.