Solar Battery Rebate FAQ

In order to be eligible for off-grid systems, you must meet one of the following criteria:

• Your property must be more than 1km from the grid. This is distance measured from the property boundary to the nearest powerline
• You must have a quote from the energy provider indicating that it would cost more than $30,000 to connect power to the property. (Additional costs to extend the connection, such as to a building are not included in the $30,000 amount.)
• The battery inverter needs to be Virtual Power Plant (VPP) capable. A VPP capable inverter is one that allows the energy companies to control the supply of power from your entire battery system back to the grid. Even though you may not be connected to the grid, it still has to have this capability if it ever gets connected to the grid in the future.

All batteries MUST be installed by a SAA approved installer in order to obtain the rebate. Their job is to ensure the batteries are installed safely and meet the current Australian Safety Standards, they are also required to submit documentation and evidence to claim this rebate.

Forbes Batteries & Electronics work with an accredited SAA approved electrician (electrician installation fees are not included in our install kits).

In order to measure that your property boundary to the nearest powerline is more than 1km distance, check this website to view the known overhead and underground powerlines within your area:

https://byda.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=8a8f088ca9774464884d6711b347fff8

To get a quote to see if it would cost more than $30,000 to connect power to your property you can do this one of two ways:

1. You can do this yourself via the energy providers self service portals.
   For Energex visit: www.energex.com.au/our-services/connections/residential-and-commercial-connections/new-connections
2. You can engage a local electrical contract to do this process for you. There will likely be fee’s involved for this service.
   Your network provided is likely to class your application as a ‘Negotiated Connection’ and will take approximately 45 days to complete, they will likely involve a fee during this application.
   As per the ‘ Connecting to the Energex Network Fees and Charges 2025/26’ ( www.energex.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/1009062/Connecting-to-the-Energex-Network-Fees-and-Charges-2025_26-13809590.pdf ), A typical application for up to 100A is approx. $2600+GST

Unfortunately Victron Inverters are not VPP Capable in Australia. Our team provide a number of VPP Capable inverters.

At the time of writing this, the only VPP capable inverters are grid connect style inverters.

These include:

• Sigenenergy batteries and inverters with a “Sigen Sensor” or “Sigen Gateway”
• Tesla Powerwall 2 & 3* - Please check the Compatibility Checker for more specifics on Powerwall 3 compatibility
• SolarEdge batteries with a SolarEdge inverter/s*
• LG Chem with SolarEdge inverter/s
• AlphaESS (inverter serial numbers starting with AL - please note, we're not compatible with serial numbers beginning with ALPxxx or 9xxx)
• Hive (same considerations apply as above - the Hive battery is a re-branded AlphaESS)
• REA POWER (same considerations apply as above - the REA POWERBANK is a re-branded AlphaESS)
• BYD HVM or HVS series battery, with a Fronius Primo or Symo GEN24 series inverter (please see this FAQ for a breakdown of compatible setups)
• Sungrow (please see this FAQ for a breakdown of compatible setups)
• FoxESS batteries (please see this FAQ for a breakdown of compatible setups)
• 1KOMMA5° batteries (please see this FAQ for a breakdown of compatible setups)
• Redback batteries
• Neovolt batteries
• Enphase batteries with an IQ 7 or IQ 8 inverter
• GivEnergy inverters
• Anker Solix batteries

Referenced from: www.solarquotes.com.au/battery-storage/vpp-comparison

Some of these systems maybe used in a basic off-grid mode, but are primarily designed only for reduced loads during infrequent periods when there may be a blackout for a short time.

For your system to perform properly, we strongly recommend using a transformer style off-grid battery inverter such as Victron, Selectronics or SMA Sunny Island, instead of replacing your inverter with a VPP inverter to claim credits.

If you are eligible based on the above criteria, the team at Forbes Batteries and Electronics can help you understand what kit is right for your Off-Grid system, and help you claim the rebate! Once you have checked you are eligible for the rebate – contact our team, or visit us in store to discuss your off-grid battery needs.

We work closely with SAA Accredited Electrician, Valley Smart Home & Electrical ( valleysmarthome.com/) to ensure that you meet the requirements for the Cheaper Home Batteries Scheme (electrician installation fees not included in our kits).