Small Scale Technology Certificates, or STC’s, are utilized by large commercial users of electricity to meet stringent renewable energy targets set by the Australian Federal Government. Failure to meet these targets can result in large fines by these ‘liable parties’. As a consequence, these ‘liable parties’ need to source their STC’s from small domestic renewable energy systems such as solar water heaters and solar electricity systems. In simple terms, one Small Scale Technology Certificate or ‘STC’ represents one megawatt hour of electricity generated (or displaced) from an approved renewable energy source such as a solar hot water system. The more efficient the solar hot water system, the more STC’s it is able to generate. As a general rule, when you purchase a solar hot water system, you’re able to create up to 10 years worth of calculated STC’s upon installation. You can then gain a financial benefit from assigning your right to create STC's for your solar hot water system to reduce the purchase price of your new system. Depending on where you live, the system purchased and the value of the STC’s at the time of assigning them, you may be able to reduce the purchase price by thousands of dollars. It should be noted that the value of the STC’s does fluctuate depending on demand by the ‘liable parties’.
