Shellharbour City LGA Electrification Incentives Still Up For Grabs

New South Wales’ Shellharbour City Council has reminded residents it has several rebates currently available to help support households install solar panels, batteries and selected home electrification tech.

The Shellharbour City local government area (LGA) is located in the Illawarra region; approximately 100 kilometres south of Sydney’s CBD. It covers an area of around 147.4 square kilometres and is home to an estimated population close to 80,000.

According to Council, more than 10,800 homes – approximately one third of homes within its area – have solar panels installed. These rooftop PV systems aren’t just saving the households beneath them on their electricity bills, but helping the community work towards Council’s goal of net zero emissions across the LGA by 2050.

Sustainability-related rebates are part of Council’s efforts to achieve this.

“It’s important that we provide the community with opportunities to switch to cleaner, cheaper and more efficient energy solutions for the betterment of our future,” Mayor Chris Homer said last week.

The following are rebates currently on offer, available for installations in the Shellharbour LGA from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025.

• 5% of the cost up to $250 is available for eligible residential rooftop installations – this is in addition to the national (and still very generous) solar rebate.
• 5% of the installed cost up to $250 for eligible solar batteries – this is in addition to the NSW home battery rebate.
• 5% of the installed cost up to $125  for EV chargers.
• 5% of the installed cost up to $250 for hot water heat pumps.
• 5% of the installed cost up to $125 for induction cooktops.

Eligible applicants include owner occupiers, landlords and renters. All products must be installed by a licensed tradesperson and meet all necessary installation standards.

While the rebates certainly aren’t huge¹, the guidelines and application process don’t look particularly onerous and applying could be time well spent. But note that each applicant property can only receive one rebate in the 2024/25 round, subject to availability. The rebates can take up to 4 weeks to process from claim approval, and are issued via electronic funds transfer.

Applications are submitted via Rebately.co, which is a platform designed for councils across Australia to offer rebates to residents. The service was founded/evolved with support from Sutherland Shire Council, the City of Parramatta and Randwick City Council.

The incentives are part of a long-running effort – Council has provided financial support to the community for sustainability initiatives since 2000/01 through its Small Environmental Projects Fund (SEPF).

Council’s Renewable Energy Street Cred

As well as encouraging local residents to make the switch to solar and home electrification, Council has been doing the same for its operations. For example, it has invested in solar power at seven Council sites, and you can see live output monitoring of these installations here.

In 2022, Council endorsed its Zero Emissions Shellharbour Strategy, which sets a goal for net zero Council operational emissions by 2035. The organisation also intends sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources by this year. The last update on this indicated Council was on track.

Also in 2022, Council raised a few eyebrows after a motion was tabled and carried seeking to undertake an investigation and prepare a report on the potential mandatory requirement for solar panels on new builds within its boundaries. I haven’t trawled through subsequent meeting minutes to try and find out what happened with that.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/shellharbour-sustainability-rebates-mb3104/