Battery incentive, from 1 September 2026
From 1 September 2026, commercial, industrial and strata sites in New South Wales can claim a payment towards battery storage. It is made in certificates, and their value comes off the price of your system.
Installs open 1 September 2026
The scheme pays for cutting demand at the times the grid is under most strain, which in New South Wales is the evening peak. A battery charges when power is cheap and discharges into your site during those hours. The reduction it creates is measured and converted into certificates, and those certificates pay for the discount on your system.
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The portion of the battery's rated capacity the scheme recognises.
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Installing new solar at the same time as the battery increases the rate paid.
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A market figure that moves with supply and demand rather than being fixed by the scheme.
The incentive is for sites that are not residential dwellings, which in practice means commercial premises, industrial facilities, warehousing, manufacturing, cold storage, and the common property of apartment buildings.
Sites with a battery already installed are generally not eligible, and installation must take place on or after 1 September 2026. Eligibility is confirmed at site assessment.
Certificate prices are set by the market. As more batteries are installed the supply of certificates rises, and the value of each one moves accordingly. A site that installs early is exposed to a different market than one that installs later.
Installation capacity is also limited. Equipment lead times for larger systems run to several months, with network approvals running in parallel over a similar period. For a large battery the decision date and the installation date can sit a long way apart.
From a recent bill our engineers can read your tariff structure, demand charges, consumption profile and network, then size the battery to your site rather than to a round number. There is no cost for that review.
We reply by email so you can attach your bill.
Send your most recent electricity bill to batteries@symmetrysolar.com.au and an engineer will come back with the confirmed figure, usually within one business day.
Attach my bill nowNo. Solar is not required for the commercial and strata battery activities. Installing new solar alongside the battery increases the rate paid, and a timing condition applies to that uplift, but a battery on its own can still be eligible.
No, they are separate schemes. The New South Wales incentive is a state scheme paid in certificates. Depending on the size of the system and the site, both may be relevant, and we work that through at assessment.
No. Certificates are created by an accredited provider, and the value is applied as a discount to your system rather than paid to you afterwards. The paperwork sits with the installer and the provider.
It applies the scheme's method to the figures you enter, so the certificate count is calculated rather than estimated. The dollar value depends on the certificate price used, which is a market figure that moves. The calculator shows the price it has applied.
That depends on your load profile and what you are trying to achieve, whether reducing demand charges, shifting consumption away from peak pricing, or both. Sizing to the incentive alone rarely produces the best commercial outcome.
Installations are eligible from 1 September 2026. Smaller systems can be delivered relatively quickly. Larger systems are built to order and involve network approvals, so lead times are considerably longer.
Our engineers confirm the figure against your load profile, tariff and network connection, at no cost and without obligation.
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