South Australia has excellent solar resources and a high penetration of rooftop solar, operating in STC Zone 3.
South Australia's commercial solar incentive is built the same way as Queensland's: federal STCs for the upfront rebate, with no state VEEC-style certificate and no PDRS-style battery scheme layered on top. Adelaide (5000) sits in STC Zone 3 at 1.382, the same band as most of the settled SA coast; a 100 kW system installed in 2027 earns roughly 552 STCs over the scheme's remaining 4 years. Move into the outback and the multiplier steps up: Coober Pedy (5723) sits in STC Zone 1 at 1.622, about 17% more STCs for an identical system, because CER zones are set by measured solar resource rather than population.
SA businesses adding a battery use the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program, the same tiered scheme available in every other state on this list: the first 14 kWh of usable capacity at full value, the next 14 kWh at 60%, and the remainder up to 50 kWh at 15%, phasing down every six months to 2030. There is no SA-specific battery rebate on top.
SA commercial solar installations can access the following incentive schemes.
STC eligibility moved from 100 kW to 1 MW of site capacity for solar installed from 1 October 2026 (Mid-scale Solar Regulations, registered 17 September 2026). The 100 kW limit still governs anything installed before that date, and capacity above the first 1 MW earns LGCs. Read the announcement.
Adjust system size to see your SA incentive breakdown at current certificate prices.
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The zone multiplier determines how many STCs are generated per kilowatt of installed capacity. A multiplier of 1.382 means a 100 kW system in Adelaide installed in 2027 generates 552 STCs over the remaining deeming period (4 years to 2030), worth approximately $21,313 at current certificate prices, less a 3% provider fee.
Large-scale Generation Certificates provide annual recurring revenue for solar capacity above 1 MW (above 100 kW for installs before 1 October 2026) in South Australia. Unlike the one-time STC discount, LGCs generate income every year based on actual electricity production.
One LGC is created per megawatt-hour (MWh) of generation. At a current net price of $7/LGC (the market less a 5% provider fee), a 150 kW system in SA generating approximately 198 MWh per year would earn roughly $1,413/year in LGC revenue.
The 99 kW design ceiling is disappearing. Here is what solar professionals need to re-size, re-quote across the 1 October start date, and add to proposal templates before then.
Above the STC ceiling (1 MW of site capacity from 1 October 2026, 100 kW before), solar earns LGCs annually instead of an upfront STC discount. Here is how the scheme works and what a certificate is really worth in 2026.
Adelaide (5000) sits in STC Zone 3, a 1.382 multiplier, the same band as most of the settled SA coast.
Coober Pedy (5723) sits in STC Zone 1, the top irradiance band at 1.622, about 17% more STCs than Adelaide for an identical system, reflecting the much stronger solar resource in the outback than the settled coast.
No, SA relies on the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program for batteries, the same national scheme available in every state on this list. There is no SA-specific certificate program layered on top the way NSW runs PDRS.
Yes, on the same terms as the rest of the National Electricity Market, one LGC per MWh actually generated, claimed annually rather than upfront.
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