incentivesstcveec
STC vs VEEC vs LGC: Which Fits Your Business?
Three incentive schemes, different eligibility rules. Find out which ones apply to your business and how much they are worth.
5 June 20268 min read
Perth and most of WA are in STC Zone 3, with Zone 1 and 2 multipliers in the Kimberley and Pilbara regions.
Western Australia's incentive stack mirrors Queensland and South Australia: federal STCs, no state VEEC scheme, no PDRS-style battery rebate. Perth (6000) sits in STC Zone 3 at 1.382; a 100 kW system installed in 2026 earns roughly 691 STCs over the scheme's remaining 5 years. The multiplier climbs heading north along the coast — Broome (6725) sits in Zone 2 at 1.536 — and climbs again in the Pilbara, where Port Hedland (6721) sits in Zone 1 at 1.622, about 17% more STCs than Perth for an identical system, reflecting the much stronger solar resource across WA's north.
Above 100 kW, WA commercial systems earn LGCs the same way as the rest of the country — one certificate per MWh of actual generation, claimed as ongoing annual revenue. WA businesses adding a battery use the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program rather than a state rebate, the same tiered weighting (100% for the first 14 kWh, 60% for the next 14, 15% up to 50 kWh) that phases down nationally each year to 2030.
WA commercial solar installations can access the following incentive schemes.
Adjust system size to see your WA incentive breakdown at current certificate prices.
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 WA generates 691 STCs over the remaining deeming period (5 years to 2030), worth approximately $26,949 at current certificate prices.
Large-scale Generation Certificates provide annual recurring revenue for solar systems above 100 kW in Western 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 current prices of $47/LGC, a 150 kW system in WA generating approximately 340 MWh per year would earn roughly $16,003/year in LGC revenue.
Three incentive schemes, different eligibility rules. Find out which ones apply to your business and how much they are worth.
Payback varies from 3 to 7 years depending on state, system size, and incentives. See the live state-by-state table and your own scenario.
Perth (6000) sits in STC Zone 3, a 1.382 multiplier.
It steps up twice. Broome (6725) sits in STC Zone 2 (1.536), and the Pilbara — Port Hedland (6721) — sits in STC Zone 1 (1.622), about 17% more STCs than Perth for an identical system, because WA's north gets substantially more solar irradiance than the south-west.
No — WA does not run a state battery certificate scheme; batteries use the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program instead, the same tiered weighting (100% for the first 14 kWh, 60% for the next 14, 15% up to 50 kWh) available nationally.
Yes — systems above 100 kW earn Large-scale Generation Certificates, one per MWh generated, claimed annually. A system that size earns LGCs instead of upfront STCs; the whole system falls under one federal scheme based on its capacity.