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How do I get money for my certificates?

There are two options for gaining financial benefits for your STCs: Agent Assisted and Individual Trading.

Agent Assisted

An STC agent (usually a retailer of SGUs or SWHs) will offer you a financial benefit such as an up-front discount or delayed cash payment when you assign your STCs to them. This means you do not have to register and manage the STCs yourself, which simplifies the process for you. Most retailers and some installers of SGUs will be registered to act as STC agents. Agents list different prices and payment processes for STCs. After buying the STCs from you the agent will register your STCs and usually bundle them with other SGU and SWH STCs for sale and transfer in the REC Registry or STC Clearing House.

1

Find an agent
  1. Shop around: The Clean Energy Regulator recommends contacting a range of STC agents (usually retailers) to get an idea of the range of financial incentives available. Visit the List of registered agents.
  2. Ensure the retailer you choose can also operate as your STC agent.
  3. Make sure your agent will:
    • Determine whether your SGU is eligible for STCs under the SRES;
    • Determine how many STCs you are entitled to under the SRES; and
    • Offer a financial benefit to you. This may be in the form of a delayed cash payment or up-front discount on your SGU price.

Ensure you are satisfied with the financial benefit, and the date and method of payment the agent is offering for your system’s STCs.

2

Assign STCs
  1. Make sure the system is installed. STCs cannot be assigned prior to installation. STCs must be created within 12 months of the installation date.
  2. Obtain safety and compliance documentation from your agent/installer as appropriate for your system.
  3. Complete the STC Assignment Form provided to you by your agent. This will assign the STCs on your purchased system to the agent. 
  4. You will not be able to assign those STCs to any other agent, or trade in them yourself, once the form is signed.

Note that:

  • Ensure you keep a copy of the completed STC Assignment Form for your own records.
  • If you experience a delay in receiving payment for your STCs please contact the agent you have agreed to assign your STCs to.
  • If your system has not been installed and you have already assigned your STCs to an agent by signing a REC Assignment Form contact The Clean Energy Regulator compliance team by emailing retcompliance@cleanenergyregulator.gov.au.

Individual Trading

If you are considering purchasing a system without an agent you have the option to create the STCs yourself in the REC Registry and find a buyer outside the REC Registry or use the STC Clearing House which provides a payment of $40 (excl. GST) per STC. This process is more complex and involves:

  1. Determining the eligibility of the system.
  2. Determining the number of STC the system is entitled to
  3. Completing appropriate compliance documentation
  4. Becoming a registered person via the New Account Wizard
  5. Creating the STCs in the REC Registry
  6. Waiting for the STCs to be validated
  7. Selecting the STCs you wish to offer for sale via the STC Clearing House and submitting your order to sell
  8. If there are pre-existing orders to ‘buy STCs’, the STCs will be in Deficit and your STCs will immediately be transferred to the first available
  9. purchaser. If there are no orders to buy and the STC Clearing House is in Surplus your order will enter the STC Clearing House Transfer List and will remain in the list until the STCs are bought. The Clean Energy Regulator does not guarantee that your certificates will be bought within the quarter they are entered into the STC Clearing House.
  10. Receiving payment via your bank account.

For more detail see:

Additional checklist for owners

  • Shop around. See which agent offers the most suitable financial benefit for you.
  • Small-scale solar panel, wind, and hydro systems must be installed by a CEC accredited installer.
  • Request a copy of the installer’s certification, issued by a suitable authority.
  • Keep a copy of the signed STC Assignment Form for your records.
  • Ensure you are familiar with the guides on The Clean Energy Regulator website.
Date last updated: 03 Apr 2012