Determining Eligibility and Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) Entitlement for Solar Water Heater and Heat Pump Water Heater Installations¹
Fact sheet - Version 4
Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator, December 2007
PDF file
About the fact sheet
The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (the Act) and the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 (the Regulations) allow owners of eligible solar water heaters (SWHs), including heat pump water heaters, to create and trade renewable energy certificates (RECs)². For SWHs, each REC represents the equivalent of one megawatt hour of electricity generation from an accredited renewable energy source. Once RECs are validated and registered by the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (ORER), they can be sold in the REC market.
Potential buyers of RECs include:
- liable parties, such as electricity retailers, who have an obligation to surrender RECs to the ORER each year or pay a shortfall charge in order to acquit their liability under the Act;
- Registered Agents; and
- traders of RECs.
Owners of SWHs can choose to create RECs themselves through the internet-based REC Registry , but most find it more convenient to assign their right to create RECs to a Registered Agent in return for a financial benefit such as a discount on the purchase price of the SWH or a delayed cash payment.
Details of these two options, as well as a list of Registered Agents who have agreed to make their contact details publicly available, can be found on the ORER website or by contacting the ORER by telephone on 02 6274 2192.
Footnotes
¹ Note: The information provided in this document may be subject to change with amendments to the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000, the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001, and the administrative processes adopted by the Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator.
² It is the owner of the eligible SWH at the time it was installed who has the right to create RECs for their SWH. This right can be assigned to a registered agent.
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