Introduction:

Are you are thinking about solar and want to learn about other ways it can save or even earn you money, then the best way is to install a system that is capable of selling excess energy back to the grid. All our solar packages come with a solar exporting capable inverter allowing you to power your home and sell any extra unused energy back into the grid.

Table of contents:

Introduction
What is the Darwin Solar Feed In Tariff?
How much are the Solar Tariffs?
What can you earn from the solar feed in tariff? A Breakdown
What if I have solar batteries?
Is there a difference in commercial and residential feed in tariffs?
Off grid properties
Will the tariff change?
Conclusion

What is the Darwin Solar Feed In Tariff?

Every house hold consumes energy, through the use of everyday appliances such as fridges, washing machines lights etc – to power these things you need to purchase energy from the power grid (Jacana for Darwin residents) each kWh (kilowatt hour) is purchased from the grid at a rate of 26c, meaning that if your washing machine consumes 5kW of power, running it for 1 hour will consume 5kWh costing you $1.3 for that washing cycle.

The solar feed in tariff is available for all properties connected to the power grid, with an appropriate exporting capable solar inverter (all our inverters have this capability, see more here). This means that every kWh your property doesn’t consume directly it will sell it automatically back to the grid earning you ‘solar credits’ for each and every kWh you sell

Image of a Jacana bill with ‘Solar Feed In Tariff’ line item

How much are the Solar Tariffs in Darwin?

26c

cents per kWh purchased from grid

9.13c

cents per kWh sold to grid

What can you earn from the solar feed in tariff? - A Breakdown

Lets breakdown the example image to the right. This is a typical bill for a 1-2 person household in the NT. As you can see this property has an exporting solar system indicated by the line item of ’Solar Feed In Tariff’ and the ‘$107 CR’ (credits) marking, meaning this property has sold energy to Jacana at a rate of 0.913cents per kWh (if you include GST).

By analysing this bill you can see during this period of time (95 days / 1 quarter) the house hold purchased $396.90 and $53.75 worth of energy but sold back $107.07 worth of solar energy. If you factor in the flat rate of $46.6 for metering fees you are left with a bill of $429.20.

This property was installed with a 6.6kW + 13.3kWh solar package system.

Must consider

The property saved a lot more than $107.07, because the solar generated energy for the property that wasn’t sold, it was consumed; allowing the house to run without purchasing energy. Meaning that had the solar not been installed, the property would have had to purchased another 1,915.3kWh of energy ($497) on top, saving this property a total of $604.07 on their total bill. This was based on the customers purchased 10kW solar system

Solar batteries and the tariff?

If your property has solar batteries installed, that will mean your inverter will automatically prioritise filling your battery first, before selling to the grid. The inverter will prioritise the steps below in order;

Power your home
Charge batteries
Sell to the grid

This will maximise your savings as consuming the energy in the first place will stop you purchasing energy from Jacana at a higher rate.

Will the tariff change?

It’s not confirmed at this stage but we do know that just recently in July 2022 Jacana did reduce all solar feed in tariffs from 26 cents per kW down to the 9.13 cents. However this was the first change they had made since releasing the tariff in the first place. With more energy companies coming into the NT the feed in tariff will be a point of sale and you may be able to get better deals from different energy providers. However its still best to get the tariff now before any more changes.

Off grid properties

If your property is not connected to the grid this will mean it’s not possible to export any energy to the grid and the excess power you produce and don’t use can be stored in solar batteries. Solar systems are still very worth while as an energy investment even if you are not exporting the energy.

Is there a difference in commercial and residential feed in tariffs?

Unfortunately there isn’t any better feed in tariffs for commercial properties, it is still the standard 9.13cents per kWh. But keep in mind commercial properties are allowed to install much bigger solar systems, meaning that you will save and export more on a regular basis. See our 3 phase systems on our packages page here

Conclusion

With the ever rising cost of electricity it makes sense to take control of your future and ensure your property is kept powered independent on the grid and the increasing prices. We have a core set of solar packages designed for Darwin families that will absolutely smash your jacana bill, leaving you peace of mind for the future and an investment that will pay you back within 3-4 years. Feel free to contact us or click the button below for a quotation 🙂