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2 October 2025

New Victorian Energy Upgrades Commercial and Industrial Solar Activity

The Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has published updated versions of the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Regulations 2018 and the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) Specifications.

These regulations introduce a new VEU Commercial and Industrial (C&I) Solar Photovoltaic (PV) activity which commenced on 29 September 2025, make minor revisions to the high efficiency motors activity and extends the induction cooktop pilot activity to 30 June 2026.

Version 21.0 of the Specifications includes the technical requirements and greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement calculations for the new C&I Solar PV activity (Part 47) and increased incentives for the high efficiency motors activity (Part 31).

About the new C&I Solar activity (Part 47)

The new VEU C&I Solar PV activity will support C&I businesses to install solar systems that are between 30 kilowatts (kW) to 200 kW in size.

This new activity is intended to stimulate the market for C&I solar installations which to date have not seen large volumes of uptake compared to the residential sector.

The installation of solar can result in substantial energy savings for Victorian businesses who require a lot of energy, have plenty of space on their rooftops or properties to install solar panels or are looking to electrify on-site equipment.

To be eligible for VEU incentives, solar PV systems must:

  • be installed in non-residential premises
  • be 30 kW to 200 kW in size
  • have a minimum inverter capacity of 30 Kilovolt-Amperes (kVA)
  • be connected to the relevant Distribution Network Service Provider (DNSP) to produce energy
  • comply with the relevant DNSP negotiated connection contract
  • ensure only one solar PV system is installed per National Meter Identifier
  • support a monitoring portal accessible by the end user.

The Essential Services Commission will be consulting on proposed guidance and administrative requirements for the new C&I Solar PV activity.

Proposed requirements include that installation of the solar PV system must be undertaken by a person who holds current Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA) accreditation, while all electrical work must be undertaken by a licensed electrician (A Grade).

Systems can also claim Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) or Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) in addition to Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) if they are eligible.

Although VEU already provides incentives for the installation of solar systems under measurement and verification project-based activities (where incentives are awarded after a certain period based on the measured reduction in site load), the new activity will provide upfront incentives, reducing barriers for business to undertake upgrades.

Product requirements

All inverters and solar panels must be listed on the Clean Energy Council lists of approved products.

For systems less than 100 kW solar panel manufacturers must be listed as a participating brand in the Solar Panel Validation Initiative.

Product warranty requirements

All solar panels and inverters must be covered by a warranty against defects for a period of at least:

  • 5 years for all inverters
  • 10 years for all solar panels.

Further information on the new C&I Solar PV activity can also be found on the Commercial and Industrial Solar webpage.

Changes to High Efficiency Motor (Part 31)

Changes to the high efficiency motor activity include:

  • allowing motors which meet the IE3 premium efficiency level to be installed under scenario 31B
  • the introduction of a minimum co-payment of $200 per product installed.

These changes are expected to support greater uptake by increasing eligible products.

Version 21.0 of the Specifications includes minor increases to GHG abatement calculations. The additional efficiency level changes and increased incentive levels for motor upgrades have been made in response to industry engagement and feedback from motor suppliers and installers to increase product supply and promote uptake.

Extension of the induction cooktop activity product list effective date (Part 46) to 30 June 2026

To support the extension of the induction cooktop activity pilot to 30 June 2026, the effective to date for all approved products has also been extended from 24 October 2025 to 30 June 2026.

The induction cooktop activity was proposed initially as a 12-month pilot between 25 October 2024 and 25 October 2025 to test the activity and approach. Extending the pilot period will provide DEECA with further time to assess the effectiveness of the activity.

The product list for the induction cooktop activity is available on Induction cooktop discounts.

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Page last updated: 02/10/25