Brisbane · Queensland
Brisbane gets a bigger rebate than Melbourne
The STC zone rating means the same system costs a Brisbane business less after the discount than it costs one in Melbourne. That advantage is worth understanding before you compare quotes across states.
- STC Zone 3
- The higher of the two bands on this site
- 1,450 kWh/kW
- A year, typical Brisbane roof
- Energex
- Network operator
- None
- State commercial rebate
Incentives
What Queensland actually offers
Queensland has no standing rebate for commercial solar. Federal STCs do the work, and they're worth more here than in Melbourne because Brisbane sits in a higher-rated zone.
Feed-in tariffs in South East Queensland are set by retailers rather than the government, so what you're paid for exports depends on your contract. It's usually low enough that a system should be sized to your own daytime load first.
How the certificates are created, and what the move from 100kW to 1MW changes from 1 October 2026, is covered on the cost page.
Sources: Clean Energy Regulator: calculating STC entitlements (opens in a new tab); energy.gov.au: rebates for Queensland businesses (opens in a new tab); Queensland Government: feed-in tariffs in south-east Queensland (opens in a new tab)
Heat
Heat is the thing Brisbane quotes get wrong
Solar panels are rated in a laboratory at 25 degrees. Brisbane roofs in February are a long way from that, and panel output falls as cell temperature climbs. On the hottest afternoons a system produces measurably less than its rating suggests, at exactly the moment your air conditioning is working hardest.
It isn't a reason to avoid solar in Queensland, which still generates more per kilowatt than anywhere south of it. It's a reason to check that the yield figure in a proposal has been derated for local conditions, and to prefer mounting that leaves an air gap under the panels on a hot metal roof. Ask which figure you're being shown. A quote built on laboratory ratings will disappoint in its first summer.
Connection
Connecting through Energex
Energex covers Brisbane and South East Queensland. Ergon Energy takes over in regional Queensland, and the rules differ, so a site outside the south-east needs checking separately.
Energex handles connections up to a threshold under a standard arrangement, above which a site moves to a negotiated connection with an export assessment.
Brisbane's summer heat cuts panel output on the hottest afternoons. A well-designed proposal accounts for that in the yield estimate rather than quoting a headline figure from a spec sheet.
Brisbane at a glance
- Network operator
- Energex
- Regional Queensland
- Ergon Energy, different rules
- STC zone
- Zone 3
- Annual yield
- 1,450 kWh per kW
- Feed-in tariff
- Set by your retailer
By industry
Solar by industry in Brisbane
The network rules, the STC zone and the state incentive, worked through for one kind of site.
- Solar for cold storage in BrisbaneYes, solar pays for most cold stores in Brisbane, and the numbers here are the ones we use as the reference example across this site.
- Solar for irrigation in QueenslandDoes solar pay for an irrigation pump in Queensland? Long seasons, Ergon Energy's rural export limits, and why the pump's own tariff sets the saving.
- Solar for manufacturing in BrisbaneFor a Brisbane manufacturer, commercial solar in 2026 pays back in roughly two to two and a half years on a weekday-shift site, and close to two on two…
- Solar for warehouses in BrisbaneSolar for a Brisbane warehouse or distribution centre: Energex connection rules, STC zone 3, no state rebate, summer heat and a worked example that…
Guides
Guides to read before you get a quote
- 50kW solar: how your opening hours change the paybackRoof, output, and why daytime trading matters more than price.
- 100kW solar for business: approval, rules and paybackRoof, network approval, the 1 October 2026 change and a payback table.
- How STCs work for business, and the 1MW changeThe upfront solar discount, how it's worked out, and what changed on 1 October 2026.
Questions
Brisbane questions
Why is the rebate bigger in Brisbane than in Melbourne?
The STC scheme divides Australia into four zones by how much sun a location gets, and Brisbane sits in a higher-rated zone than Melbourne. The same 50kW system creates more certificates in Brisbane, so the discount taken off the invoice is larger. Nothing about it is Queensland-specific policy. It's federal, and it's geography.
Source: Clean Energy Regulator: calculating STC entitlements (opens in a new tab)
Is there a Queensland rebate for commercial solar?
There's no standing state rebate for commercial systems. Queensland programs have come and gone, so the current position is worth checking on the state government site, but budget on the assumption that federal STCs are the whole of the upfront support.
Source: energy.gov.au: rebates for Queensland businesses (opens in a new tab)
Does Brisbane heat reduce solar output?
Yes, and it's a real effect rather than a technicality. Panels lose efficiency as they heat up, so a 40 degree February afternoon produces less per panel than a mild 25 degree day with the same sunlight. A properly built yield estimate for Brisbane accounts for temperature derating. One that quotes the panel's laboratory rating does not.
What feed-in tariff do Brisbane businesses get?
In South East Queensland the rate is set by your retailer as part of your contract, not by the government, so it varies. It's usually low enough that a commercial system should be sized around what you consume during the day rather than what you could sell.
Source: Queensland Government: feed-in tariffs in south-east Queensland (opens in a new tab)
Send a Brisbane bill and we'll check its STC value
One recent bill is enough to size a system and price it. It costs nothing, and there's no obligation.
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