Another significant year for Solar Victoria

The achievements demonstrate our shared commitment to a clean energy future and the hard work of so many — authorised retailers and installers in our programs, our regulatory and industry partners, the Solar Victoria team, and our customers.

When we look at the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) and Solar Homes programs, we proudly see them saving households and businesses hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of dollars a year on their energy bills while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We have cut emissions by 5.9 million tonnes in 2025 through the VEU program alone.

All the while we have very much valued our regulatory and industry partners with whom we work to enhance industry preparedness and regulatory frameworks in ways that continue to support electrification.

Significant achievements in the VEU program

The passing in May 2025 of legislative amendments to extend the life of the VEU program from 2030 to 2045 speaks to its successes and capability to help Victoria achieve net zero emissions by 2045. This marks a significant step forward in enabling widespread electrification while ensuring long-term certainty for industry and consumers alike.

Among the VEU’s many achievements in 2025, we are proud to have:

• delivered more than 340,000 discounted energy efficient upgrades in just a 12-month period
• set ambitious targets for 2026 and 2027 of 4.4 million and 4.6 million Victoria Energy Efficiency Certificates respectively, where every certificate is equivalent to one tonne of CO2
• updated current and introduced new activities into the program
• completed a public consultation to develop and deliver a new household insulation discount and launched industry training in readiness for installs to commence early next year
• launched a new incentive for commercial and industrial solar, which will reduce upfront costs to install solar by up to $35,00
• made strong progress in our Strategic Review of the VEU program to ensure it is fit for the future and fully supports the government’s policy objectives on electrification, at scale.

And more wins through the Solar Homes Program

Since the Solar Homes Program began in 2018, it has continuously evolved to align with the Victorian Government’s ambition on renewables and electrification, including through its Gas Substitution Roadmap.

Our contribution through the Solar Homes Program toward electrification over the past year has included:

• achieving a milestone 450,000 installations and over $1 billion in support for Victorians to install solar PV, energy efficient hot water and solar batteries into their homes
• extending the hugely popular hot water rebate, with an added incentive for households to support local manufacturing with a rebate that is $400 higher for locally manufactured energy efficient hot water systems
• successfully concluding our battery loans program with the move to the Commonwealth funded Cheaper Home Batteries program, which saw the Victorian Government’s original commitment of supporting 10,000 Victorians to install home batteries greatly exceeded, with 20,000 systems installed with the support of a rebate or interest-free loan
• offering more training opportunities for industry for another three years through a $3 million Electrification Training and Workforce Development program
• launching Round 3 of the successful Solar for Apartments program, with nearly 50% of rebates going to rental providers and reducing the energy bills of their renters
• continuing to deliver high levels of service to more than 350,000 customers, demonstrated by over 90% customer satisfaction across our offerings.

From embracing the benefits of rooftop solar, to homes and businesses upgrading to energy efficient appliances, we are continuing to strengthen our energy resilience.

Through reform of the VEU program, households and businesses can now electrify at scale.

The impact of our safety and training programs continues to be felt strongly. Safety will be prioritised in VEU insulation installations, with the program adopting a similar approach to Solar Victoria’s Solar Homes Program, which holds the safest record for solar installations in Australia. This is thanks to a holistic framework that includes strict entry controls and the enforcement of stringent terms and conditions, ensuring that safety remains at the heart of delivery.

The combined efforts of VEU and the Solar Homes Program have already created thousands of jobs. This includes 2,000 direct jobs through VEU, while thousands of other trades have benefited from incentives. In addition, 7,000 jobs were supported last financial year through the Solar Homes Program, demonstrating the scale of opportunity these initiatives bring to the workforce.

Solar Victoria has also invested heavily in workforce training, with $12 million committed and a further $5 million allocated in the most recent budget. This investment has supported more than 6,000 workers and trades and showcased the success of training programs across safety, electrician upgrades, and heat pump installation, building capability and confidence across the sector.

Thanks to the dedication of so many, we now stand at a pivotal moment. The reforms and investments made have laid a strong foundation, and with continued collaboration we have an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate electrification, strengthen workforce skills, and deliver lasting benefits for households, businesses, and the State’s clean energy future.

Stan Krpan
CEO, Solar Victoria