From Wednesday, a factory roof between 100 kW and 1 MW can use the same small-scale certificate paper as a house
Clean Energy Regulator: solar between 100 kW and 1 MW installed from 1 October 2026 can create small-scale technology certificates under a fixed five-year deeming period. STC applications open mid to late November. Install date is the commissioning date on the electrical compliance certificate.
If your warehouse roof sits above 100 kilowatts, the federal small-scale certificate path used to stop at the door. From Wednesday that door opens to one megawatt.
The Clean Energy Regulator says the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 were amended so eligible mid-scale solar PV systems - capacity greater than 100 kW and up to 1 MW - installed from 1 October 2026 can create small-scale technology certificates (STCs). The mid-scale page was last updated 22 September 2026. Mid-scale systems get a fixed five-year deeming period through to 2030. Systems already under 100 kW keep the existing declining deeming path. Existing accredited large-scale stations stay on large-scale generation certificates (LGCs).
Think of STCs as a voucher printed when the system is first able to make and deliver power - not when you ordered the panels. The Regulator's transitional guidance says "installed" means the testing and commissioning date on the certificate of electrical compliance (or state equivalent). Projects already under construction can still qualify if that commissioning date is on or after 1 October 2026.
Good: a published size band (above 100 kW up to 1 MW), a published start date (1 October 2026), and a published certificate shape (fixed five-year deeming STCs). Extensions of an existing array can earn mid-scale STCs on the new kilowatts only - the guidance's example is an 80 kW roof grown by 40 kW becoming a 120 kW mid-scale system, with STCs on the extra 40 kW. You can choose STCs or Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificates - not both on the same capacity for the deeming period.
Bad: the STC application portal does not open on 1 October. The Regulator says applications for mid-scale STCs open mid to late November 2026 while systems and processes are stood up. Eligible installs from 1 October still count; the cash from certificates waits on the portal. Planning, network connection, structural, and electrical evidence packs are required in writing. We will not invent how many certificates your site gets, or what they sell for on Tuesday.
Ugly: site aggregation matters. If related solar on the same or adjoining sites under common ownership pushes combined capacity over 1 MW, the new mid-scale claim can fail. A system cannot create both STCs and LGCs on the same kilowatts. The Regulator will publish more guidance on related devices and power-station boundaries. We will not invent your site boundary or your payback from this page.
Soft next step: if your brief is a 100 kW to 1 MW workplace roof with an install date around October, read the CER mid-scale page and transitional guidance before you lock STC vs REGO - then a short consult at Sovryn Energy /consult if you want that choice checked against your meter and your state add-ons.
Source: Clean Energy Regulator, Mid-scale solar (last updated 22 Sep 2026). Cross-checked with CER transitional guidance for mid-scale solar PV systems. No STC dollar value or site payback on these pages.