Commercial solar installation in Hobart

Hobart has the least sun of the cities we serve and sits in the lowest STC zone, so a commercial system there earns its place on what the site uses, month by month. Tasmania has one network business, TasNetworks, which runs both transmission and distribution.

Vitalic delivers commercial and industrial energy systems Australia-wide, bringing solar, battery storage and control into one site assessment.

Commercial solar in Hobart

Hobart at a glance

Network: TasNetworks
STC zone: Zone 4 (1.185)
Solar exposure: 13.3 MJ/m² a day
Output per kW: ~1,121 kWh a year*
Noon sun height: 24° June · 71° December
Strongest month: December

Panels on a low-pitched roof catch the high summer sun well and the low winter sun less, so output follows the seasons.

The weakest month, June, gives 20% of the strongest, December. A winter heating load meets the weakest months; size against the months the site runs hardest.

One network business for the state

The Australian Energy Regulator lists TasNetworks as Tasmania’s only electricity distributor. TasNetworks also owns and operates the state’s transmission network, an arrangement that is generally separated elsewhere in the National Electricity Market. Every Hobart connection, tariff and export decision goes through the one business.

Two demand peaks a day

Business sites with demand above 70 kVA or consumption above 150 MWh a year are on large business tariffs. TAS89 charges monthly demand in its peak periods, 7am to 10am and 4pm to 9pm on weekdays, separately from off-peak demand; TAS82 charges on anytime demand in kVA. Both TAS89 peaks sit mostly outside strong solar hours, especially in winter, so solar alone does little for that demand charge. A battery or a change to start-up times addresses it. TasNetworks states its periods in Australian Eastern Standard Time.

Connections above 30 kVA are assessed case by case

TasNetworks’ low-voltage requirements cover systems up to 200 kVA and from 200 to 500 kVA, and ask anyone planning 500 to 2,000 kVA to contact it first. Export limits are assessed case by case, central protection is required at every size, and above 200 kVA TasNetworks may require monitoring and control communications. It puts the typical time to finalise its part at 4 to 6 weeks where the network needs no changes, and 4 to 6 months where it does.

Size against the seasons

Mean daily solar exposure at Hobart (Ellerslie Road) is 22.6 MJ/m² in January and 4.9 in June. Hobart is Zone 4 under the STC instrument, so a system creates about 14 per cent fewer certificates than the same system in Brisbane. A heating load that peaks in winter will draw mostly on the grid whatever the system size; compare the cost of each month’s imports rather than the annual total.

Export value and planning

Tasmania’s regulated minimum feed-in tariff, 9.276 cents per kWh in 2026–27, applies only to systems with up to 10 kVA of single-phase or 30 kVA of three-phase inverter capacity; Aurora puts larger systems on a non-qualifying feed-in tariff with no published rate, so a commercial system’s export is worth whatever the retailer offers. TasNetworks’ register of completed projects lists nine solar systems of 200 kW or more in Greater Hobart, in Kingston, Moonah, Bridgewater, Glenorchy, Mornington and Cambridge, with full, partial and no export arrangements. Under the State Planning Provisions, roof-mounted solar needs no planning permit unless the Local Historic Heritage Code requires one or the site is in an inner protection area or registered electricity easement; on a local heritage place, panels are exempt only if they follow the roof plane and cannot be seen from an adjoining road or public open space, and places on the Tasmanian Heritage Register usually need approval.

Tasmanian support and industrial sites

PowerSmart for Small Business pays up to $1,000 towards an energy audit for businesses with 1 to 19 full-time equivalent staff, until 30 June 2028; it does not fund equipment. The Energy Saver Loan Scheme closed on 1 September 2025, and we found no Tasmanian Government or Greater Hobart council program that funds business solar or batteries. Business Tasmania lists the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program as open to businesses for batteries of 5 to 100 kWh. The State’s industrial land study names power supply among the infrastructure constraints at the Brighton Hub precinct, so check network capacity early on a new industrial site there.

Commercial solar in Hobart: common questions

What is the government rebate on a 100 kW solar system in Hobart?

The federal incentive is small-scale technology certificates (STCs), which installers usually take as an upfront discount. For the example postcode 7000 (Hobart, Zone 4), a new 100 kW system installed in 2026 creates 592 STCs (100 kW × 1.185 × 5 years). At the Clean Energy Regulator’s reported spot price of $39.85 that is about $23,500. This is a postcode example, not a site eligibility check. Confirm your own site’s postcode and eligibility. The figure for a 100 kW system falls each year as the scheme approaches its 2030 end.

Who is the electricity distributor in Hobart?

TasNetworks, the only electricity distributor in Tasmania. It also runs the state’s transmission network.

What STC zone is Hobart in?

All of Tasmania, postcodes 7000 to 8999, is Zone 4 under the 2019 zone-ratings instrument, with a rating of 1.185, the lowest of the four zones.

Does commercial solar make sense in Hobart?

It depends on when the site uses power. Mean daily solar exposure in June is under a quarter of January’s, so the case rests on daytime use from spring to autumn and on the tariff each kilowatt-hour avoids. A year of interval data settles it.

Are there Tasmanian incentives for business energy?

PowerSmart for Small Business pays up to $1,000 towards an energy-efficiency audit for businesses with 1 to 19 full-time equivalent employees, and is open until 30 June 2028. It funds the audit, not equipment. The Energy Saver Loan Scheme closed on 1 September 2025, and no state program funds business solar or batteries.

Does a Hobart business get the minimum feed-in tariff?

Only for a system with up to 10 kVA of single-phase or 30 kVA of three-phase inverter capacity. Larger systems sit outside the regulated minimum, and the export rate is whatever the retailer offers, so a commercial system is sized to what the site uses.

Can a Hobart business claim certificates on a system larger than 100 kW?

From 1 October 2026, new solar systems above 100 kW and up to 1 MW can create small-scale technology certificates (STCs), with a fixed deeming period to 2030. The Clean Energy Regulator says applications for these systems open in mid to late November 2026, and evidence of network connection approval is required. Only capacity installed on or after 1 October 2026 is eligible, so an extension earns certificates on the added panels only.

Sources

Confirm requirements for your specific connection with the distributor named on your bill.

Compare the options for your site

Explore commercial solar, battery storage, intelligent control and EV charging, or read how they work together. For a starting estimate from your annual electricity use, try the solar sizing calculator.

Request a site assessment

Explore all service areas

* Illustrative. Output is modelled with PVGIS 5.3, EU Joint Research Centre for 1 kW laid flat, 14% system losses and 2005–2023 weather; a real system depends on its roof, shading and equipment. Panels tilted 39° to the north would give the most generation, about 21% more (1,362 kWh per kW), but need frames that usually cost more than the extra output earns. Solar exposure is the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-term station mean. The 100 kW certificate example uses postcode 7000, its statutory zone rating and 5 deeming years, with the count rounded down. The displayed value is floored to $100 at the Clean Energy Regulator’s reported spot price; installers usually take certificates as an upfront discount. A site’s postcode and eligibility require confirmation.