24 August 2026 — New South Wales commercial and industrial businesses can now earn Peak Reduction Certificates (PRCs) from solar + battery projects — and Elsons is ready to design, build and optimise them end-to-end.

Elsons is now delivering commercial & industrial (C&I) solar and BESS installations across NSW, structured around the state’s Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) — the program that turns battery capacity into tradeable PRCs. For businesses, this is a rare opportunity to stack multiple rebate layers on one coordinated project: PRC revenue from the battery, an STC rebate on the new solar, and battery STCs under the Cheaper Home Batteries program.

What is the PDRS — and why it matters now

The PDRS is NSW’s certificate scheme for battery storage and demand-reduction activities. Under the scheme, eligible batteries create PRCs based on their deemed peak-demand reduction — certificates that carry real market value and are paid out over the scheme’s 15-year deeming period.

Two changes make right now the moment to act:

BESS4 & BESS5 open 1 September 2026

The new large-scale battery activities open on 1 September 2026, covering systems from 20 kWh up to 30,000 kWh. BESS5 alone can generate up to ~945,000 PRCs per 10 MWh system over its deeming period — at a conservative $2.50/PRC that is over $2.3M of certificate value; at market upside pricing the figure multiplies further.

The 90-day solar pairing bonus

Pair new solar with your battery within 90 days and the demand component lifts from 0.067 to 0.1 kW/kWh for BESS4/5 — roughly 49% more PRCs (BESS3 lifts ~41%, from 0.0853 to 0.12 kW/kWh, the highest rate per kWh in the scheme). New solar of at least ¼ of battery usable capacity is required for BESS4/5 — so the solar and storage must be designed as one coordinated project.

Stacking the incentives: one project, three rebate layers

• PRC revenue from the battery (BESS1–5) — the core PDRS return.
• Solar STC rebate on new solar, up to the 100 kW SRES cap (currently ~$37/STC, deeming 12 years in 2026).
• Battery STCs under the Cheaper Home Batteries program for systems up to 100 kWh nominal — a ~30% upfront discount delivered via STCs.

The battery STC factor steps down from 6.8 to 5.7 on 1 January 2027, and solar deeming falls from 12 to 11 years next year — every month of delay shrinks the combined value. This is a first-mover window, before demand for installers and scheme capacity tightens.

How Elsons delivers it

We size the battery, the solar pairing and the certificate revenue together — one design, one grid connection, one point of accountability. Because the 90-day co-install window is what locks the higher PRC rate, we sell and schedule solar + storage as a single project, not two afterthoughts.

Check your rebate in 30 seconds

Our free PRC & STC calculator covers BESS 1–5, solar sizing, the 90-day rate boost, zone and deeming inputs — giving you a fast, reference-only estimate of the certificates your project could create.

Reference: PDRS Method Guide V3.0 (1 July 2026) · DCCEEW Cheaper Home Batteries Program (1 May 2026 changes). PRC and STC values are indicative only and not a formal offer.

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