0 – 30kW
If you are:
- an installer
- a solar retailer
- a registered electrical contractor (REC) who is an authorised representative of the customer.
And you’re designing a solar and/or battery system that is:
- up to 10kW total inverter (solar and battery) capacity per phase and 5kW export (3.5kW for Single Wire Earth Return (SWER)
- up to 30kW total inverter capacity and 15kW export across 3 phases
- export limited - must comply with SOP 33-06 (PDF, 580 KB).
Automatic pre-approval
Submit your pre-approval application through our customer portal. It will be automatically generated, with your pre-approved generation and export limit.
If the automatic pre-approval doesn’t meet your needs, enter your preferred specifications and proceed with a paid manual assessment. If you have any questions, please contact preapprovals@ausnetservices.com.au.
Manual approvals
You will need to pay for a manual technical assessment if you request a connection that is:
- more than the pre-approved offer
- greater than 10kW capacity per phase, or
- uses a generation type other than solar without a battery.
As this requires a technical assessor to do a thorough assessment of the application and network conditions, there is a fee for this service. For more information, visit Manual assessment costs.
Installation compliance
Compliance with a connection agreement ensures an installation is safe for the network. We’re responsible for providing a safe and reliable energy network (grid) for our customers and crews. You’ll need pre-approval from us before you can start installing a system for your customer.
Systems less than 30kW must be solar emergency backstop enabled using a Common Smart Inverter Protocol Australia (CSIP-Aus) compliant Software Communications Client. You can only install a system that is compatible with our utility server and on our approved inverters list.
If the internet is not available at the site, you can apply for an emergency backstop exemption and the system will be limited to a fixed export limit of 1kW. Inverters must have power quality response mode capability in place (both volt-var and volt-watt) to ensure the installation is compliant.
Solar exports
Pre-approved export limits are calculated based on the export available at the time of application. Each of our substations has a fixed capacity for safely managing solar exports. This means the available export capacity on a substation is subject to change over time. If more customers on a single substation install solar there is less available export capacity.
Please note that we size all systems based on the total combined inverter rating(s), i.e. both solar and battery inverters, not panel ratings.
If you have any questions about your solar application, please email us at preapprovals@ausnetservices.com.au.