The CEC Approved Products List: what it means for your Perth solar purchase
The Clean Energy Council's Approved Products List is the quality filter for solar panels, inverters, and batteries eligible for STCs and government rebates. Here's what the list is, how to check it, and what happens if your installer quotes products that aren't on it.
The CEC Approved Products List is the compliance register the Clean Energy Council keeps for solar panels, inverters, and batteries sold in Australia. If the panels, inverter, or battery on your Perth quote aren't on it, you lose access to the federal STC rebate on that system, and a battery paired with an inverter that isn't state-approved can miss out on WA's Battery Incentive too. Checking takes about ten minutes, before you sign anything.
Small-scale Technology Certificates, or STCs, are the federal rebate that cuts the upfront cost of a solar system. Most installers build that discount straight into your quote rather than asking you to claim it yourself. Whether the discount survives comes down to three things: the panels, the inverter, and the installer, all meeting national requirements.
What is the CEC Approved Products List?
The Clean Energy Council runs three separate approval lists, one each for solar panels, inverters, and batteries. A product only reaches a list once its manufacturer submits technical documentation and independent testing evidence showing it meets the relevant Australian standard.
- Approved Solar Panels: tested to the international module standards, IEC 61215 for performance and IEC 61730 for safety. (AS/NZS 5033 governs how the array is installed, which is the installer's obligation, not the product listing's.)
- Approved Inverters: must meet AS/NZS 4777.2, the grid-connection standard for inverters.
- Approved Batteries: tested to battery product standards such as IEC 62619. (AS/NZS 5139 governs battery system installation.) Separately, WA's state battery rebate hinges on Synergy's Supported Solutions List (SSL), which is an inverter approval list. More on that below.
Search the register yourself at cleanenergycouncil.org.au/approved-products.
Why does CEC approval affect my STC rebate?
For a typical Perth 6.6kW system, STCs currently work out to around $1,796. That figure shifts a little each year as the certificate price and the number of eligible years change, so treat it as a current benchmark rather than a fixed number. For the full mechanics of how it's calculated, see the complete Perth solar rebates guide.
To claim STCs, three conditions have to be met:
- The panels are on the CEC Approved Solar Panels list.
- The inverter is on the CEC Approved Inverters list.
- The installer holds current accreditation under the national solar accreditation scheme. That accreditation now sits with Solar Accreditation Australia (SAA), an independent body appointed by the Clean Energy Regulator, rather than with the CEC itself.
Miss any of these and the STC discount disappears. In practice, your installer creates and sells the certificates on your behalf, then passes the value on as a point-of-sale discount. So an ineligible system usually shows up as a higher quote, not a rejected rebate application.
What about the WA Battery Incentive?
The WA Battery Incentive pays $130 per kWh of battery capacity, capped at $1,300 for a 10kWh battery or larger. To claim it, your battery has to be paired with an inverter that the Synergy Supported Solutions List (SSL) approves for DER Storage. The SSL is a state-administered inverter approval list, a different mechanism from the CEC Approved Batteries list.
A battery can hold CEC approval while its inverter pairing still fails the SSL check. The Tesla Powerwall 3 is the clearest example: it's a widely installed battery, but its integrated inverter isn't currently SSL-approved for DER Storage, so Perth households installing one can't claim the WA Battery Incentive. Synergy doesn't publish a detailed explanation for every exclusion, so treat this as something to verify directly rather than assume from brand reputation. Ask your installer to confirm current SSL status, and what Battery Rewards enrolment involves, in writing.
How do I check if my quoted products are CEC-approved?
Work through this before you sign anything:
- Look up the panels. Go to the approved-products register, select Solar Panels, and search by brand and model. If the exact model number on your quote doesn't appear, ask your installer to explain why.
- Look up the inverter. Same register, Inverters tab. Brand and model.
- Look up the battery, if you're installing one. Check the CEC Approved Batteries list, then confirm the inverter it pairs with is SSL-approved for DER Storage if you're claiming the WA rebate.
- Confirm the installer's accreditation. Ask for their SAA accreditation number and check it directly with them, since the accrediting body changed from the CEC in 2024 and some older paperwork still references the wrong scheme.
Ten minutes with these four checks, done before you sign, is one of the most useful things a Perth solar buyer can do. For the people side of the same check, see the SAA accreditation guide, and use find installers for profiles with credentials already verified.
What if my quoted product isn't on the list?
Don't panic immediately. Products get added to the CEC lists all the time, and a genuinely new release can sit in a pending-approval queue while its paperwork clears.
Ask the installer directly: "Is this on the CEC Approved Products List?" If the answer is no, follow up with:
- Is it pending approval, and what's the expected date?
- If it's not approved and there's no pending date, why is it being recommended?
Reasonable explanations:
- A product released in the last few months, with CEC submission already lodged. Ask for a written timeline and confirmation the STC discount will still apply once it's installed.
- A different variant of an approved product. Some manufacturers get one wattage variant approved before another, so a 435W panel might be listed while the 440W version from the same range isn't yet.
Reasons to be concerned:
- The installer can't confirm approval status or doesn't know where to check.
- The installer treats the question as unimportant.
- The product has been on the market for 12 months or more with no CEC approval. Most established manufacturers clear the process faster than that.
Does CEC approval mean a product is good quality?
No, and this is the part most quotes gloss over. CEC approval is a compliance floor, not a quality ranking. It confirms a product meets Australian safety and performance standards. Nothing more.
A CEC-approved 180W panel and a CEC-approved 445W TOPCon panel from a major manufacturer are both compliant. Over 25 years, they perform very differently. Brand reputation, degradation rate, warranty terms, and the manufacturer's financial stability are what actually separate a good system from a merely legal one. Weigh the warranty terms of the exact model quoted, and treat "Tier 1" claims with care: that phrase isn't a CEC category at all.
Think of CEC approval as the minimum legal bar, not a quality endorsement.
Which brands are CEC-approved in Perth?
The CEC register currently carries more than 3,700 approved panel models, close to 3,900 inverter models, and over 3,300 battery models, so coverage is broad across the brands Perth installers actually quote. You can browse CEC-listed panels, inverters, and batteries with their specifications in the WattMate product index.
- Panels: Longi, Jinko, REC, Canadian Solar, and JA Solar all have current residential ranges on the list.
- Inverters: SolarEdge, Fronius, SMA, Sungrow, Goodwe, and Enphase are all represented, alongside a mix of approved and non-approved budget brands. Check the specific model, not just the brand.
- Batteries: BYD, Sungrow, Alpha ESS, and Enphase all have current approved models, and most major battery brands do. Verify the exact model number against the register rather than assuming a brand name guarantees approval. The Tesla Powerwall 3 is a case in point: a reputable battery, but its integrated inverter isn't SSL-approved, which locks it out of the WA rebate.
The CEC Approved Products List is the compliance gate for STCs and state rebates. A ten-minute check before you sign a solar contract confirms your equipment qualifies for the STC discount and the WA Battery Incentive. The Synergy SSL is a separate, inverter-level check for the WA battery rebate, so verify the inverter pairing directly: CEC approval alone doesn't guarantee it.