Incentive: How to set up and apply NSW BESS1 to BESS5 incentives

Summary:

OpenSolar supports BESS1 to BESS5 under the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS), including the new BESS3, BESS4 and BESS5 activities from 1 September 2026.

This guide explains how to:

1. Create BESS3, BESS4 and BESS5 incentives
2. Set up auto-apply rules for eligible NSW projects
3. Check and adjust the incentive value on a project

Which BESS activity should I use?

Note: BESS4 and BESS5 can only be claimed once at a site. Once either activity has been implemented at a site, another BESS4 or BESS5 activity cannot subsequently be claimed there.

Before you start:

On every job you want to include a BESS incentive, check:

• The site address is in NSW (network loss factor is taken from the postcode: Ausgrid 1.04, Endeavour 1.05, Essential Energy 1.05).
• The design includes a battery (OpenSolar uses usable capacity).
• The design includes a battery / hybrid inverter. Usable capacity must not exceed 6 × battery inverter output (kW). OpenSolar reads inverter output from the system design (hybrid inverter AC rating). If it cannot determine inverter output, the incentive value will be $0.
• For BESS4 and BESS5, set the project to Commercial on the Manage tab. A residential site will not qualify.
• For BESS3, you will need the total number of dwellings in the building (minimum 4).

Creating the BESS incentives:

Repeat these steps for BESS3, BESS4 and BESS5.

1. Go to Control > Other > Incentives.
2. Click Add New Incentive.

3. Give it a clear title your team will recognise (e.g. NSW PDRS BESS3 – Apartment battery)
4. Set Incentive Type to Peak Hours Battery Incentive.
5. Enter your expected certificate spot price ($/certificate).
6. Under Activity Definition, choose the matching activity:
   • BESS3: Apartment building battery
   • BESS4: SMB behind-the-meter battery
   • BESS5: C&I behind-the-meter battery
7. Choose the default Demand shifting component (this is the “installed with new solar” path):

Leave the default on standard unless most of your jobs are battery + new solar within 90 days. You can switch this per project later.

8. Leave Manually Override Incentive Settings off, unless you have a specific reason to replace the scheme coefficients. Turning it on for BESS4 disables the tiered BESS4.2 / BESS4.3 equations.
9. BESS3 only: set Total number of dwellings to your typical apartment count (minimum 4). Credited battery kWh is the lesser of usable capacity, 5 kWh × dwellings, and 4 hours × inverter output. You can change the dwelling count on each project.

10. Set Incentive Paid To (Customer or Installer) to match how you present the discount on the proposal.

A reference table on the same page shows how OpenSolar calculates certificate quantity for the activity you selected. You do not need to type demand coefficients, lifetime or loss factors - those are filled from the scheme and the site postcode.

Auto-applying the incentives to NSW projects:

Turn Auto-apply on if you want the incentive included by default on matching NSW projects.

Suggested auto-apply settings:

Note:

• Capacity type is set to Usable for Peak Hours Battery incentives.
• BESS3 and BESS4 share the 20-200 kWh band. Following the above steps will ensure they do not overlap on the same projects.
• Auto-apply only attaches the incentive. OpenSolar still checks eligibility on the design. If the battery, inverter, solar ratio or site type does not qualify, the value will be $0 and the calculation will say why.

If Auto-Apply is turned off, the incentive can instead be manually selected on individual projects.

Applying BESS incentives to a project:

1. Open a NSW project.
2. On the Manage tab, set Residential or Commercial:
   • Apartment (BESS3) → Residential
   • SMB / C&I (BESS4 / BESS5) → Commercial
3. On the Design tab, add the battery and battery/hybrid inverter.
4. Open Incentives in the design panel.

If auto-apply is set up, the matching BESS incentive should already be listed. If it is not:

1. Click Override Default Incentives.
2. Tick the BESS3, BESS4 or BESS5 incentive you created.
3. Click Save (top right).

Expand the incentive card to see:

• Certificate value
• Battery size (credited kWh)
• Inverter size
• Demand equation used (for example BESS3.2 vs BESS3.3, or a BESS4 tier)
• Certificate quantity

Project-level incentive overrides:

On the incentive card you can override:

Any project-level changes apply only to that project. Your default incentive configuration remains unchanged.

Troubleshooting:

Check these in order if the incentive is $0 or missing:

1. Wrong activity for the site: BESS4/BESS5 apply to commercial properties. BESS3 is for Class 2 apartments with at least 4 dwellings.
2. Usable capacity outside the band: BESS3/4: greater than 20 kWh and up to 200 kWh. BESS5: greater than 200 kWh and up to 30,000 kWh.
3. No inverter output: Add a hybrid/battery inverter, or enter Battery inverter output override.
4. Usable capacity more than 6 × inverter kW: The equipment rule is not met. Increase inverter output or reduce battery size.
5. BESS4/BESS5 with new solar too small: If you are adding new solar, it must be at least 25% of usable battery kWh. Battery-only (no new solar) is not blocked by this ratio.
6. BESS3 dwelling count: At least 4 required. Credited kWh is also capped at 5 kWh per dwelling.
7. BESS5 credit cap: Eligibility goes up to 30,000 kWh, but credited capacity is capped at 10,000 kWh.
8. Existing (in-flight) project: After you create the incentive, recalculate unsold projects so pricing updates.

How OpenSolar calculates the incentive value:

Certificate quantity is rounded down to a whole number, then multiplied by your certificate price.

The higher “with solar” rate only applies when you select the 90-day solar option (BESS3.2 / BESS4.2 / BESS5.2).

Disclaimer:

OpenSolar calculates the expected incentive value based on the information entered into the project. Final eligibility remains subject to the NSW PDRS requirements, including eligible equipment, installation requirements and Accredited Certificate Provider requirements.

Always refer to the latest NSW PDRS Rule and your Accredited Certificate Provider when confirming eligibility.