Contents

• ​​How to gain access to the STC clearing house
• Selling through the STC clearing house: For householders and registered agents
• Buying from the STC clearing house: For RET liable entities and other buyers
• Withdrawing small-scale technology certificates from the STC clearing house: For householders and registered agents
• Transferring small-scale technology certificates
  

Small-scale renewable energy system owners and registered agents have the option to sell small-scale technology certificates (STCs) through the open market for an uncapped price, or through the STC clearing house at a fixed price of $40 (ex GST).

The STC clearing house is operated by the Clean Energy Regulator and can be accessed through the REC Registry.

It is important to note that small-scale technology certificates are sold in the STC clearing house only when there is a buyer, which means there is no guarantee on how long the small-scale technology certificates will take to sell. If you require rapid payment for your small-scale technology certificates please contact a registered agent who can organise their creation and sale on your behalf.

Access to the STC clearing house

The STC clearing house is accessed via the REC Registry.

To create a new REC Registry account or upgrade an existing REC Registry account to be able to buy or sell or buy small-scale technology certificates through the STC clearing house, visit the create account page.

Buying from the STC clearing house

Renewable Energy Target liable entities and other buyers who have a valid REC Registry account may buy small-scale technology certificates (STCs) from the STC clearing house.

If there are no small-scale technology certificates available for sale in the STC clearing house the Clean Energy Regulator will create 'Clean Energy Regulator created small-scale technology certificates' for buyers to purchase. These small-scale technology certificates can be traded and surrendered exactly like ordinary STCs.

Renewable Energy Target liable entities should place buy orders in the STC clearing house five business days prior to their quarterly surrender deadlines to avoid STC shortfalls and potential transaction delays.

Once the buy order has been placed in the STC clearing house, it will be assessed by the Clean Energy Regulator, and​ if approved, an invoice is provided to the buyer on the same day. When an invoice is paid on the same day the payment is usually visible in the nominated bank account within three business days.

Once payments are cleared, the Clean Energy Regulator can settle the trade and the small-scale technology certificates will be transferred into the buyers REC Registry account. These certificates will have the status of 'registered'.

Learn more about buying small-scale technology certificates through the STC clearing house.

Selling through the STC clearing house

Householders and registered agents have the option to sell STCs through the STC clearing house for a fixed price of $40 (excl GST). Before small-scale technology certificates can be sold through the STC clearing house they must be validated and registered.

If there are more sellers than buyers, your small-scale technology certificates will join the STC clearing house transfer list, which works on a first-in-first-served basis. This means that the latest offers are added to the bottom of the list. The status of the STC clearing house transfer list is publicly available and updated on an hourly basis.

If there are more buyers than sellers, your sale offer should process immediately, unless it requires manual approval from the Clean Energy Regulator. When your small-scale technology certificates are purchased, you will receive notification of your transaction by an emailed invoice. Payment should be forwarded to the bank account you nominated within three business days of your sale.

Learn more about selling small-scale technology certificates through the STC clearing house.

Withdrawing certificates from the STC clearing house

A seller may remove their sale offer from the STC clearing house transfer list at any time. This may occur in the event that the seller has decided to sell their small-scale technology certificates to a buyer (such as an agent) outside of the STC clearing house, at a negotiated price.

A seller may only withdraw small-scale technology certificates for sale from the STC clearing house if an offer to buy the small-scale technology certificates has not been received.

To withdraw all or part of a certificate sell offer, a seller with appropriate permissions must use the 'Withdraw STCs' function from the STC clearing house page in their REC Registry account.

To withdraw certificates that you have offered for sale:

1. Log into your REC Registry account
2. Click on 'Certificates and transfer' menu heading
3. Click on the 'STC clearing house' menu item. The 'STC clearing house' page displayed will show all STC clearing house sell and buy offers made by your account.
4. To withdraw pending certificates, click the 'Withdraw' button next to the sell offer you would like to withdraw. A pop-up will display asking you to confirm the number of certificates to be withdrawn, this feature allows you to be able to withdraw part of an STC clearing house sell offer.
5. Click 'Withdraw' to confirm or 'Cancel' to return to the previous screen
6. If 'Withdraw' is clicked, the nominated number of certificates is withdrawn from sale on the STC clearing house and will return to 'Registered' status in your account.

Transferring ownership of certificates listed on the STC clearing house

Sellers may transfer their small-scale technology certificates for a privately negotiated price to a new owner, even if the certificates are listed on the STC clearing house transfer list. Certificates negotiated outside the STC clearing house maintain their position on the STC clearing house transfer list— owned by the buyer.

To transfer small-scale technology certificates and their position on the STC clearing house transfer list to another REC Registry account:

1. Log into your REC Registry account
2. Click on 'Certificates and transfer' menu heading
3. Select the 'Certificate transfers' menu item
4. Select the 'Transfer certificates' button. In the 'Filter certificates' section, select 'STC' as the 'Certificate type' and 'Pending STC clearing house sale' as the 'Status', then click the 'Filter' button.
5. Enter the number of certificates to be transferred and the account they need to be transferred to.
6. Click the 'Transfer certificates' button
7. You will be redirected back to the certificate transfers landing page and a confirmation of the transfer will display at the top of the page, including the transfer offer ID.

To view details of small-scale certificates awaiting transfer:

1. Log into your REC Registry account
2. Click on the 'Certificate and transfer' menu heading
3. Select the 'Certificate transfers' menu item
4. In the 'Search certificate transfers' section, select 'Outgoing' as the 'Transfer type' and click on the 'Search' button. STCs awaiting transfer will display in the 'Certificate transfers found' section.

To withdraw the transfer of small-scale technology certificates:

1. Log into your REC Registry account
2. Click on the 'Certificates and transfer' menu heading
3. Select the 'Certificate transfers' menu item
4. In the 'Search certificate transfers' section, select 'Outgoing' as the 'Transfer type' and click on the 'Search' button. STCs awaiting transfer will display in the 'Certificate transfers found' section.
5. To select the transfer to withdraw, click on the checkbox located to the right of the Transfer ID (this will only be for transfers that have not been accepted by the recipient account holder, as you cannot cancel a transfer once it has been accepted).
6. Click the 'Withdraw selected transfer' button. A confirmation screen will display.
7. Click the 'Withdraw' button to confirm withdrawal of the transfer
8. You will be redirected back to the certificate transfers landing page and a confirmation message will display at the top of the page.