A solar installation business in Australia is typically worth 2.5x to 5.5x normalised EBITDA — meaning a business generating $300,000 in annual normalised profit might sell for $750,000 to $1.65 million in goodwill, plus equipment and vehicles. The spread is wider than most trade sectors because buyers in this space are pricing four things simultaneously: growth trajectory, government rebate exposure, licence depth, and warranty tail. Get those four right before you go to market and you’ll sit comfortably at the top of that range.
EBITDA Multiples for Solar Installation Businesses in Australia
Solar installation companies occupy an interesting valuation space — they’re trade contractors in licence terms but increasingly behave like technology and energy businesses in how buyers think about them. That creates a range rather than a number.
The multiples below reflect current deal activity for Australian solar installation businesses with revenue between $1M and $20M. They apply to normalised EBITDA — that is, profit after adding back your salary above a market replacement rate, personal expenses run through the business, and genuine one-off costs that won’t recur under new ownership.
| Business Profile | EBITDA Multiple |
|---|---|
| Owner-operator, residential focus, owner-dependent | 2x – 3x |
| Small team (3–8 staff), residential and light commercial mix | 3x – 4x |
| Commercial focus, some recurring maintenance, 8+ staff | 3.5x – 5x |
| Commercial/industrial, battery storage revenue, manager-led | 4.5x – 5.5x |
Rule of thumb: a solar installation business generating $400,000 normalised EBITDA with a commercial client base and at least two CEC-accredited installers on staff should be worth $1.4M to $2M in goodwill. Plant, vehicles, and specialised test equipment are priced separately on top.
Your accountant should run the normalisation calculation before anyone else does. Buyers will do it regardless — it’s better to own the number going in than to have it revised downward in due diligence. See EBITDA add-backs when selling a business in Australia for a full breakdown of what qualifies.
What Buyers Are Actually Pricing
The first question a serious buyer asks isn’t “what’s your revenue” — it’s “how exposed is this business to STC deeming changes?”
Australia’s residential solar installation market runs largely on Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), which subsidise the cost of rooftop systems for homeowners. The STC scheme phases out by 2030, with annual deeming reductions along the way. Buyers who’ve done their homework model what your margins look like as deeming drops — and businesses where residential STC-supported work represents 80% or more of revenue attract lower multiples and more aggressive earn-out conversations. It’s not a dealbreaker (residential solar isn’t going anywhere), but it gets priced in.
The counterbalance is commercial and industrial solar. Larger systems access Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) under a separate scheme, and commercial clients make purchasing decisions based on payback periods and power purchase agreements rather than government cash-backs. A business that’s built a commercial pipeline is telling a growth story that buyers find more durable — and they pay for it.
CEC accreditation and licence depth matters more than almost anything else. The Clean Energy Council accreditation is transferable to the business, but it depends on accredited installers remaining on your team. If the only CEC-accredited person in the company is you, a buyer is effectively acquiring a licence that disappears when you hand over the keys. Two or more accredited installers on staff materially changes the risk profile; three or more and you’re in a different conversation about price. See key person risk when selling a business for how buyers quantify this.
Recurring revenue. Maintenance and monitoring contracts for commercial systems, battery health checks, O&M agreements — these add an annuity layer on top of project revenue that buyers love. A business with $150,000 or more in recurring annual contracts is priced differently from one that has to re-fill the pipeline from scratch every quarter.
Warranty tail. Solar installation comes with a product liability component — you’ve warranted panel and inverter performance, often for 25 years, and workmanship warranties of 5 to 10 years are standard in Australia. Buyers will ask for your claims history. Zero or low warranty call-outs aren’t just reassuring — they signal the quality of your product selection and installation practices. A business with a clean record here can typically negotiate a shorter escrow holdback at settlement.
The Licence Problem — and How to Fix It Before You Go to Market
A broker I work with told me last year about a solar business in regional Queensland — $7M revenue, good margins, established commercial relationships. The seller had done his numbers (which is more than most do), the process was clean, and then a buyer’s solicitor flagged that all CEC-accredited staff had joined within the past 18 months and the company licence registration was still tied to the owner’s individual accreditation. The deal didn’t collapse, but the price dropped $200,000 and the handover period stretched to 14 months.
The fix would have cost nothing to implement two years earlier.
Specifically: register your CEC accreditation against the company entity rather than just your personal licence; document which staff hold which certifications and their renewal dates; and have an explicit succession conversation with your most experienced licensed installer before going to market. Buyers want to see that the business doesn’t go dark on day one if you’re not in it.
The same logic applies to your electrical contractor licence. If you’re trading under an individual licence rather than a company licence, fix it before you start any sale process. It’s administrative, it’s cheap, and it changes how buyers underwrite the deal.
Battery Storage: The Multiple Multiplier
Battery storage is reshaping solar installation business valuations in ways that weren’t true three years ago.
A business that’s built meaningful battery installation revenue alongside solar has two things working in its favour: higher average job value (a solar-plus-storage installation in the $15,000–$40,000 range versus $8,000–$18,000 for panels alone) and access to recurring maintenance revenue on the storage side. Battery management systems need monitoring and periodic servicing — and customers who’ve spent $25,000 on a home energy system tend to want someone responsible for it.
The more interesting case is commercial battery — grid-connected storage for industrial clients, demand management systems, and virtual power plant participation. This is a newer market in Australia but one that carries EBITDA margins well above typical installation work, and buyers in the infrastructure and energy transition space are prepared to pay meaningfully higher multiples for businesses positioned in it.
Benchmark: a solar installation business with 30%+ of revenue from battery storage typically commands a 0.5x to 1x premium on its EBITDA multiple compared to a pure-panel installer of equivalent size.
When Is the Right Time to Sell a Solar Installation Business?
The solar sector sits at an interesting inflection point (polite language for: the next three years will sort out who built a real business and who built a rebate-harvesting operation). The case for selling in the near term is this:
Trade buyers in the electrical, energy, and infrastructure space are actively acquiring solar businesses right now — because they want to own the relationship before the market consolidates. Private equity has been buying electrical and solar contractors at a meaningful pace. Competition among buyers is reasonable, which supports pricing.
The STC deeming schedule creates a structural headwind for purely residential businesses. A business generating good numbers today on the back of residential STC economics looks riskier in a 2028 or 2029 buyer conversation. If you’re 80%+ residential and haven’t made progress on commercial or storage, the window to sell at today’s multiples is probably narrower than it feels.
On the other hand, if you’ve been building toward commercial solar and battery storage — and you have another two or three years of runway — holding might be worth it. More recurring revenue and a stronger commercial book will lift your normalised EBITDA and your multiple at the same time.
When is the right time to sell your business covers this timing framework in full.
Tax When Selling a Solar Installation Business in Australia
Most solar installation businesses are structured as a company or family trust, and the tax on sale depends heavily on the deal structure and whether the small business CGT concessions apply.
For businesses with a net asset value below $6M (or aggregated turnover below $2M), the small business concessions can include a 50% active asset reduction on the capital gain, a 15-year exemption for business owners over 55 who are retiring, or a retirement exemption up to $500,000. These can significantly reduce — or in some cases eliminate — the tax on a business sale.
The deal structure matters just as much. An asset sale and a share sale have different tax outcomes for both buyer and seller, and the optimal structure depends on your personal tax position, how the business is held, and what a buyer is willing to pay for each option. Don’t accept a headline price without running the after-tax numbers for both structures. Tax on selling a business in Australia covers the main scenarios.
How Long Does It Take?
A well-prepared sale process for a solar installation business typically takes 6–12 months from first conversation to settlement. Commercial solar businesses with documented pipelines, clear licence structures, and clean financials tend to close faster; businesses where the owner is the only CEC-accredited person and financials have mixed personal and business expenses take longer.
The preparation work — CEC registration, normalising financials, documenting warranty claims, pulling together contract schedules — is almost always the longest part of the process and the part sellers most underestimate. Starting that work 12–18 months before you intend to sell is not excessive. It changes your result. See how long it takes to sell a business in Australia for a full timeline breakdown.
FAQ
How much do solar installers make in Australia?
Solar installation business owners in Australia typically draw $150,000–$350,000 per year from a business generating $2M–$5M in revenue. That owner earnings figure — salary plus profit distributions — is the starting point for valuation, not the topline revenue number.
Are solar farms profitable in Australia?
Solar farms (utility-scale ground-mounted generation) are a different asset class from solar installation companies. Solar farms use PPA contracts and infrastructure yields. A solar installation company is valued on EBITDA multiples, typically 2.5x–5.5x, depending on commercial mix and recurring revenue.
What is the 20% rule for solar?
The 20% rule usually refers to system oversizing — installing capacity 20% above current consumption to allow for future load growth and battery storage. For a solar installation business, the more useful metric is EBITDA margin: well-run companies at this scale typically run 12–22% margins.
What makes a solar installation business more valuable at sale?
CEC-accredited staff beyond just the owner, a commercial and industrial client mix, battery storage revenue, recurring O&M contracts, and a clean warranty claims history. These push the EBITDA multiple from 2.5x toward 5x and above.
How long does it take to sell a solar installation business in Australia?
A well-prepared sale typically takes 6–12 months from first conversation to settlement. Businesses with clear licence succession and documented commercial pipelines run faster. Licence dependency on the owner is the most common cause of delays.
If you want to know what your solar business is specifically worth — not a range, but a figure you can make decisions from — use the free valuation calculator or talk to us directly. We work with trade and energy businesses across Australia and understand how buyers in this market think.