My parents claimed a solar grant in 2013 and I still live in the family home. Can I apply in my own name?

No. The exclusion applies to any member of the same household, not only the person who signed the earlier application. A grant received at that address since 2010 blocks the application regardless of whose name goes on the form or who pays for the new system.

I received a grant in 2015 and have since bought my own home. Can I apply on the new property?

No. The exclusion follows the recipient as well as the household, so moving does not reset it. A different household member who never personally received a grant, and who now has their own address with no grant history, is not caught by the household test there.

Can I add a battery to my existing panels with a grant?

Not under the current scheme. On 13 July 2026 REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B (hybrid or battery inverter with battery) and Option C (battery storage only). Battery support is capped at 75% of eligible battery cost, €6,000 per system and €600 per kWh, and it only exists bundled with a new PV system and hybrid inverter.

I rent out a flat. Can I claim the grant on it?

No. The scheme excludes property used principally for business purposes, and that expressly includes letting on a commercial basis even where the tenants use it as a home. Domestic use excludes use by landlords or developers. A grant on your own residence is a separate question, subject to the same prior-grant rule.

What VAT applies if I install without a grant?

The standard 18% rate. Malta has no reduced VAT rate for residential solar. The VAT Act contains no reference to solar or photovoltaic equipment and the Eighth Schedule reduced rates do not list PV. Any quote showing 0% or 5% VAT on solar in Malta is wrong.

How long does an application take if I am eligible?

No processing period is established at law, but a complete application generally takes about five weeks. Part A must be submitted before purchase and installation. The grant offer letter is valid for 8 months, covering installation, commissioning and Part B, with extensions only in duly justified cases outside your control.

Can You Get the Solar Grant Twice in Malta?

Can you get the solar grant twice in Malta?

No. The 2026 RES scheme excludes anyone who has already received a grant for a similar system at any point back to 2010. The exclusion covers the applicant and every member of the same household. Households holding an open grant offer under a similar scheme are also ineligible. One grant, one household.

Most people expect the rule to be personal. It is not. It attaches to the household, and it reaches back sixteen years. That single line disqualifies a large share of Maltese homes, because the early grant rounds were popular and the panels are still on the roof.

What counts as “the same household”?

REWS applies the exclusion to the applicant and to any member of the same household, not only to the person who signed the earlier application. An adult child living in the family home cannot apply if a parent claimed in 2013. In practice the address carries the grant history, not the name on the form.

This is the part that catches people. A 32 year old living at home, paying for a system out of their own savings, in their own name, is still blocked by a claim their father made when they were nineteen. The scheme does not offer an exception for that, and the guidelines do not distinguish between who paid and who lives there.

Which situations are blocked, and which are not?

There are three separate tests. A prior grant since 2010 anywhere in the household. An open grant offer under a similar scheme. An active feed in tariff allocation on the installation. Fail any one of the three and the application stops there. The common cases are set out below.

Situation	Blocked?	Reason
Parent claimed a PV grant in 2013, you still live at that address	Yes	Prior grant, same household, inside the 2010 window
Household holds an open grant offer under a similar scheme	Yes	Open offer excludes a further application
Existing PV still inside its guaranteed feed in tariff period	Yes	Installation must have no active feed in allocation
You want a battery added to existing panels	Yes	Option C closed to new Part A applications on 13 July 2026
You want a hybrid inverter retrofit on existing panels	Yes	Option B closed to new Part A applications on 13 July 2026
Property is let on a commercial basis, even to residential tenants	Yes	Letting is excluded from domestic use
You were not the recipient, you have moved out, and you now own a separate property with no grant history	Not by this rule	The earlier grant sits with the other household, other conditions still apply
You personally received the grant in 2015 and have since moved house	Yes	The exclusion follows the recipient as well as the household
Grant received in 2009 and nothing since	Outside the stated window	The rule states 2010. Confirm the date with REWS before you commit

What changed on 13 July 2026 for people who already have panels?

On 13 July 2026 REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B (hybrid or battery inverter with battery) and Option C (battery storage only). Standalone battery retrofits and hybrid inverter retrofits for existing PV owners are withdrawn. Battery support now exists only bundled with a new PV system.

Part A form V2 (reference REWS/254/v2-07-07/26) carries only two tick boxes. So the route most existing owners were waiting for, keep the 2013 panels and add storage later with help, is closed regardless of the household rule. Even a household with a clean grant history cannot get battery only support today.

What does a repeat applicant actually lose?

Up to €3,000 on the PV side, and up to €6,000 on a battery bundled with new PV. The grant is capped three ways and the lowest cap binds. Knowing which cap binds tells you the real ceiling before you speak to any installer.

Grant element	Rate	Per system cap	Unit cap
PV with hybrid inverter	65% of eligible cost	€3,000	€645 per kWp
Battery storage, only with new PV plus hybrid inverter	75% of eligible battery cost	€6,000	€600 per kWh
Maximum combined per household (derived, not printed by REWS)		€9,000

The two PV caps cross at 3,000 divided by 645, which is 4.651 kWp. Below 4.651 kWp the per kWp cap decides your grant. Above it the €3,000 per system cap decides, and extra panels add nothing to the grant.

Worked example, using an illustrative eligible cost of €6,250 for a 5 kWp system. That cost is an example only, not a market price, and we have not verified installed prices in Malta. Sixty five percent is €4,062.50. The per kWp cap is 5 times 645, so €3,225. The per system cap is €3,000. The lowest binds. Grant €3,000, homeowner pays €3,250.

Eligible cost is VAT inclusive and covers modules, inverters, support frame, battery equipment, interface modules, other materials and works, and certification. Discounts or offers in cash or in kind come off, as does extended warranty beyond the standard ten years, as does import duty on overseas purchases. Applicants must not claim any tax rebate, deduction or input VAT credit on the same expenditure.

What can you do if your household already claimed?

Four things, in order. Confirm the date and address on the earlier grant. Check whether a household member owns a separate property with no grant history. Check the feed in status of the existing installation. Then price the work unassisted and decide on the arithmetic alone.

Get the paperwork out. You need the date of the earlier grant offer letter and the address it was issued against. A claim before 2010 sits outside the stated window, so the date is worth confirming rather than assuming.
Check the separate property route. A household member who did not personally receive the earlier grant, and who now has their own address with no grant history, is not caught by the household test there. Tenure still has to work: owner, emphyteuta, or long leasehold with more than five years remaining plus owner consent. The applicant must be resident in Malta and aged 18 or over.
Check the feed in allocation. Any previously allocated guaranteed period must have expired before the installation can be considered.
Price it at full cost. Residential solar in Malta carries the standard 18 percent VAT rate. There is no reduced rate for PV. Any quote showing 0 percent or 5 percent VAT on solar in Malta is wrong, and it is worth asking what else in that quote is wrong.
Do not pay anything early if you do apply. Part A must be submitted before purchase and installation, and applicants are advised not to enter a binding contractual commitment or pay any money, including a deposit, before receiving a grant offer letter.

We are not publishing a payback figure for an unassisted system. Payback depends on the export rate, and we are verifying the current feed in tariff rates against the statutory instrument. This page will be updated once that is confirmed. Anyone quoting you a payback period today is quoting a number they have not checked.

Does the old system’s feed in tariff still matter?

Yes. The installation must have no active feed in tariff allocation, and any previously allocated guaranteed period must have expired. If a 2013 system is still inside its guaranteed period, that alone blocks an application on that installation, separately from the household rule.

The practical order of checks is simple. Household grant history first, because it is the one that ends the conversation fastest. Feed in status second. Tenure and use third. Only then is it worth costing the work.