battery
Battery storage in Malta and what changed on 13 July 2026
On 13 July 2026 REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B (hybrid or battery inverter plus battery) and Option C (battery storage only). Battery grant funding still exists at 75% of eligible cost, capped at €6,000 per system and €600 per kWh, but only bundled with a new PV system fitted with a hybrid inverter. Existing PV owners can no longer get a grant for a battery retrofit or a hybrid.
We publish the working. We do not install anything. How this works
What changed on 13 July 2026?
On 13 July 2026 REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B (hybrid or battery inverter plus battery) and Option C (battery storage only). Standalone battery retrofit and hybrid-inverter retrofit are withdrawn. Battery grant funding survives only when bundled with a brand new PV system fitted with a hybrid inverter.
The replacement Part A form, reference REWS/254/v2-07-07/26, carries only two tick-boxes. There is no longer a box to tick for a battery on its own, and no box for adding a hybrid inverter to panels you already own.
If I already have solar panels, can I get a grant for a battery?
No. This is the single most important sentence on this page. If your PV system is already installed, the grant routes that would have funded a battery for you closed on 13 July 2026. You can still buy a battery privately at full price. You cannot get a REWS grant towards it.
This affects a large number of Maltese households. Malta has years of accumulated residential PV installations, many of them fitted with inverters that were never designed to charge a battery. The obvious upgrade path for those homes, add a hybrid inverter and a battery, was exactly what Option B covered. That path is now closed to grant funding.
If an installer tells you otherwise, ask them to point at the current Part A form and show you which box you would tick. There are only two, and neither of them is yours.
What is still funded under the 2026 RES scheme?
Two things, and they now travel together. PV with a hybrid inverter is funded at 65% of eligible cost, capped at €3,000 per system and €645 per kWp. Battery storage is funded at 75% of eligible battery cost, capped at €6,000 per system and €600 per kWh, available only bundled with that new PV system.
| Item | Grant rate | Per-system cap | Unit cap | Available to whom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PV with hybrid inverter | 65% of eligible cost | €3,000 | €645 per kWp | New PV installations |
| Battery storage | 75% of eligible battery cost | €6,000 | €600 per kWh | Only bundled with new PV plus hybrid inverter |
| Battery retrofit to existing PV | Withdrawn 13 Jul 2026 | n/a | n/a | Nobody |
| Hybrid inverter retrofit to existing PV | Withdrawn 13 Jul 2026 | n/a | n/a | Nobody |
Adding the two per-system caps gives a maximum combined household grant of €9,000. We label that as derived arithmetic. REWS publishes the two caps separately and does not print a combined figure.
Which cap actually binds on my system?
On the PV side, two caps compete and the lower one wins. The per-kWp cap of €645 binds on smaller systems. The per-system cap of €3,000 binds on larger ones. The crossover sits at 3000 divided by 645, which is 4.651 kWp.
Below 4.651 kWp, your ceiling is 645 multiplied by your system size. Above it, your ceiling is a flat €3,000 no matter how many panels you add. This number is published nowhere, so here is the working.
| System size | Per-kWp ceiling (645 x kWp) | Per-system ceiling | Which binds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 kWp | €1,935 | €3,000 | Per-kWp |
| 4.0 kWp | €2,580 | €3,000 | Per-kWp |
| 4.651 kWp | €3,000 | €3,000 | Both, exactly |
| 5.0 kWp | €3,225 | €3,000 | Per-system |
| 8.0 kWp | €5,160 | €3,000 | Per-system |
The practical consequence: past roughly 4.65 kWp, extra panels bring no extra PV grant. The battery cap works the same way, €600 per kWh against a €6,000 ceiling, so the per-kWh figure binds below 10 kWh and the per-system figure binds above it.
What does the arithmetic look like on a real quote?
Take a 5 kWp system with an eligible cost of €6,250. Sixty-five per cent of that is €4,062.50. The per-kWp cap is 5 x 645, which is €3,225. The per-system cap is €3,000. The lowest of the three binds, so the grant is €3,000 and the homeowner pays €3,250.
The €6,250 figure is an illustration to show the mechanics. It is not a market price and we have not verified what installations actually cost in Malta. Put your own quote through the same three-line calculation.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible cost (VAT inclusive) | Illustrative example only | €6,250 |
| 65% of eligible cost | 6,250 x 0.65 | €4,062.50 |
| Per-kWp cap | 5 x 645 | €3,225 |
| Per-system cap | Fixed | €3,000 |
| Grant (lowest of the three) | Lowest binds | €3,000 |
| You pay | 6,250 minus 3,000 | €3,250 |
Eligible cost is VAT inclusive and covers PV modules, inverters, the support frame, battery storage equipment, interface modules, other materials, works and costs, and certification. Deducted from it are any discounts or offers whether cash or in kind, any extended warranty beyond the standard 10-year warranty, and import duty on overseas purchases.
What VAT rate applies to solar in Malta?
The standard rate of 18%. There is no reduced rate for residential solar. The VAT Act contains zero occurrences of the words solar or photovoltaic, and the Eighth Schedule that sets the 7% and 5% rates does not list PV.
If a quote or an advert shows you 0% or 5% VAT on a solar installation in Malta, that claim is false. It is worth checking, because the VAT sits inside the eligible cost figure the grant is calculated on.
Who can actually apply?
Private individuals for their own residential property, and organisations not carrying out an economic activity for communal residences. You must be resident in Malta and aged 18 or over on the day you apply.
On tenure, you must be the owner, the emphyteuta, or hold a long lease with more than the durability period remaining, meaning more than five years, plus the owner’s consent. A joint owner may apply on behalf of the others with their agreement.
The exclusions catch more people than most expect.
| Exclusion | Detail |
|---|---|
| Let property | No grant where the property is used principally for business purposes, including letting on a commercial basis even if the tenant’s use is residential |
| Landlords and developers | Domestic use expressly excludes use by landlords or developers |
| Prior grant since 2010 | Anyone who received a grant for a similar system since 2010 is ineligible, and this applies to any member of the same household |
| Open grant offer | Households with an open grant offer under a similar scheme are ineligible |
| Feed-in tariff | The PV installation must have no active feed-in tariff allocation, and any previously allocated guaranteed period must have expired |
| Tax relief | You must not claim any tax rebate, deduction or input VAT credit on the eligible expenditure |
The household-level prior-grant rule is the one that surprises people. It is not tied to the individual applicant. If someone in your household took a grant for a similar system at any point since 2010, the door is closed.
What is the order of events, and when may I pay?
Part A must be submitted before you purchase or install anything. REWS advises applicants not to enter a binding contractual commitment and not to pay any money, including a deposit, before they receive a grant offer letter.
That is the sequence that most often goes wrong. A homeowner pays a deposit to hold a price, then applies, then finds the expenditure sits outside the scheme.
| Stage | Timing |
|---|---|
| Submit Part A | Before any purchase or installation |
| Processing | No period established at law, generally about 5 weeks for a complete application |
| Grant offer letter | Starts the clock |
| Installation, commissioning and Part B | Within 8 months of the offer letter |
| Extension | Only in duly justified cases outside the applicant’s control |
What about feed-in tariffs and payback?
We are not publishing those numbers yet. The feed-in tariff rates that circulate in sales conversations are being verified against the statutory instrument, and this page will be updated when that is done.
Payback in years depends directly on the tariff, so no payback figure may be published here yet either. We have also not verified installed cost per kWp as a market figure, annual yield per kWp for Malta, or ARMS tariff bands and typical household consumption. Any site quoting you a payback period is building it on at least one number we cannot yet stand behind.
What should an existing PV owner do now?
If you already have panels and were waiting for the right moment to add a battery, the grant-funded moment has passed. Your remaining options are to buy privately at full cost including 18% VAT, or to wait and see whether a future scheme reopens the retrofit route. We have no information suggesting it will.
If you have no PV yet, the bundled route is open and it is now the only way to reach battery funding. Apply for both together, before you buy, and before you pay a deposit.
Questions
- I already have solar panels. Can I still get a grant for a battery?
- No. On 13 July 2026 REWS stopped accepting Part A applications for Option B (hybrid or battery inverter plus battery) and Option C (battery storage only). Those were the two routes an existing PV owner used. Battery grant funding now exists only bundled with a new PV system plus hybrid inverter.
- Is the battery grant abolished?
- No. Battery storage is still funded at 75% of eligible battery cost, capped at €6,000 per system and €600 per kWh, whichever binds first. What was withdrawn is the standalone route. The battery must now come with a new PV installation using a hybrid inverter, applied for together.
- Can I still buy a battery without a grant?
- Yes. Nothing stops you buying battery storage privately at any time. You pay the full cost including 18% VAT, and you get no grant. Whether that is worth doing depends on tariff rates we have not yet verified, so we are not going to put a payback figure on it.
- What is the maximum a household can receive in total?
- REWS caps PV with hybrid inverter at €3,000 per system and battery storage at €6,000 per system. Adding those two published caps gives €9,000 as the maximum combined household grant. That €9,000 total is our arithmetic, not a figure REWS prints.
- Does the grant apply to a property I rent out?
- No. The guidelines exclude property used principally for business purposes, and that expressly includes letting the property on a commercial basis even where the tenant's own use is residential. Domestic use excludes use by landlords or developers. This is one of the most common disqualifications.
- I got a solar grant years ago. Can I apply again?
- No, if that grant was for a similar system and was received at any point since 2010. The lockout applies to you and to any member of your household, not just the named applicant. Households with an open grant offer under a similar scheme are also ineligible.