A battery fitted to replace a recalled Tesla Powerwall 2 cannot be used to create small-scale technology certificates. The Clean Energy Regulator says so on its own guidance pages, and Tesla repeated it to its certified installers in its September newsletter, which reached them on 2 October 2026.
The same newsletter changes the replacement hardware. Powerwall 3AC is now Tesla's default unit for a Powerwall 2 replacement.
The replacement unit is excluded
The Powerwall 3 is an approved product under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, and on an ordinary installation it attracts STCs like any other approved battery. A recall replacement is treated differently. The regulator's guidance on recalled products states that a replacement battery installed because of an ACCC recall is not eligible to claim STCs, and names the Powerwall 3 supplied for recalled Powerwall 2 units as the case in point.
That follows from the scheme's logic. The replacement is a remedy owed to the owner under the recall, supplied at no cost. It does not add new storage to the grid, so it does not earn a new certificate.
Tesla's newsletter adds one qualification. Where an owner buys more capacity at the same visit, such as a Powerwall 3 Expansion unit or a second Powerwall, STCs may still be claimed for the eligible additional capacity. The replacement unit itself has to be left out of the claim.
Powerwall 3AC becomes the default
Tesla describes the Powerwall 3AC as a like-for-like replacement for the Powerwall 2, with no wiring or inverter upgrades required on site. The unit stores 13.5 kWh, carries a 5 kW integrated inverter and is AC-coupled, with no DC solar inputs. It accepts up to three Expansion units, which is the route Tesla points to for owners who want more capacity at the time of replacement.
The AC-coupled design is the reason it suits this job. A Powerwall 2 site already has a solar inverter doing the PV conversion, so a replacement that accepts solar on DC would bring rework the owner never asked for. The 3AC slots into the existing arrangement.
The newsletter does not say which replacement Tesla supplies where an installer or owner has a reason to prefer the DC-input Powerwall 3. That question goes to the Tesla account manager.
What owners should hear
For a household with a recalled unit, none of this changes the bill. The replacement remains free. The point to make clearly is about upgrades: an owner told that a bigger battery "comes with a rebate" at replacement time should understand that any certificate value attaches only to the extra capacity they are paying for, never to the replacement unit itself.
The recall scope is unchanged. Recall PRA 2025/20611 covers Powerwall 2 units sold between 1 November 2020 and 23 August 2025, and affected owners are directed first to their original installer, as recorded in the August update to the recall. PSW Energy and Perth Solar Warehouse installed Powerwall 2 systems across that period, so these replacement visits are live work for the group's crews.
Related McKercher references: Powerwall 3 compatibility with existing Powerwall 2 systems and which Backup Gateway a Powerwall site needs.
Source note
The STC exclusion comes from the Clean Energy Regulator's small-scale renewable energy systems (opens in a new tab) guidance, under "Small-scale technology certificate eligibility for recalled products" (page last updated 18 September 2026, read on 2 October 2026). The additional-capacity qualification and the Powerwall 3AC details come from Tesla's AUNZ Certified Installer Newsletter for September 2026, received directly from Tesla on 2 October 2026; the regulator's page does not address added capacity. Recall details: ACCC Product Safety, PRA 2025/20611 (opens in a new tab).
