Comparison
STC trader comparison: types, claims and questions
In short
Australian STC providers fall into four types: platforms, certificate creators, buyers and wholesalers with trading. Most do not publish every fee, rate or payment time, so compare them on written answers to the same questions.
Australia has no shortage of places to send small-scale technology certificates, and no neutral league table of them. This page is a map, not a ranking. It describes what each well-known provider says about itself, groups them by what kind of business they are, and gives you the questions that actually separate them. Where a provider does not publish a fee, rate or payment time, we say so rather than fill the gap. Every description is attributed and dated 2 Oct 2026.
Four kinds of provider
Most confusion comes from comparing unlike things. A fair comparison starts with the category.
- Software platform. Creates and manages certificates and compliance records. Formbay describes itself this way.
- Certificate creator and auditor. Generates certificates and audits projects, often also monetising them. Ecovantage uses this language.
- Trader or buyer. Purchases certificates and pays the installer. Emerging Energy, Green Energy Trading, Demand Manager and REC Traders describe services of this kind.
- Wholesaler with trading. An equipment distributor that offers an STC service, as One Stop Warehouse does.
The pages on what an STC aggregator is and how to compare STC traders explain the differences in more detail.
What each says about itself
Formbay describes itself as “Australia’s AI-enabled renewable energy certificate and compliance technology platform” and reports more than 140 million certificates processed since 2010. See Formbay alternatives.
Green Energy Trading describes “18 years and strong” and says residential solar installers are “paid 1 day after we receive your valid claim”. See its page.
Ecovantage calls itself “a certificate creator and project auditing specialist” with over 19 years in business. See Ecovantage.
Demand Manager says it has operated since 2005, holds an Australian Financial Services licence, and offers its services on a success-fee basis. It does not state payment times on the page we read.
Emerging Energy describes itself as established in 2011 and covering STCs, LGCs, VEECs and ESCs. See Emerging Energy.
One Stop Warehouse is a wholesale distributor that describes an STC service run with a trading partner. See OSW.
REC Traders describes itself as helping installers, businesses and homeowners claim and trade certificates, as a Smart Energy Council member, and promotes next-business-day payment.
Greenbot is no longer on the list. The Clean Energy Regulator suspended its registration in June 2024; see Greenbot alternatives.
A note on REC Traders and Energy Merchants
REC Traders is our affiliate. Energy Merchants is the partner-facing brand installers deal with, and REC Traders provides the settlement behind it. We list it here for completeness and not as an independent endorsement.
Side by side: what to check
None of the providers above publishes every item below on the pages we read, so the right-hand column is left for you to fill in from their replies.
| What to check | Energy Merchants | Any provider |
|---|---|---|
| When you are paid | 24-hour settlement for established partners; first claim 48-72 hours | Ask, in writing; not covered in what we read |
| Fees and deductions | Zero fees | Ask for the net dollars per certificate; not covered in what we read |
| Rate | Published daily, locked on lodgement of a complete claim | Ask when the rate is fixed; not covered in what we read |
| Who checks the claim | Compliance desk pre-checks every claim | Ask who reviews photos, forms and serials; not covered in what we read |
| Who you deal with | Named account manager | Ask; not covered in what we read |
| Backing | REC Traders, trading since 2004, Smart Energy Council member | Ask who the buyer of the certificates is; not covered in what we read |
How to use this page
Pick the category that fits your problem. If it is paperwork, start with platforms. If it is cash flow, start with buyers and ask for terms in writing. Then use how to compare STC traders for the ten questions, and /pricing/ for our published rate. Moving is covered on /switch/.
Next steps
Pick two or three providers, send each the same questions, and compare net dollars and dates. The certificate trader checklist has the long form, and what an STC is worth in 2026 gives market context.
How we wrote this. Energy Merchants is a certificate trader, so we have a horse in this race. Statements about other providers are taken from their own public websites on the date shown above and are attributed. If something here is out of date, tell the desk and we will fix it.
Sources: Formbay website (homepage) · One Stop Warehouse (OSW) website, STC trading page (as indexed) · Emerging Energy: STCs page (as indexed) · Green Energy Trading website · Ecovantage website · Demand Manager website · REC Traders website
Questions
Before you decide
Who are the main STC traders in Australia?
Is there a ranking of STC traders?
How is REC Traders related to Energy Merchants?
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