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THURSDAY 02 JUNE, 2011 |

Australia's First Commercial Solar Roof Lease Launched In The ACT

by Energy Matters

Australia's first commercial solar power roof lease

National solar solutions provider Energy Matters recently launched Australia's first commercial solar roof lease; further affirming the ACT's standing as Australia's solar power capital.

Energy Matters' groundbreaking 'pay now, pay later, pay never' commercial solar initiative was launched to prominent ACT business owners at Ullrich Aluminium’s Hume site on Tuesday 17th May. The launch was presided over by Simon Corbell, Minister for the Environment and Sustainability, who lauded the program for its positive impact in "cementing the ACT as the solar capital of Australia".

Energy Matters has a commitment to playing its role in ensuring all Australians have the opportunity to participate in reducing carbon dioxide emissions and accelerating the uptake of renewable energy in Australia, but understands the challenges that the cost of system ownership can pose.

As the first ever program of its kind in Australia, the Ullrich Aluminium solar lease launch paved the way for ACT businesses to benefit from generous government incentives; whether their budgets stretch to outright system purchase now, later or never.

The initiative is led by David Hershan, Energy Matters' General Manager Strategic Projects. "Australia is among the highest emitters per capita in the world, with over 50% of emissions coming from stationary energy generation. Conversely, Australia is the sunniest inhabited continent on the planet. It seems like an obvious solution to encourage businesses, government and universities to power themselves with solar from their unused roof space".

"Solar PV continues to decrease in price, while electricity prices are sky-rocketing," said Mr. Hershan. "The environmental urgency to act is not only rewarded by a community benefit and feel-good factor, but it now makes proven economic sense to do so, especially in the ACT. Whilst neighbouring NSW Government faces class action for reneging on contractual Feed in Tariff obligations, the ACT Government remains steadfast, as proven by Minister Corbell’s backing of this program in his speech at the launch."

Minister Corbell commented at the launch, "It is pleasing to see the local businesses making better use of this space by allowing others access to harness renewable energy. I applaud both Energy Matters and Ullrich Aluminium, the tenants, for their cooperative approach to achieving this great renewable energy outcome".

The significance and importance of Government backing was highlighted by Jeremy Rich, Energy Matters CEO, who cited the "energy vision and innovation" of the ACT government as critical to the success of this worthwhile solar initiative.

"The rest of Australia needs to follow the leadership being shown by the ACT Government. Their visionary policies of having a strong gross feed in tariff for commercial solar power systems up to 200kW in size have made it possible for us to make solar accessible to businesses by eliminating the upfront capital hurdle of solar power system ownership. We believe we have created a no risk option for businesses wishing to do their bit to power a brighter future, providing an option to purchase the system at any time down the track with a feed in tariff locked in for 20 years from the date the system is installed in their rooftop".

In less than 2 weeks after connecting the 30kW solar power system to the mains electricity grid, the system has surpassed last Autumn output expectations, generating a total of 1592 kilowatt hours, or an income of $52 per day from the Feed-in Tariff.

Gilbert Ullrich, CEO of Ullrich Aluminium, is proud to have been involved in bringing this national first to market. "As tenants, we benefit from the green image of having a solar system on our roof, and our staff shares our excitement in seeing the output of the system displayed in our showroom. It’s great to see the tangible results of what a solar system can deliver, and know we’re doing our bit for the local environment”.

The financial rewards make a compelling case to Mr. Ullrich, who stated, "If I owned the building, I would definitely have bought the system outright".

The successful launch over, Energy Matters’ work is by no means done. Jeremy Rich promises that "The team at Energy Matters will continue to strongly support the government’s leading policies in the medium and large scale solar space by creating innovative offers to maximise participation in programs, while relentlessly driving the cost of our solar system integration down so as to encourage the installation of larger solar systems."

Energy Matters' launch event attracted over 60 local business owners and members of the press to Ullrich Aluminium's Hume site, supported by key local figures including Minister for the Environment and Sustainability Simon Corbell, Ullrich CEO Gilbert Ullrich, REC Solar General Manager Asia Pacific Matt Daly, and Singapore Embassy officials. Support has been strong due to the opportunity for local investment, local resilience against rising energy prices and the need to meet aggressive carbon targets. For more information, see www.energymatters.com.au/actadvantage.

-ENDS-

For more information contact:
Vicky Butler at Energy Matters
03 9697 1910 / 0407 119 555
victoria.butler@energymatters.com.au

Notes to editors:

About Energy Matters

Energy Matters is one of Australia’s fastest growing and most innovative solar companies. Energy Matters provides a wealth of information on solar power and renewable energy via its web site at www.energymatters.com.au. The 100% Australian owned and operated private company was founded in 2005, when its principals decided to rise to the challenge that "nobody can sell a solar panel online".

The Melbourne based company is led by Energy Matters co-founder and CEO Jeremy Rich, a former National Australia Bank credit risk analyst, leading his team to design solar solutions that are a better investment than cash in the bank. Now boasting a staff of 100+ dedicated solar advocates in offices throughout Australia, Energy Matters continues to grow rapidly to keep pace with increasing demand for solar system solutions throughout Australia.