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Renewable Energy News

TUESDAY 03 JULY, 2012 |

Survey Finds 94% Of Australians Want Big Solar

by Energy Matters

As plentiful as Australia's solar resources may be and as much as Australians may want a clean energy future with solar power as the centerpiece, we're still not anywhere close to tapping into even a small percentage of our sun-kissed potential.

After pulling funding from Solar Dawn, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman may want to take note of a recent poll showing 94% of respondents said they wanted to see big solar projects built in Australia.

The Big Solar Poll, conducted by dozens of community groups across Australia, found a further 95% wanted to see governments investing in big solar projects.

Coordinated by 100% Renewable, the survey also revealed people generally understood that solar was a "circuit breaker" for rising power bills and accepted that financial support of new clean energy based power generation stations is well worth the investment.

Many respondents considered the biggest barrier to getting runs on the board in terms of large solar farm projects to be politicians. A common theme was the hope of seeing "more leadership and less bickering" among leaders and lawmakers.

In the survey report, 100% Renewable points out the cost of renewable energy has been plummeting, driving a global investment to $260 billion in 2011, bypassing fossil fuel-based energy for the first time.

The group also says renewables reduce the wholesale cost of electricity and those savings should be passed on to consumers to provide relief for Australian families from continued power price hikes.

Addressing Australia's ongoing and escalating love affair with gas 100% Renewable says: "Rather than being the clean energy alternative it is assumed to be, gas is neither cheap nor clean and represents a false choice for Australia."

100% Renewable is a community initiated campaign working with more than 100 community groups across our nation, with a vision for an Australia powered entirely by clean renewable energy.