BUDGET - Disappointment regarding solar feed-in tariff

 

The latest Victorian budget’s claim to be environmentally responsible by introducing a solar feed-in tariff has been viewed as “disappointing” by one of Australia’s solar power leaders, Energy Matters.

Markus Lambert Communication Manager, Energy Matters said: “Premier Brumby’s budget at a first glance seems to be good for solar power , as it introduces a payment for power fed into the grid, which means households are supposed to be paid a premium on the clean energy that their solar power system will produce. Nevertheless when you crunch the numbers it does not deliver the all the outcomes we hoped for. He explained:” By paying $0.60 per kWh to the owner of a solar PV system, the proposed feed-in tariff appears to be the highest in the country, but there are some drawback, namely that this only applies for relatively small photovoltaic systems – up to 2kW. Also considering that the average Australian household consumption is 16kWh a day and in Victoria, we get an average of about 4.1 hours of sun, this means that most domestic solar systems will struggle to provide significant return to its owner.

Mr Lambert said: “It is disappointing that the Victorian government is trying to give people the impression that the government is doing something significant to address climate change, when in reality this initiative could have delivered quite a bit more for the owners of home solar systems.”

“With the exception of the American state of Texas, Australia is the only country considering a net feed-in tariff, which only pays for the power send back into the grid. What we need now is a gross feed-in tariff for all Victorians. Mr Lambert says governments need embrace renewable solutions NOW as time was running out for relative affordable solutions to reduce green house gases.

A rally will be held at 8.30am on the steps of Parliament House tomorrow Thursday 8th May to tell Premier John Brumby and the Victorian Government that the people of Victoria want a REAL Feed-In Tariff for Victoria’s renewable energy future.

News for Tuesday 06 May, 2008

 

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• BG Group proposes Origin Energy takeover
  


• Hydro Tasmania aims to become carbon neutral
  


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• US invests US$60m in solar concentrator technologies
  

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