China’s government will soon be introducing a commercial feed in tariff paid to energy companies utilizing solar power for electricity production.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the aim of the feed in tariff aims to make solar power competitive against emission intensive coal fired power generation.
The vice director of the National Energy Administration’s Renewable Energy Department said the tariff will be around AUD $0.19 per kilowatt hour based on current exchange rates for solar power fed into the mains grid.
China is aiming for renewable energy to account for 15% of its energy mix by 2020 and officials have said that the country will likely have 10 gigawatts to 20 gigawatts of solar capacity by that time. Installed capacity at the end of 2008 was less than 0.1 gigawatt.
In feed-in tariff news closer to home, The Age’s Adam Morton has reported the Victorian State Government has warned it will dump household solar feed-in tariff laws rather than accept Greens amendments that would make rooftop solar power systems a more attractive investment for home owners.
Under the Government’s proposed feed in tariff legislation, system owners will receive 60c per kWh for surplus electricity generated, but only as a time limited credit on their bill rather than as a cash payment as is the case in other states.
The proposed legislation has not only had stiff opposition from the Greens, but also the Alternative Technology Association; describing it as “perverse”. Early last month; businesses, community groups and politicians gathered outside Victoria’s Parliament House to voice their dissatisfaction at the draft feed-in tariff laws they say will do nothing for jobs or the environment.
