An Australia Talks segment on ABC Radio earlier this week focusing on solar power and electricity prices has received a great deal of attention; with solar supporters expressing outrage at the ongoing sledging of solar energy in Australia and also questioning the financial support the coal industry receives.
Presented by Paul Barclay, the segment focused on the controversial claims that skyrocketing demand for home solar panels triggered by rebates and incentives will force everyone’s power bills up by a collective $700 million across Australia.
Arguing this claim and the case for suitable financial support for home solar power was Matthew Warren from the Clean Energy Council. Supporting the claims of solar’s link to electricity rate hikes was the Energy Users Association Of Australia (EUAA), represented by the group’s Executive Director, Roman Domanski. EUAA’s members represent major resource and industrial energy users including BHP Biliton Qld and Xstrata Copper.
As the CEC has done previously, Mr. Warren pointed out that solar is a bit player in electricity price rises and that overdue investment in electricity infrastructure is the major culprit. Mr Warren said that solar power has become somewhat of a scapegoat for the electricity generation industry and that constant changes to solar rebates and incentives was threatening Australia’s renewable energy sector.
The phone-in that followed the segment saw many solar power system owners and those in the industry to call in to express support; questioning the validity of some recent negative reports about the contribution home solar power makes and also flagging issues of the subsidisation the coal fired power industry receives.
Solar subsidies being needed to help offset the generous subsidies the coal industry has continually enjoyed was never fully explored during the segment and it’s an issue often glossed over in media reports. However, according to Ged McCarthy of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), in NSW alone between 2000 and 2008, coal and coal fired power subsidies were 15 times that of the renewable energy sector.
The full podcast of the Australia Talks segment, plus further comments in relation to the show can be found here.
Related:
The Cheap Energy Era That Wasn’t
Australian Solar Power Industry Not The Electricity Price Rise Villain
Reduce Fossil Fuel Subsidies Says International Energy Agency
