Addressing media coverage of a report on Australian solar subsidies, the Clean Energy Council points out the huge amount of investment that the nation’s solar revolution is responsible for – and many other positive outcomes.
“Cost of household solar has outweighed benefits”
“Reform network rules to cut PV money waste”
“Billions wasted on solar subsidy, says report”
“Massive cost of rooftop solar”
Those are just a few of the mainstream media headlines spotted in the last 24 hours after release of the Grattan Institute’s report, “Sundown, Sunrise: How Australia Can Finally Get Solar Power Right”.
The report states while state governments began winding back generous feed in tariff schemes in 2012, by the time the last runs out in 2028 they will have cost the economy $9 billion.
However, there were some important benefits not mentioned in the Institute’s report that puts solar in a much different and very positive light says the CEC.
“It is important to recognise that the government support provided to solar power has leveraged billions of dollars in private investment to date, and will have delivered approximately $30 billion in total investment by 2028 – the same period examined by the Grattan Institute report,” said Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton.
The subsidies did exactly what they were designed to do – stimulate uptake of solar power systems and drive down the costs of installing solar panels in Australia. As a bonus, they also helped generate 13,000 jobs, particularly in regional and rural parts of Australia where employment opportunities can be hard to come by. The residential solar revolution also reined in the wholesale cost of power and has so far helped 1.4 million Australian households slash their carbon footprint.
Mr Thornton also pointed our there were many subsidies right across the energy sector, including throughout the fossil fuel sector and for diesel fuel.
As an example, in November last year it was revealed exploration by coal and energy companies is subsidised by Australian taxpayers by as much as $4 billion every year in the form of direct spending and tax breaks – and that’s just exploration.
While the vast majority of solar subsidies referred to by the Grattan Institute in the report have either been eliminated or are gradually ramping down; the fossil fuel subsidy gravy train is yet to lose any real momentum in Australia – and that’s perhaps where the more newsworthy story is.
The Australian Solar Council put forward similar arguments concerning the report – and took it a little further.
“But worst of all this report still sees big power companies as being at the center of the energy sector. They are not. Australian families are,” said the ASC’s CEO, John Grimes.
“Solar PV is showing once again that the electricity business model in Australia is broken. Either the big power companies change their world view, or technology and competition from solar PV and battery storage will. The truth is there has never been a better time to buy solar and storage.”
