According to a recent article by Royce Millar in The Age, Australia is losing out billions of dollars in overseas investment and countless local jobs through not providing solar companies incentives that are available in other countries.
The article cites several examples where overseas companies have taken their cash elsewhere, including a Norwegian company looking for a home for its new $800 million solar cell production facility that would have employed 1300 people. A German-based solar panel manufacturer that visited Australia late last year also turned tail due to the lack of appropriate incentives.
A representative of one of the companies expressed amazement as to why Australia was still so focused on fossil fuels such as coal, stating the country was essentially just mining for the Chinese.
Perceived as one of the major blocks to creating a true solar power revolution in Australia is the Government’s seemingly continued resistance to a national, uniform gross feed in tariff system, whereby owners of grid connected solar power systems would be paid a premium for the electricity they produce. A spokesman for one of the German companies that took their cash elsewhere said such a system would create a “boom” in solar investment in Australia.
Local renewable energy company, Energy Matters, concerned by the lack of progress by the Government in implementing such a program and after receiving increasing calls from its customers about the issue, launched a petition late last week to gather signatures of support for a national gross model based feed in tariff system.
At present in Australia, most feed in tariff programs are based on the inferior net model which only pays for electricity exported to the grid over and above what is consumed by the premises generating it. Rates offered in most states are also far below what has been demonstrated in other countries to provide the greatest success in stimulating uptake of solar power.
Energy Matters has already flagged the existence of the petition with Minister for Climate Change and Water Penny Wong, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Urban Water Greg Hunt, Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts Peter Garrett and Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne.
The petition is gathering steam and has attracted close to 4,000 signatures in under a week; many through word-of-mouth referrals. Energy Matters plans to increase the amount of resources it is dedicating to publicising the petition and is calling on others in the industry to lend their support to the initiative; the results of which will be submitted to various government officials, committees and departments.
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