The 4,500 solar businesses operating across Australia have been urged to sign a letter encouraging senators to keep the nation’s solar dream alive.
The Australian Solar Council and Solar Citizens have teamed up to coordinate a joint industry letter to communicate to new senators how crucial their ongoing support of the Renewable Energy Target is to a thriving solar industry in their respective states.
“This sign-on letter – incorporating dozens of small and medium business logos – is a powerful way to show these brand new senators that they will win public support by making a strong stand on solar,” say the bodies.
Solar businesses in Australia employ around 15,000 people and through the industry, millions of Australians are now benefiting by saving on their power bills.
The Renewable Energy Target, which provides support for the purchase of solar power systems, has also been shown to rein in the price of wholesale electricity as well as reduce the nation’s energy-related carbon footprint.
If support for the purchase of small solar power systems under the Renewable Energy Target evaporated; the price of solar power systems will rise significantly, discouraging some from installing panels. In addition to Australian families missing out on solar savings, the impact on investment and employment within the industry will be grim.
The letter will be sent to Senator Glenn Lazarus, Senator Dio Wang, Senator Jaqui Lambie, Senator Ricky Muir, Senator John Madigan and Senator Nick Xenophon.
The letter can be viewed and signed here.
There are fears the Renewable Energy Target review will recommend to weaken the RET as a result of pressure from energy sector incumbents, big business generally and the personal views of some of the review panel members.
The review panel was to have delivered its findings to the the government by the end of July; however, it appears chairman Dick Warburton has asked for an extension from the federal government of a few weeks.
As we mentioned early in July, there’s a lot more riding on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target than just clean power, energy bill savings and thousands of jobs. Banks are also at risk, as are the retirement savings of millions of Australians.
