This week has seen many sweeping changes to the solar power industry in Australia, in particular the unexpected early launch of the Solar Credits program, where most Australian home owners and businesses can now get access to rebates.
However, the rebate is less than under the previous program and this underlines an even greater need for the additional boost of a national gross feed in tariff scheme. A gross feed in tariff system pays owners of grid connected solar power systems a premium rate for all electricity their system produces. Gross feed in tariff programs have been demonstrated to significantly boost solar uptake and act as an economic stimulus without the public debt.
Currently, the situation in Australia with feed in tariffs is fractured, with each state running their own program or none at all. The Western Australian government recently disappointed many solar power supporters in the state by reversing a decision to implement a generous gross feed in tariff, opting for net system, with a rollout date yet to be announced.
A net feed in tariff only pays a premium rate on surplus electricity produced and has been demonstrated to be the poor cousin to the gross system, doing little to stimulate uptake of home solar power.
Other states have strayed even further from the concept of gross feed in tariff program. Some offer net systems that offer low premiums, or as is the case in Victoria, attempt to implement systems that only provide a time limited net-based credit on system owner’s electricity bill – a concept the Australian Technology Association labeled as “perverse”. The ACT is the only state or territory currently offering a gross feed in tariff, prompting many to ask why the ACT can successfully implement it, but not the rest of the country.
Australian solar power company Energy Matters has been lobbying for a national gross feed in tariff via a petition at FeedInTariff.com.au. The signatures of 15,000 Australians who want to be part of the carbon emission reduction solution through the increased use of solar power have already been collected. The petition is now entering its final days and will be submitted to Greens Senator Christine Milne next week who will table the results in Parliament.
