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UPDATE November 9 2009: The New South Wales Solar Bonus Scheme will now be a gross solar feed in tariff, rather than net. Read more
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Hard on the heels of the New South Wales Oppositions’ announcement yesterday regarding their support of a feed in tariff scheme, Minister for Climate Change, Carmel Tebbutt and Minister for Energy, Ian Macdonald, have announced a feed in tariff program for the state called the Solar Bonus Scheme.
“This is a significant boost for renewable energy in NSW and has the potential to generate an additional 500 green jobs. Our scheme is designed to be the most generous to operate anywhere in Australia, apart from the ACT,” Ms Tebbutt said.
The A.C.T’s feed in tariff scheme operates on a gross model that pays for all electricity produced by a home solar power system. The NSW program will operate on a net basis, meaning that only surplus electricity generated will be eligible for the premium.
The New South Wales government opted for a net system was chosen because “encourages people to better manage their power use and use energy more efficiently – this is because you get paid for energy you produce but don’t use.”
According Ms. Tebbut, the Government expects the scheme to reward system owners with around $900 annually – meaning an average solar panel system could be paid back within 12 years.
However, the actual payback time will far less in many cases thanks to federal funding for the new non-means tested Solar Credits program; which will offer up to $9,000 in rebates on solar power systems for homes and businesses.
Key details of the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme:
• the feed in tariff program will operate for 20 years;
• it will pay 60 c/KWh that is fed back into the grid (net tariff);
• the Solar Bonus Scheme will be payable to energy customers with solar panel systems up to 10 kW in size;
• it will commence on 1 January 2010; and
• will be reviewed in 2012 to make sure the scheme is operating effectively.
Shortly after the announcement, the NSW Liberal/Nationals slammed the scheme, labelling it a “second-rate solar rebate”. The Opposition had only 24 hours before reaffirmed its commitment to a gross feed-in tariff model.
Further information:
New South Wales Solar Bonus Scheme
