The number of Queenslanders participating in the State’s Solar Bonus Scheme is accelerating and due to the success of the program, the Queensland Government has determined the scheme will continue, with eligibility criteria remaining the same.
According to Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson, around 36 megawatts of grid connected solar power systems are now operational in the state.
Under the Queensland feed in tariff scheme, not to be confused with the identically named New South Wales Solar Bonus Scheme, solar power system owners receive payback of 44 cents per kilowatt-hour for all the surplus electricity fed into the power grid.
Mr. Robertson says before the introduction of the program, there was approximately 1.5 megawatts of connected solar-generating capacity in Queensland, which has grown 2400 per cent in less than two years. Prior to the State’s feed in tariff, about 1,200 customers had rooftop solar panels and currently there are approximately 22,500 participating installations, with 6,500 new customers signing up this year alone.
In related news, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has said state schools are on their way to saving more than 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and 750 schools have had solar power systems installed under the Queensland Government’s $60 million Solar and Energy Efficiency in State Schools program. The initiative operates in conjunction with the Federal Government’s National Solar Schools Program (NSSP).
Education Minister Geoff Wilson said every school was also receiving an IT energy monitoring system so staff and students could monitor how much energy their new solar panels and energy efficient lighting were saving.
Over its three years, the program will generate more than 450 jobs for the solar, electrical and information technology sectors.
The Solar and Energy Efficiency in State Schools program is on track to be completed by June 2011, with the installation of solar panels at 180 schools being brought forward to be completed by the end of this financial year.
Also recently announced was the launch of a new solar hot water rebate for eligible Queensland householders who replace an electric hot water system with a solar hot water system or heat pump.
