An article published on the Sydney Morning Herald web site this morning states that many New South Wales schools are missing out on income from feed in tariffs due to the size of their solar power systems.
In New South Wales, a premium rate of 60c per kilowatt hour is paid for all electricity generated by grid connected solar power systems under the state’s Solar Bonus Scheme. However, one of the criteria for the Solar Bonus scheme is that systems cannot exceed a capacity of 10 kilowatts. SMH’s Ben Cubby reports that of 262 New South Wales solar schools, 165 are not eligible for the scheme, mainly due to having solar power systems over this size.
According to Jeremy Rich, CEO of national solar power solutions provider Energy Matters, "This is a particularly bitter pill to swallow for New South Wales schools that have raised funds in addition any grants or rebates in order to maximise the amount of solar power they can generate. One of our other concerns is that on hearing this news, schools may misunderstand what it means and fewer will apply for the next round of $50,000 solar power grants – it’s a real disincentive."
Mr. Rich says the upcoming $50,000 National Solar Schools Program (NSSP) grants are enough to purchase a solar power system with capacity to send schools over the 10kW limit. While the systems will be free, the additional lure of feed in tariffs can be a substantial motivating factor in a school going to the effort of installing a system.
"While I understand the Government needs to set caps in order to keep these incentives schemes feasible, I think special exceptions should be made for schools given their funding challenges and the crucial role they play in educating the next generation about renewable energy."
"The solar power installers and researchers of tomorrow will be coming from our schools and these students need as much exposure to renewable energy technology as possible to inspire them to follow related career paths. School solar power systems play an important role in not only reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions now, but ensuring Australia has the skilled green collar workforce it will require to help most pressing environmental challenges of our time – climate change." says Mr. Rich.
"Additionally, the presence of a solar power system installed on a school motivates the wider school community to help the environment by installing solar power systems on their own homes and businesses. Our schools are one of the best ambassadors Australia has for solar power, so the Government needs to be doing everything they can to support the important work they do in furthering renewable energy uptake."
