Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, will today table a petition from over 17,000 Australians calling on the Parliament to implement a gross national feed-in tariff to give renewable energy technologies the support they deserve.

The end of the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP) for rural Australians caused havoc earlier this week, but it’s been announced that off grid solar power systems will be covered under the new Solar Credits scheme.

Camping has definitely evolved over the years and roughing it is certainly not as rough as it used to be. Another camping challenge that may be overcome soon is the one related to power, courtesy of solar energy.

Hard on the heels of the 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.

The New South Wales Opposition has reiterated their commitment to a gross feed-in tariff scheme for the state to provide payments for all electricity generated by families and businesses who install their own solar or other renewable energy systems.

A new solar/LED street lighting application operate up to 85% more efficiently than HID counterparts and offers a return on investment of between 2 – 5 years.

The Australian Government has announced the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP) that provided substantial subsidies for off grid wind and solar power is closed to new applications except in Western Australia.

A new study has found the cost of electricity generated by new nuclear reactors could be triple the cost increased energy efficiency and renewable energy sourced power.

The renewable energy boom and associated incentives are seeing intense lobbying to have other technologies viewed as renewable, such as nuclear power plants and the burning of garbage and waste from coal mines.

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target bill, which included the new solar credits scheme, has been deferred until at least August 2009. This will have immediate negative impact on the Australian solar industry with layoffs imminent according to the CEC. However, national solar power company Energy Matters have said at this point they will continue to offer solar credits inclusive prices on systems under the assumption the legislation will pass after further debate.