Solar Power Policy in Australia  

The SMH has an article on solar power policy in Australia and the need for a national feed-in tariff to be agreed - Solar power stops prices going through the roof.

AS THE world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter per capita, you would think sun-kissed Australia would be getting stuck into solar energy like a seagull into a bag of hot chips. So why don't we all have solar panels on our roofs?

Critics who say it takes more energy to make a panel than the amount of energy the panel saves are wrong: energy payback takes one to four years, says a US Energy Department report. But are panels good for the hip pocket?

A family home would need a two-kilowatt system to produce all its electricity, says Brad Shone, energy policy manager of the not-for-profit Alternative Technology Association. "It would produce an average of six to seven kilowatt hours per day," he says. That would be enough if the home were energy efficient. Such a system would cost $22,000 to $24,000 before rebates.

An $8000 Federal Government rebate is available for families earning less than $100,000. The system would also attract non-means-tested renewable energy certificates worth about $1600, potentially reducing the cost to about $12,400.

One-kilowatt systems can cost just $3000 after rebates. If you can get 30 households in your neighbourhood to sign up, they can cost as little as $990.

However, a smaller system means you are still a net consumer and vulnerable to rising energy prices. If you want the two-kilowatt system, and you do not qualify for the $8000 rebate, you face an outlay that in NSW would take 40 years to pay for itself, Shone says.

The problem is that NSW does not have a feed-in tariff that pays the photovoltaic owner a premium price for the electricity they produce. More than 40 countries have adopted such tariffs. So have Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and the ACT. Western Australia is about to follow suit.

NSW says it is waiting for the Federal Government to adopt a national tariff. It was a Labor election promise, after all, and it is due to be discussed at the premiers' conference next month.

If we do get a national feed-in tariff, the sustainable energy industry hopes it will not be a net tariff, like those in South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, but a gross tariff, as in the rest of the world. Under a gross tariff, solar panel owners are paid for all the electricity they produce, not just the excess they do not use.

A good tariff could reduce payback on that two-kilowatt system from 40 years to 10 years, Shone says. Feed-in tariffs tend to be paid retrospectively, so the best policy might be to buy now and get the rebates while they are still available, then benefit from the feed-in tariff, too.

Another issue is solar shading. Australia has no legislation preventing someone adding a storey to their home and shading a neighbour's panels. Hopefully that will change as government and council greenhouse gas performances come under more scrutiny.

The magazine Choice recently concluded that an easier and cheaper option than panels would be to sign up for Greenpower. (See greenelectricitywatch.org.au to compare suppliers.)

The director of the Total Environment Centre, Jeff Angel, has both, with panels providing electricity when the sun is shining and Greenpower when it is not.

As well as self-reliance for the owner, panels benefit the community, he says. "The more people make electricity at home, the less electricity distributors will have to spend on infrastructure and the less upward pressure there is on prices."