Families won’t see benefits under Victoria’s planned solar power payment
01 September 2008
The Victorian State Government’s solar feed-in tariff legislation, released today, could disadvantage families and the elderly, says Australia’s leading sustainable living organisation, the Alternative Technology Association.
Stay at home parents and retirees, who use power during the day and won’t produce excess energy, are unlikely to see the benefits of the net-metered solar power payment, says Brad Shone, the ATA’s Energy Policy Manager.
Under the Victorian legislation, the 60 cents per kilowatt tariff will only be paid on the energy exported back to the power grid, over and above energy consumed in the home, (called net-metering).
“The Victorian legislation is the least effective in Australia and a shadow of the ACT’s model, where owners are paid for all the solar power they generate (called gross-metering), regardless of the size of the system,” says Mr Shone.
Mr Shone says the Victorian Government’s decision to also limit the payment to solar systems of 2kW in size or less could see households having to downsize their systems to take part in the scheme.
“People with 2.1kW systems would have to remove an entire bank of panels, worth several thousand dollars, to be eligible for the payment.”
“Families with kids use more power and need bigger solar systems. The government should be helping these households plug into climate-friendly power sources,” says Mr Shone.
Up to a quarter of all grid-connected systems in Victoria are larger than 2kW, and 2.1kW and 2.4kW are common solar system sizes.
Mr Shone says in its current form, the Victorian feed-in tariff legislation is inadequate.
“The government should be encouraging investment in solar systems of up to 10kW, which would enable families to be powered entirely by the sun.”
“Unfortunately, this proposed legislation will actually leave Victoria’s solar homes in the dark,” Mr Shone says.
The newly-elected, Western Australian Government has committed to bringing in a world class, gross-metered feed-in tariff, similar to the ACT scheme.
Media enquiries: Bojun Chiswell – ATA Media Manager: (03) 9631 5409 or bojun@ata.org.au
