Canberra City News
22/11/2007 Page: 6
SOLAR technology is clean. It creates no pollution, produces no greenhouse gases, and uses no finite fossil fuels resources. But a solar power system can cost anywhere between $15,060 and upwards of $22,000. Australian States' willingness to consider a feed-in tariff is good news for Australians, the changing climate, and the renewable technology industry. A feed-in tariff is a premium, paid to you. With a grid-connected system, it means that you get paid for the electricity generated by the solar panels on your house. The electricity is fed in to the power grid and used by the community.
SA was the first State to introduce a feed-in tariff. Victoria and Queensland have also made a commitment to the idea, and the ACT is the newest State to begin the development of such a scheme. Although the idea was first introduced in the US in 1978, it was only in the 1990s that the idea caught on. Europe embraced the philosophy with Denmark, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Greece all introducing policies, while the US phased its out.
India, China, and Brazil have more recently jumped on board so that feed-in tariffs now exist in more than 40 countries, states or provinces around the world. Though regulations the premium paid vary, all involve the payment of a premium for this renewable energy. Member for Brindabella Mick Gentleman this month presented his Private Member's Bill "The Solar Premium" as an exposure draft to the Legislative Assembly. Criticism of the feed-in proposal is that electricity consumers not the Government will incur the costs.
ACTCOSS has been consulted on the drafting of the Bill, and costs will be based on individual consumer use, rather than a flat rate. This will have the added advantage of promoting and rewarding low electricity use. One area where most agree is the tariff paid for your electricity. A rate of four times the market rate is recommended the Alternative Technology Association and Moreland Energy Foundation, to enable the premium, so long as it is paid for long enough, to recoup the cost of installing a system.
Mr Gentleman said: "I want the community to know that a great deal of thought has gone into this to ensure it achieves the greatest benefit to the environment and the community without putting unnecessary financial pressure on those that can least afford it." Mr Gentleman's office is receiving calls from business becoming aware that they can be involved in the scheme.
Local installation companies are currently heavily backlogged, so supply will outstrip demand for some time. With this is mind, current planning foresees 1MW of solar power being installed in ACT each year for the first few years.
0 comments:
Post a Comment