Canberra Times
Thursday 18/12/2008 Page: 1
All households will be eligible for up to $7500 in subsidies to install solar panels when the Federal Government scraps its controversial means tests on the solar rebate. The policy shift means the Government will not have to fund the rebate, with the cost shifted to electricity companies. Small businesses and community groups will qualify for "solar credits" under the plan announced yesterday by Environment Minister Peter Garrett.
"This won't be means tested and I think the critical issue in relation to the solar credit is that it is available to everybody," he said. "It's available to households. It's available to community groups. It's available to businesses. "It allows for around a $7500 solar credit for anybody that wants to install new, small-scale renewable technologies in their homes, their businesses or their communities groups."
Electricity companies will fund the rebate in return for higher credits from the Government under its Renewable Energy Target scheme. The scheme will help Australia achieve its target of drawing 20 per cent of the nation's electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020. In return for passing the rebate burden on to power companies, the Government has promised them five tines as many credits, compared with other renewable power sources, under the scheme.
The Government carne under fire for its budget decision to impose a means test on the rebate, which meant Australians were ineligible for the payment if their household income exceeded $100,000. Mr Garrett said yesterday this was the "absolutely right decision". "At the time of the former Howard government's last budget, applications for solar panel rebates were running at about 30 a week," he said.
"We are now running at about 1000 a week. In other words, the provision of the solar panel rebate means tested is providing the opportunity for Australians who can least afford it to get those solar panels on their roof." This rebate and means test would be phased out after July 1.
Under the new scheme, all households, small business and community groups could apply for the new Solar credit of up to $7500. "[It] will not be means tested," Mr Garrett said. "It applies up to a level of 1.5 kW hours, as distinct from the existing solar panel rebate." Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said it was a "humiliating capitulation" by Mr Garrett, who had launched a farther attack on the affordability of solar panels for ... Australian families who want to do the right thing by the environment".
"If you previously received a rebate, you would have got a total of about $9500," Mr Hunt said. "Now if you're in Melbourne, you'll get $5000 less. So it's another blow to the solar industry. "We've seen a wind-back of the rebate earlier on in the year, BP Solar close up and now we've seen a solar short-change." Mr Garrett said this was "definitely not the case".
Yesterday's draft legislation to meet the Government's election commitment to 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020 comes after this week's announcement that Australia would cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent by 2020 to tackle climate change or up to 15 per cent if other countries were on board. Treasurer Wayne Swan said the draft legislation would "turbo-charge renewable energy usage in this country, particularly solar energy".
"It will build upon the incentives in the carbon pollution reduction scheme to build a low-pollution economy with green jobs for the future whilst protecting jobs in our economy," Mr Swan said. But Greens deputy leader Christine Milne said the Government had unveiled a "deeply flawed" proposal.
"After giving big polluters everything they asked for in Monday's white paper, today the Rudd Government is kicking the renewable energy sector while it's down," Senator Milne said. "The renewable energy sector is united behind the need for a price guarantee scheme - known as a feed-in tariff - which has delivered tremendous growth in jobs and investment everywhere it has been introduced around the world."
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