Thursday 3/9/2009 Page: 53
Adelaide-based Solar Shop Australia has celebrated its 10th anniversary - with extra cause to celebrate as the Federal Government resumed incentives for solar panels in the Renewable Energy Target. The company celebrated the milestone by opening its new $50,000 showroom redevelopment, which includes a 16sq in to-scale 1 kW solar system on an A-frame roof.Solar Shop managing director Adrian Ferraretto said the government's solar credits under the RET scheme were a 'godsend' and would ensure the company continued its exponential growth. "We have always had rebates come and go over the past 10 years but, deep down, we know that solar panels will be on every Australian roof in the next 10 to 20 years," he said.
"It (the RET) gives us 21 years of solar rebate going forward, which is pretty exciting. It is also being ratcheted up over the next five years, which will fall in line with the panel price reduction we are expecting in the next few years."
Mr Ferraretto said the company's anniversary marked 10 years of domestic solar panel use, which was a milestone for the broader industry. "We have come a long way when you consider that in the 1960s it cost $2.5 million to install a 1 kW system and in 2009 dollars its costs about $4000 to $5000," he said.
"The first grid-connected system was installed only 10 years ago. It really only became domesticated in 1999 when our business started up, so it is not only a significant milestone for us but for the industry as a whole." In the past 10 years, Solar Shop has installed more than 10,000 solar systems on Australian homes, saving around 16,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and 2240 megalitres of water.
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