Be cool, hot water industry urges

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Friday 30/10/2009 Page: 14

The solar hot water industry has said that demand for solar hot water units has slowed in recent months, with concerns that a collapse in the price of renewable energy certificates could delay investment in large-scale climate change projects like wind farms for two to three years. Climate Change Minister Penny Wong this week said the Council of Australian Governments review on the issue should be finished by December. The government cut the rebate on standard heat pumps from $1600 to $1000 last month and Rheem corporate affairs manager Gareth Jennings said the volume of RECs entering the market from hot water units was definitely slowing. AGL Energy chief executive Michael Fraser said the low carbon price meant his company would have to delay investment if it did not already hold long-term contracts to supply renewable power to desalination projects in Victoria and South Australia.