Don't short change solar - Industry

Clean Energy Council
22 Jun 2011

The SA Government should be congratulated on today's news that it has reached its 20% Renewable Energy Target, but has been warned not to short change the solar industry in Parliament tomorrow.

The Clean Energy Council, the peak body of more than 500 renewable energy companies, urged the Rann Government to consider South Australian consumers and the local solar industry when it debates the final detail of changes to the feed in tariff in SA Parliament tomorrow.

The solar industry this afternoon urgently called on the SA Government to avoid an unnecessarily severe transition package as part of the scaling down of the feed in tariff. The Clean Energy Council's Policy Manager Tim Sonnreich feared the Government had its priorities wrong, by giving more on households which already have solar, at the expense of those who would benefit from installing it in the future.

"The industry has identified potential savings of well over $100 million and is asking for just a fraction of this to be added to the transition package. This would minimise potential job losses and protect consumers. "There is a better way to resolve this, which costs households less but helps them more to access the benefits of solar PV. Mr Sonnreich said.

"We're very close to getting a package that the industry can support which will ease the pressure on South Australian taxpayers. But we're not there yet. "We concede the Government is making progress in its bid to support the industry, but time is almost up to get this right". The Clean Energy Council is working with the Government to ensure the industry can continue to operate in a way that is efficient and safe for consumers.