Solar rethink

www.climatespectator.com.au
Thu, 23 Jun 2011

The Australian Greens and key independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor have supported a push to have a national approach for the solar industry, rather than piecemeal policies from the states. The Greens and the solar industry have been pushing for a 1:1 net tariff for rooftop solar, and also measures that will encourage development of commercial and large scale installations. They'd probably like to use the policies of the ACT as a template. "What we now need is,.. a one for one, so for every kW that you generate from your renewables you should get the same price as you pay for a kW you take from the system", Senator Christine Milne said. "That way we would get the industry on a long term sustainable basis".

The politicians have also questioned the Productivity Commission assessment of solar tariffs, suggesting that like the NSW government assessment of the costs of the solar bonus scheme they have have got their figures wrong by underestimating the size of the average solar system, and over estimating the ratio of power going back into the grid. Meanwhile, the two major solar peak bodies, the Australian Solar Energy Society and the Solar Energy Industries Association, are holding a "national solar summit" at NSW Parliament House on Thursday to devise a national strategy for solar policy and push their case for a 1:1 net tariff.