Antinuclear

Australian government not supporting solar energy future

Tax breaks needed to keep us in the solar race, say experts Science Alert  22 October 2009 Towards a Sustainable Future By Mary-Lou Considine When Australia’s largest solar power project was put in the hands of an administrator in September – weeks after the Australian Government’s new 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme was approved by parliament – it reinvigorated widespread public debate about the nation’s renewable energy future……….

In 2006, when it was first announced, the Mildura solar power project was described as the world’s largest, with the capacity to power 45 000 homes, reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by around 400 000 tonnes per year, and create hundreds of jobs in and around Mildura……………….

Renewable energy expert Dr Mark Diesendorf from the University of NSW believes the Solar Systems venture failed because ‘there are currently no policy mechanisms for funding large-scale renewable energy in this country before 2012’, adding that the new RET scheme favours solar hot water and small-scale PV, leaving little incentive for development of large-scale and emerging renewable technologies…………
…….. Clean Energy Council Chief Executive, Matthew Warren, told the Australian newspaper that the failure of Solar Systems highlighted the need for venture capital tax concessions and other incentives to attract private investors, on top of large government subsidies.

Tax breaks needed to keep us in the solar race, say experts (Science Alert)

October 21, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Australia, climate change, energy, renewable, reneweable energy