Antinuclear

Australia’s solar rooftop industry looked successful, so government caved in to fossil fuel lobby to stop it

Greens leader, Senator Christine Milne, said the government’s move, combined with a decision to delay taxing methane gas emissions from mines and landfills, “gives the fossil fuel industry a reprieve.”
“It seems incredible that the government wants to bring forward harm to renewable energy industries but delay cost impacts to fossil fuel polluters,” she said.

Solar scheme shift stuns industry, SMH, November 16, 2012 –   Peter Hannam Carbon economy editor A rebate for rooftop solar panels will be halved six months earlier than planned in a move blasted by an industry group
as “diabolical”. Climate Change Minister Greg Combet announced the solar credits scheme would end in January next year “due to continued strong demand for  household solar”…..

According to the government’s figures, the level of support for a 3-kilowatt solar panel system will fall about $800-$1,000 across most state capitals. The current assistance for such a unit drops from $2,976 in Sydney to $1,984 from January 1, while the fall in Melbourne is from $2,528 to $1,696.
John Grimes, chief executive of the Australian Solar Council, said the
surprise move would hit jobs and put solar PV out of reach for many
middle-class households seeking relief from soaring power bills.
“People refer to this as the solar-coaster ride,” Mr Grimes said. “Our
standing joke is that a day is a long time in solar policy.”
The acceleration of the rebate reduction comes as the government is
under increasing pressure from the power industry to modify its 20 per
cent renewable energy target (RET).
Current projections suggest renewable energy supplies will exceed the
goal of a 20 per cent share of total supply by 2020.
Renewable energy advocates warn that tinkering with the target would
place at risk as much as $18 billion in additional investment in
solar, wind and other non-fossil-fuel energy sources by the end of the
decade.
‘Desperate’
Ric Brazzale, president of the REC Agents Association, said solar PV
installations were on course to drop from 350,000 in both 2011 and
2012, to 230,000 in 2013 as state feed-in tariffs were wound back.
That fall is now likely to accelerate, he said.

‘‘The industry is desperate for some policy stability,’’ Mr Brazzale said. The renewable energy industry has been building a critical mass in terms of scale and innovation capacity that is now at risk: ‘‘It’s just so wasteful to risk throwing it away.’’…..

Greens leader, Senator Christine Milne, said the government’s move, combined with a decision to delay taxing methane gas emissions from mines and landfills, “gives the fossil fuel industry a reprieve.”
“It seems incredible that the government wants to bring forward harm to renewable energy industries but delay cost impacts to fossil fuel polluters,” she said.
“It is gold-plating of energy networks that is driving up power bills – not green schemes – and the government has caved into lobbying by the electricity retailers and fossil fuel generators to do something
which will have almost no impact on electricity bills.”
“This move might at the outset cut bills by $11 a year, but it will
actually slow down the long-term process of cutting bills that is
being driven by the uptake of clean, fuel-free renewable energy. It
just doesn’t make sense,” Senator Milne said.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/solar-scheme-shift-stuns-industry-20121117-29iex.html#ixzz2CVzxCayA

November 17, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy