Solar homes are a political force, so Abbott SLOWLY choking renewables

Killing renewables softly with endless reviews , The Conversation Clive Hamilton, 19 Feb 14 “…………Solar photovoltaic panel uptake across Australia. ACIL Allen Consulting for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency

While most Australians took a set against the carbon price, the Renewable Energy Target has always enjoyed strong public support, even if it does increase average household electricity bills by $1.30 a week, or $68 a year, as the Authority’s report found.

Australians particularly like the element of the scheme that encourages the installation of rooftop solar energy. The surge in demand caught everyone by surprise, and now 1.4 million homesacross the nation generate their own electricity from the sun.

And contrary to popular myth, that’s not just happening in wealthy homes. Research for the federal government late last year found that outer suburbs and regional areas have led the way in going solar, as these maps of Australia and Brisbane show. (You can see detailed city and state maps at the end ofthis report.)

For this reason, the government knows it cannot simply kill off the scheme as the mining lobby, some power companies andmany Coalition MPs and senators would like.

Instead, it is easier to choke renewables slowly – and the Warburton review is the government’s way of slipping the rope around the industry’s neck.http://theconversation.com/killing-renewables-softly-with-endless-reviews-23409