Climate Commission report "blind to reality"
28th Sep 2012
A Climate Commission report regarding the solar opportunities in Queensland has been criticised by experts in the industry.
Within days of publication, the document - which described the state as being a potential world leader in solar - was slammed for being misleading and biased.
Chris McGrath, senior lecturer in environmental regulation at the University of Queensland, called it "wilfully blind to reality".
Speaking to The Conversation, an academic and research-based news site, he said: "They're talking about Queensland as a leader for solar, but Queensland's going backwards in terms of participating in any funding for addressing climate change and [is] unwinding programs."
And he didn't stop there. According to Chris, the state is clearly still favouring coal-fired power stations, with investors in solar infrastructure finding it hard to compete.
But he wasn't the only environmental specialist to have concerns.
Mark Diesendorf of the Institute of Environmental Studies at University of New South Wales also threw in his two cents, saying Victoria's government needs to put in place positive deployment policies for solar if renewable technology is to continue succeeding.
Their comments followed recent criticism from solar industry insiders over the state's reduction of its feed-in tariff rebate scheme from 44 cents per kilowatt hour to eight cents.
Posted by Mike Peacock
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Solar Power