Solar Panel Rebate To Be Phased Out From 1st of January 2017

May 11, 2016 2017-10-19T10:01:44 by 16 Comments
solar rebate ending

The projected solar rebate for a 5kW system in Zone 3 with a $37 STC price.

The solar rebate which currently reduces the cost of rooftop solar in Australia will be phased out with the first reduction starting in less than 8 months on the 1st of January 2017. The rebate will reduce by one fifteenth of its current amount on the first day of each new year until 2030 and will end on the 31st of December that year. At the start of 2017, the rebate of $3,990 that most Australians would receive at the moment for a 5 kilowatt rooftop solar system will fall by around $266 down to $3,724. The phase out encourages Australians to install rooftop solar sooner rather than later. [Read more…]

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5 Reasons Why Supply Charges On Electricity Bills Must Go!

May 9, 2016 2016-07-09T16:34:31 by 72 Comments
pylons

Supply charges have no place in a 21st Century electricity network.

Do you know what I hate? What I truly despise? What causes black bile to bubble up from the deepest, darkest depths of my soul? Supply charges on electricity bills. [Read more…]

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Clean Energy Council report throws down the gauntlet to lawmakers

May 8, 2016 2017-10-25T08:25:52 by Leave a Comment
power shift CEC report

The Clean Energy Council have released a good report outlining the policy steps needed to transition to clean energy. But will anybody read it?

A Clean Energy Council report released last week makes for intriguing reading folks.

Building on the recent Paris agreements, where countries agreed to limit carbon emissions to limit global warming to 2 degrees or below, the study challenges our leaders to think seriously about how to carry out such a plan. [Read more…]

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Think tank predicts end of fossil fuel in a decade

April 26, 2016 2017-10-25T08:26:24 by 9 Comments
renewables-in-10

No fossil fuels from 2026?

Most supporters of the clean energy revolution have never wavered in their belief that renewables will be the dominant energy source of the future. The only question is how long before we wean ourselves off fossil fuels.

Now a think tank based in the United Kingdom has had a stab at answering this $64 question by predicting that fossil fuels could be phased out almost completely over the next decade.

The Sussex Energy Group, based at the University of Sussex, has said that a co-ordinated effort could see the switch to clean energy brought in much earlier than previously thought. [Read more…]

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What’s Turnbull and Hunt up to on renewable energy financing?

March 29, 2016 2017-10-25T09:24:48 by 2 Comments
hunt and turnbull

Malcom & Greg rip millions from renewables research whilst claiming the opposite. Sigh.

The government’s re-shaping of renewable energy financing during the week has drawn quite a few responses in the media. Some applaud the allocation of $1 billion for renewables, however most of them have accused the PM and the Minister of the Environment Greg Hunt of duplicity and blatant vote-buying in an election year. [Read more…]

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Hunt’s gong, renewable targets and Redflow: a mixed bag

February 15, 2016 2017-10-25T09:26:57 by 7 Comments

It’s been a big week for renewables. A faux minister gets the nod for a fake gong, news that we’ll fail to meet our renewable targets and another Australian battery storage provider pulls on a boot.

News that Australia’s very own alleged Minister for the Environment Greg Hunt was named World’s Best Minister in a glittering ceremony in oil-drenched Dubai was cause for mirth. A real thigh slapper as Greg swanned about, really seeming to believe that despite his steadily dismantling of renewables and apparent efforts to endanger the Australian environment deserved a reward.

However the smiles were soon wiped away by the news that our renewable energy targets won’t be met. According to analysis by Green Energy Markets, the supply of renewable energy will fall short of the requirement for 2018 unless there’s a remarkable turnaround. At least 4,400MW of new renewable energy capacity needs to be committed this year in large-scale projects for the renewable energy target to make its goal of 33,000GWh by 2020, according to the environmental market research company. [Read more…]

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Have we turned the corner on clean energy policy?

October 9, 2015 2017-10-25T09:31:23 by 2 Comments

windmill on a cornerTrying to determine the present government’s stance on renewables is confusing to say the least. Has the Turnbull/Bishop palace coup brought on a complete rethink of clean energy policy? Have we seen the end of the relentless “war on renewables” of the Abbott era? Or is it more of the same?

It’s too early to say for sure of course but there are definite signs that a gradual evolution (rather than revolution) of government clean energy policy is underway. If so, this can only be a good thing for confidence in the renewables sector and Australia in general. [Read more…]

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Australia watches Turnbull Experiment 2.0 on clean energy

September 21, 2015 2017-10-25T09:31:48 by 3 Comments
Will Turnbull 2.0 support clean energy? Photo: flickr.com/photos/veni/

Will Turnbull 2.0 support clean energy? Photo: flickr.com/photos/veni/

So what did you think of the dawn of the Turnbull Experiment 2.0? Is this going to be a new way forward for renewable energy in this country? A move away from the scorched earth policy of the Abbott administration? Or will it be a better-dressed, better-spoken continuation of the Abbott government’s war on renewables? [Read more…]

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Will Turnbull Practice What He Has Preached about Solar?

September 15, 2015 2017-04-19T14:20:51 by 6 Comments
malcolm turnbull and solar panels

Malcolm Turnbull talks the talk but has consistently voted strongly against increasing investment in renewable energy.

The quote above comes from a video of Malcolm Turnbull giving a speech to launch the Beyond Zero Emissions Stationary Energy Plan in Sydney in 2010. The plan was (and still is) a blueprint to affordably go to  100% renewables in Australia within 10 years. [Read more…]

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Will the Solar Council’s campaign in Canning help bring down a prime minister?

September 1, 2015 2017-10-25T09:32:53 by 5 Comments
abbott and solar panels

Will Abbott’s war on solar hurt his party’s prospects in Canning?

The heat is really on in Western Australia with the entry of solar energy in the Canning by election campaign. The seat which was recently vacated following the untimely death of then sitting member Don Randall, has become a focus for those looking for an indication of the electorate’s opinion on the government’s performance.

The previous incumbent was a popular representative and enjoyed a healthy margin in the opinion polls. However this has been whittled away in recent times due to the federal government’s incompetence, intransigence or bad luck, depending on your political point of view. [Read more…]

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