{"id":18008,"date":"2018-01-01T06:00:23","date_gmt":"2017-12-31T19:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=18008"},"modified":"2018-01-01T06:19:57","modified_gmt":"2017-12-31T19:49:57","slug":"electricity-solar-australia-mb0392","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/","title":{"rendered":"2018 Kicks Off With Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_18011\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18011\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18011\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/electricity-solar-australia.jpg\" alt=\"Solar energy and electricity n Australia - 2018\" width=\"700\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/electricity-solar-australia.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/electricity-solar-australia-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-18011\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Powerline image : <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/electricity-power-industry-sky-3038497\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">paulbr75<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>New solar subsidies and energy efficiency rebates for some, power price hikes for others. Here&#8217;s what early 2018 has in store for electricity prices and home solar power in Australia.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Australian Solar Subsidy Changes<\/h2>\n<p>From today, what&#8217;s known as the &#8220;deeming period&#8221;<sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#en-18008-1' id='enref-18008-1' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(18008)'>1<\/a><\/sup> for solar power systems decreases by another year, to 13 years. What this means is the amount of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/rebate\/\">solar subsidy<\/a> available will be reduced.<\/p>\n<p>While every dollar counts, it&#8217;s not a huge amount of difference,\u00a0 working out to less than ~$270 on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/systems\/5kW\/\">5kW solar system<\/a> for most Australians based on recent Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) value <sup class='endnote'><a href='https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#en-18008-2' id='enref-18008-2' onclick='return hhEndnotes_show(18008)'>2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>This still leaves a subsidy of around $3,400 available for a 5kW system in Zone 3 (which includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/brisbane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brisbane<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/sydney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sydney<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/canberra\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Canberra<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/adelaide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Adelaide<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/installers\/perth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Perth<\/a>) &#8211; so it&#8217;s still very generous.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/panels\/cost\/\">cost of solar<\/a> has continued to drop and the value of STCs has made a good recovery since experiencing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/stc-prices-solar-subsidy-mb0133\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">quite a dip<\/a> in mid-2017 that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/reduced-stc-price-mean-solar\/\">caught many off-guard<\/a>. The Clean Energy Regulator expects <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/stc-demand-solar-mb0380\/\">strong demand for STCs<\/a> in 2018 and that could continue to support high values. It should be kept in mind this is not guaranteed and it could be wise to install solar while the sun shines, so to speak.<\/p>\n<p>For those who have received <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/quote\/\">solar quotes<\/a> recently and are yet to have systems installed, the January subsidy reduction should have already been factored in.<\/p>\n<h2>Electricity Price Rise In Victoria<\/h2>\n<p>Electricity costs have increased in Victoria, starting today. While those on standing offers or expired market offers are shielded and will actually receive a rebate, the vast majority of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-prices-victoria-mb0327\/\">Victorians face electricity price hikes<\/a> of up 14.9%.<\/p>\n<p>For solar owners, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/systems\/feed-in-tariffs\/vic\/\">Victoria&#8217;s feed-in tariff<\/a> remains unchanged at 11.3c until July when new rates are expected to kick in. Victoria\u2019s Essential Services Commission published its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-solar-tariff-mb0378\/\">draft decision<\/a> on new feed-in tariff rates and structure in December.<\/p>\n<h2>NT Energy Efficiency\/Solar Subsidy<\/h2>\n<p>NT households can take advantage of co-contribution <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-grants-nt-mb0360\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">grants of up to $1,000<\/a> for energy efficiency upgrades, including the installation of solar panels and battery systems.While households have been able to start gathering quotes since last month for the scheme, from tomorrow applications can be lodged online for the Smart Energy Grant.<\/p>\n<p>The subsidy scheme is well timed &#8211; there are rumblings an electricity price rise may be on the cards for the Northern Territory during this year. According to a recent <a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom.nt.gov.au\/mediaRelease\/24097\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ABC report<\/a>, Territory Generation:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;..is broke and will push for an increase in power prices once a freeze expires in six months&#8221;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>However, the\u00a0 board of Territory Generation was recently replaced by an interim board. Treasurer Nicole Manison <a href=\"http:\/\/newsroom.nt.gov.au\/mediaRelease\/24097\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;..it is vital Territory Generation are able to respond effectively to the challenges of a dynamic energy landscape as the Territory moves towards the election commitment of 50 per cent renewables by 2030.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>NT\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/nt-renewables-roadmap-mb0329\/\">Roadmap To Renewables report<\/a> recommended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/solar101.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar power<\/a> be the technology of choice for achieving the goal.<\/p>\n<h2>Queensland Appliance Rebate<\/h2>\n<p>As we reported last week, Queenslanders (including solar owners) may be eligible for an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/appliance-rebate-queensland-mb0390\/\">appliance rebate<\/a> of up to $300 on new energy-efficient appliances purchased from today. Also not far off is an initiative offering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queensland-solar-initiatives-mb0264\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no interest loans and rebates<\/a> for the purchase of rooftop solar panels and energy storage systems.<\/p>\n<h2>Electricity Prices &#8211; Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n<p>As for the outlook for power costs across Australia during the second half of 2018, the Australian Energy Market Commission\u2019s recently published <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australia-electricity-price-trends-mb0370\/\">outlook\u00a0 for residential electricity prices<\/a> says they will\u00a0 begin to fall in all states from the middle of this year, except for the ACT, WA and NT. However, six months is a long time when it comes to the Australian electricity sector &#8211; so its best to expect the unexpected. Pick up some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/energy-efficiency\/\">energy efficiency tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New solar subsidies and energy efficiency rebates for some, power price hikes for others. Here&#8217;s what early 2018 has in store for electricity prices and home solar power in Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":18011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-battery-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2018 Kicks Off With Energy - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"New solar subsidies and energy efficiency rebates for some, power price hikes for others. 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What early 2018 has in store for electricity prices and home solar power in Australia.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-31T19:30:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-31T19:49:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/electricity-solar-australia.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bloch\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bloch\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/66afd571aa00c2e442f0192ebac2f6f1\"},\"headline\":\"2018 Kicks Off With Energy\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-31T19:30:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-31T19:49:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/\"},\"wordCount\":654,\"commentCount\":7,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/electricity-solar-australia.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Solar &amp; Storage News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/\",\"name\":\"2018 Kicks Off With Energy - SolarQuotes Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/electricity-solar-australia-mb0392\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/electricity-solar-australia.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-31T19:30:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-31T19:49:57+00:00\",\"description\":\"New solar subsidies and energy efficiency rebates for some, power price hikes for others. 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While there were some dodgy advertisers alluding to the subsidy ending on December 31 last year, this isn't the case. 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