Industry body: 'Now is a great time to buy solar power'

11th Oct 2011

The Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA) has declared that drops in the price of solar power systems have led to an ideal situation for consumers.

SEA made the comments in a statement released on October 7: "While recent changes to the market are causing pain for some solar business, from a customer perspective this is a great time to buy because all solar retailers will be even more competitive in their pricing to move inventory."

They also cite government incentives as putting consumers in an advantageous position, saying: "And with the price of electricity for both domestic and business customers increasing, solar panels remain a good idea as they deliver electricity that, combined with existing federal government rebates, can potentially pay the investment in panels back within six to seven years, with electricity sourced from those panels after that point in effect free."

In highlighting the benefits of investing in solar panels to prepare for future electricity price increases, SEA has shown how panel systems can provided both an immediate and long-term benefit to households.

In additional to a host of financial benefits, there are also the ever-present environmental advantages.

Solar power systems are devoid of the emissions generated by coal-fired power plants.

Fossil fuel-based forms of generating energy are key contributors or pollutants.

As supplies of coal and oil decline in future decades, increased pressure of demand will see prices increase.

As for solar power, the sun will continue to offer a viable alternative.

The technology inside solar panels is able to harness the sun's energy, converting it into clean electricity.

Solar power is one of the leading renewable energy alternatives and is seeing widespread growth in popularity across Australia and the world.

Households that install rooftop solar panels will find that they become more independent of electricity suppliers, whose rates are influenced by distribution and upgrade expenses.

SEA has also noted the hard times felt by solar suppliers in recent times, due to an interim period of government policies that they feel have left businesses without support.

Professor Ray Wills, SEA chief executive says: "As renewable energy technology falls in price with the global ramping of production, we should expect to see government support scaled back as a measured response to maintaining the growth of the renewable energy market."

Posted by Bob Dawson – News Editor

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