Solar industry welcomes Government recommendation to unify feed-in tariffs

The solar industry has welcomed a new Government report that recommends a unified feed-in tariff model that would curb the current state-based approach it argues places an “unjustifiable burden” on consumers.

The recommendation comes after a tumultuous year for the industry, in which feed-in tariffs have fluctuated and the industry has suffered a number of collapses as vendors struggle to survive without any Government assistance.

The white paper released this morning by resources minister Martin Ferguson also says other green schemes should be reviewed in order to determine if they are making the market less efficient.

“We’ve been pushing for a unified feed-in tariff model for a long time,” solar industry veteran and current Solarjex interim chief executive Tony Thornton told SmartCompany this morning.

The draft report notes that some feed-in tariffs are subsidised through higher energy costs for individuals who can’t purchase PV panels, and that this is putting pressure on small scale renewable energy schemes.

The paper suggests that the Government work with states in order to “identify opportunities to harmonise micro-generation feed-in tariffs, so that they do not impose an unjustifiable burden on electricity consumers”.

The draft also comes after research released last week by the Australian Energy Market Commission warned some consumers are facing a legacy cost from feed-in tariffs because they are paying a premium rate for households to supply electricity grids.

A larger problem is that businesses are failing due to market uncertainty. With feed-in tariffs changing in states such as Victoria, and with others having no support all, such as New South Wales, businesses are struggling to survive.

Muriel Watt, chair of the Australian Photovoltaic Association, says the industry has been calling for a unified tariff for some time and that certainty will help providers.

“We’ve been telling all Governments that a standardisation of policy settings and regulations will really help the industry.”

Watt says the industry has also been calling for net metering, where users both receive and pay the same amount for electricity generated and used from the grid.

“We’ve also called for net metering as the default across Australia, and in my view that’s still the easiest transaction method.”

“We’re not asking for subsidies. We’re just asking for a market value that gives us a clear long-term signal about what the electricity we generate is worth.”

“I think the feed-in tariff is last year’s debate. We need to be talking about other things now, and have a consistent statement about what the rules of that feed-in tariff are going to be.”