Australia to stop solar subsidies

Greg Combet, has reduced the Solar Credits support multiplier from 1 July 2011 to three, and to two on 1 July 2012.

The Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency  cited a rise in electricity prices for consumers as the adoption of solar in Australia has blossomed.

It will then be reduced to one on 1 July 2013, effectively ending the support program. Approximately 300MW has been installed since the Solar Credit support mechanism was introduced.

“Strong demand for solar panels has continued, fuelled by declining system costs, the strong Australian dollar and economy, as well as incentives such as Solar Credits and the State and Territory feed-in tariff schemes,” Combet said in a statement. “The generous support for solar panels has also contributed to a decline in the installation of solar hot water heaters. By taking this action the costs of the SRES on electricity users are likely to be around half of what they otherwise would be in 2012, while at the same time still providing considerable support to households taking action on climate change,”

The subsidies for a typical PV installation were previously around A$6,200 but would fall to only around A$1,200 in 2013 for a small 1.5kw system.

The Solar Credits applies to the first 1.5 kilowatts of system capacity installed for systems connected to main electricity grids and up to 20kW of capacity for off-grid systems.