The new Financial year for <meta name="description" content="The new Financial year for Solar. Over the past few weeks’ Australian consumers have been understandably shaken by sudden changes and adjustments to the solar schemes and bonuses that are currently being implemented across some States. Queensland has now set a much lower cap on their allowable system size for Premium Feed in Tariff eligibility; from 30KWh down to only 5KWH while NSW decision to slash the Solar Bonus has been forced to be reversed. Also the Solar Multiplier will drop from 5 down to 3 Australia wide as of July 1st. Originally the solar bonuses and schemes were designed to aid the community in making the switch to renewable energy sources, but naturally some people have lost a bit of confidence in the system at the moment. So the question is, are solar panels still a viable option with the new schemes as they stand? The answer is yes, and we at Eclipse see no real reason for any huge changes in the Solar industry from July onwards. Of course the changes to the feed in tariff schemes will affect households who have installed the system and had expected a higher return on their investment. Even with the changes though, making the switch to solar power still guarantees any householder or business reduced, or even eliminated, electricity bills, with the price set in today’s market rather then what you will be paying for electricity in 5 years time. Queensland set a 5 KWh cap on its system size to allow proper allocation of the renewable energy subsidies and to prevent the bonuses being used by people actively targeting medium size solar investments for income generation on systems 10 -30KWh’s. This is bad news in that regard, but a 3-4KW size system is sufficient for an average household to be completely self-sustaining in their power needs, and should still easily qualify for the premium feed in tariff unless the cap has already been met in your state. NSW has cut back on its premium feed in tariff scheme to a level more in line with the other states (it was widely considered much too high to be sustainable when it was set), but more households will be able to qualify for the standard rate instead, which is still equal to or slightly favorable to the price you pay to purchase your electricity now. Anyone claiming that solar power is no longer the solution has not done their facts and figures. With the rising cost of electricity continuing to escalate due to the drying up of our other fossil fuel resources, Solar Power PV Systems are still a very economically viable alternative. While the revised schemes and bonuses mean that it may take an extra year or 2 for an average system to pay for itself you are still only looking at about 7-8 years at today’s electricity prices, which gives you a good 12 years of free energy from the sun after that. It also likely to add immediately to your property values equally or above what your purchase price was. For those installers using quality Solar equipment, remember to mention to your customers that the quality of panels and inverters available varies widely, and since they are supposed to last 20 plus years you want to make sure you buy the best you can afford. A high quality well designed system will deliver much greater energy output over its lifetime, and the small initial price difference will pay for itself multiple times over with your electricity bill savings over 20 years. Remember to mention a long-term return on investment, rather than a quick fix." /> Solar

The new Financial year for Solar

Over the past few weeks’ Australian consumers have been understandably shaken by sudden changes and adjustments to the solar schemes and bonuses that are currently being implemented across some States.

Queensland has now set a much lower cap on their allowable system size for Premium Feed in Tariff eligibility; from 30KWh down to only 5KWH while NSW decision to slash the Solar Bonus has been forced to be reversed. Also the Solar Multiplier will drop from 5 down to 3 Australia wide as of July 1st.

Originally the solar bonuses and schemes were designed to aid the community in making the switch to renewable energy sources, but naturally some people have lost a bit of confidence in the system at the moment. So the question is, are solar panels still a viable option with the new schemes as they stand?

The answer is yes, and we at Eclipse see no real reason for any huge changes in the Solar industry from July onwards.

Of course the changes to the feed in tariff schemes will affect households who have installed the system and had expected a higher return on their investment. Even with the changes though, making the switch to solar power still guarantees any householder or business reduced, or even eliminated, electricity bills, with the price set in today’s market rather then what you will be paying for electricity in 5 years time.

Queensland set a 5 KWh cap on its system size to allow proper allocation of the renewable energy subsidies and to prevent the bonuses being used by people actively targeting medium size solar investments for income generation on systems 10 -30KWh’s. This is bad news in that regard, but a 3-4KW size system is sufficient for an average household to be completely self-sustaining in their power needs, and should still easily qualify for the premium feed in tariff unless the cap has already been met in your state.

NSW has cut back on its premium feed in tariff scheme to a level more in line with the other states (it was widely considered much too high to be sustainable when it was set), but more households will be able to qualify for the standard rate instead, which is still equal to or slightly favorable to the price you pay to purchase your electricity now.

Anyone claiming that solar power is no longer the solution has not done their facts and figures. With the rising cost of electricity continuing to escalate due to the drying up of our other fossil fuel resources, Solar Power PV Systems are still a very economically viable alternative. While the revised schemes and bonuses mean that it may take an extra year or 2 for an average system to pay for itself you are still only looking at about 7-8 years at today’s electricity prices, which gives you a good 12 years of free energy from the sun after that. It also likely to add immediately to your property values equally or above what your purchase price was.

For those installers using quality Solar equipment, remember to mention to your customers that the quality of panels and inverters available varies widely, and since they are supposed to last 20 plus years you want to make sure you buy the best you can afford. A high quality well designed system will deliver much greater energy output over its lifetime, and the small initial price difference will pay for itself multiple times over with your electricity bill savings over 20 years. Remember to mention a long-term return on investment, rather than a quick fix.

The new Financial year for Solar

June 16, 2011