Climate Policy unFiT for getting Rooftop Solar down cost curve to negative abatement cost by 2015

The Gillard government has ignored the most successful policy in the world for rolling out renewables deployed and reducing carbon emissions: the German renewable energy Feed-in Tariff.

Internal analysis by Beyond Zero Emissions shows that the use of a Feed-in Tariff to get solar panels onto every rooftop in Australia would add just 1.2 cents to the cost of electricity over 20 years.  This is the total cost of getting solar panels everywhere and ultimately reducing electricity bills for many Australians.

By 2015 with appropriate support leading up to that date we could have solar panels installed generating cheaper electricity than buying fossil fuel electricity at the household or business meter.

Matthew Wright said:

“For a rooftop solar revolution Australia needs a Feed-in Tariff.  This will complement appropriate mechanisms for wind power (RET or Feed-in Tariff) and large baseload solar thermal with storage (Feed-in-Tariff) and deliver the 100 percent renewable energy economy that AEMO will model for us.”

“Simply put, Feed in Tariff is the cheapest mechanism to actually succeed in getting carbon abatement as seen in the Productivity Commissions report on Germany,” added Wright.

Contact: Matthew Wright, Executive Director, +61 421 616 733