01/04/2011 Feed-In Tariff Rate To Remain Unchanged

Published: April 1, 2011, 9:23 am
Section: Simon Corbell, MLA | Media Releases

Minister for Energy, Simon Corbell, has today announced that the premium rate for the micro-generation category of the ACT feed-in tariff scheme will remain unchanged at 45.7c per kilowatt hour, providing certainty and stability for the renewable energy industry and consumers.

Mr Corbell also announced that the new medium generator category payment percentage would remain set at 75% of the micro-generator category rate, a price of 34.27 c per kilowatt hour.

"In making these decisions I am mindful of the undertaking I made last year that as far as practicable, the Micro Premium announced then would remain for a 2 year period. I did this to establish certainty for investors and for industry players. This decision to leave the premium rate unchanged honours that commitment" he said.

Notwithstanding the advice received from the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission recommending a decrease in the Premium, I have taken into account the possibility of a reduction in the strength of the Australian dollar internationally and the impact that would have on the price of solar technology."

"There is also some doubt as to the final outcome of the Federal Government's decision to establish a carbon price as well as changes to Federal Government solar rebate schemes."

These outcomes are not yet clear and it is prudent to not act prematurely. It is important to note that a further review of the premium rate can occur, with appropriate notice, should further information emerge that significantly changes the factors that apply to the ACT scheme."

The first two years of the feed-in tariff scheme have proven successful with more than 4100 installations already on roofs in the Territory which equates to approximately a 7MW solar renewable generation plant for the ACT.

"The Government has released a community guide to assist groups in the ACT to invest in renewable energy technology," Mr Corbell added.

"Canberrans previously ineligible as individuals can now form a group and take part in the scheme, and the guide will assist them in this process," Mr Corbell said.

"The ACT Government is committed to creating Canberra as Australia's Solar Capital, and the decision today to maintain the premium rate for micro-generation confirms that position."

The guide is available on the Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water website at http://www.environment.act.gov.au/energy/fit or alternatively, those interested can contact Canberra Connect on 132 281 to arrange for a copy to be posted to them.


01/06/2011 Micro Scale Feed-In Tariff Closes

MICRO SCALE FEED-IN TARIFF CLOSES
Published: June 1, 2011, 9:19 am
Section: Simon Corbell, MLA | Media Releases

Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Simon Corbell, has announced the closure of the Micro Generator component of the ACT Feed-In Tariff Scheme.

Mr Corbell said that the Legislative Assembly agreed in February 2011to changes to the scheme to ensure that the cost to consumers was maintained at a reasonable level.

"To do this the government set capacity caps on both the Micro and Medium Generator categories within the Scheme," Mr Corbell said.

"As at midnight last night (Tuesday, 31 May 2011) the Micro Generator category was closed as the legislated cap has been reached.

"The scheme has delivered all and more than was expected of it with unprecedented numbers of applications over the last few months. This rapid increase in take-up has been driven by the large reductions to Commonwealth rebates from 1 July this year.

"The closure of the Micro category does not spell the end of the feed-in tariff. Consistent with its long held policy position, the government sees the future of renewable generation in the ACT as being at a larger scale.

This scale of generation improves cost efficiency. We are the only jurisdiction in the country to look beyond the household rooftop towards a more sustainable industry.

In February 2011 the government introduced a Medium Generator category (for installations greater than 30kW and up to 200kW) with an allocated cap of 15MW.

"That cap remains largely uncommitted, householders who are still interested in investing in renewable energy can join one of the community groups that are forming to create community owned generators," Mr Corbell said.

"Later this year, the government will also introduce legislation for a large-scale generation feed-in tariff, with 40MW to be allocated to large generators (solar farms scale) by a reverse auction process in the next 12 months.

"The government will protect people who have proceeded in good faith and have already committed to an installation.

"Any householders or businesses who have entered into a contract for a solar installation and had paid a deposit before midnight last night can still be accepted into the scheme.

Mr Corbell said he proposed to adopt the same transitional arrangements recently applied by the Commonwealth to similar programs. Specifically, a customer can still access the closed scheme if that person:

entered into a valid contract before the program termination date/time;
can produce evidence that a monetary deposit had been paid to the contracted supplier prior to the termination date/time; and
can provide a Statutory Declaration to this effect.
It is expected that once all outstanding applications are processed that more than 6,000 ACT houses will be generating clean renewable energy on their rooftops contributing to the Territory's ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

The government has produced a guide to assist community groups organise themselves as generators.

Later this year the government will bring forward legislation to establish the first of the ACT's large scale renewable energy generators.

Statement Ends/ 1 June 2011

Media Contact:

Luke Austin 026205 1121 / 0400 080 420 / lThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


05/02/2010 ABC News Item about possible changes to Feed-In Tariffs in the ACT

There was a news item on 05/02/2010 about the possible change to fee-in tariffs on 01/07/2010.


01/08/2010 Brochures on Solar Equipment Used By Pyramid Power:

The Solar Panels

The 10 Kw Inverters


01/08/2010 Our Solar Panels are now installed

Photo by David Thiem


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