The WA government has cancelled its successful solar power subsidy scheme due to the number of people who have taken the scheme up since its inception.
According to web reports a total of 65,000 people have been included in the scheme to 1st August 2011 when the scheme was suspended. The government apparently allocated $127 million to the scheme and this fund has been fully allocated. Further details are available of the WA Office of Energy website at ‘http://www.energy.wa.gov.au/’. If you are already a part of the scheme you do not have to worry as those already in will continue to receive the subsidy in accordance with the original conditions through the 10 year life of the scheme.
In simple terms the original scheme ensured the home owner was paid a rebate for every unit of power exported back to the network above the normal REBS scheme (Residential Energy Buyback Scheme). Under REBS any energy exported back to the network is paid for by the supplier, currently at the wholesale rate for an energy unit. This meant that payback times for solar power systems were reduced and allowed the owner to more easily justify the capital outlay for a PV (Photo Voltaic) system on their home.
For those considering the installation of a solar power system this changes the economics of the proposition, but of course it does not change the contribution to a sustainable future available from a Photo Voltaic system being installed on your roof. You will still recover your cost over time through the PV system sending energy either into the house or exporting to the grid during daylight hours. The exact payback time will always vary dramatically from owner to owner. It depends on your normal consumption patterns, the cost, the size of your PV system, the location of your panels and of course the weather. General calculations can be made based on your usage as to the best value for money system for you when you are designing the home.
Inclusion of the system at time of construction makes sense and will save money over a retro fit. Be careful though that you get a good quality system with appropriate guarantees from sound businesses that will be around to back up the guarantee in a few years when you need it.
The good news is that the federal government still runs the “Small Scale Solar Energy Certificates Scheme”. Although not large these credit certificates are also being phased out over the next couple of years. In the meantime the value of these certificates is usually included in the price quoted by the Solar System provider so they do not have any impact on perceived prices in most instances.
So while this change makes the payback period longer it doesn’t change the actual capital outlay required and it certainly doesn’t change the environmental benefit obtained from a PV system. RiverStone strongly recommends every new home builder consider the installation of a system on their new home. Systems can be designed to suit any budget and any energy requirement.
