Canberra Solar Update 7th July 2011

Hi, my name is Stuart from LJW Solar. I want to talk to you about changes that are happening right now in Canberra in the ACT in relation to solar power. There have been two main changes that have happened in the past few months. So, I’ll cover those in turn. The first one is at a federal level and it has to do with the amount of upfront assistance that people get for purchasing solar power. The second is at a state level, to do with the feed in tariff that you will receive for the power you produce. So, I’ll cover those in turn. At the federal level there’s always, in the last few years, there’s been assistance in the form of what’s called renewable energy certificates, which are now called STC’s. So, you should have received a number of certificates and those certificates have a mark of value. Two things have changed, the number of certificates issued has decreased and the market value has plummeted. So, they used to trade at around $40 or just under and they’re currently trading at $20 or just under. So, the impact that this has is that, whereas previously you could purchase a 1.5 kilowatt system for say $4,000 it’s now going to cost closer to $8,000. It has less impact on the larger system sizes and that’s really where the value is in solar power anyway, but that is one of the changes that has happened. That affects everybody in Australia. The other thing that’s happening is at the state level. We have had a feed in tariff of 45.7 cents for all of the power that you have produce; this is what’s called a gross feed in tariff. All of the power you produce through the solar power that doesn’t get used in your house it gets put back out to the grid and it’s measured, and you get paid 45.7 cents for that. So, anyone that’s signed up to May 31, 2011 will be receiving that rate for the next 20 years. On June 1 Simon Corbell announced the end to that scheme because the ACT had reached the allocated number of installations that were pre-determined. The factor would slightly go, but that’s a different story. So, the scheme ended for new entrants or new applicants. Everyone that had signed up you’re safe, you’re fine. You didn’t have to have the system installed yet you just had to have signed a contract and paid a deposit. The installation could happen between now or in the near future. That left us in limbo with no scheme whatsoever under an offer of a net feed in tariff, which means you receive back the prevailing rate that you pay for power. So if you pay 14 cents per kilowatt per hour you will receive back 14 cents. There was some pressure at the end of June from Greens, which was supported mainly by liberals, and amended, and on the first of July a new scheme was introduced. So, it wasn’t quite a new scheme. They’ve taken what was called the medium scaled cap, or the medium scale feed in tariff, and they pulled that back down to include households once again. So, right now the situation is that you can put up solar power and you will receive a feed in tariff of just over 30 cents. So, you can get that 30 cents for 20 years. So, once again, it’s a gross feed in tariff, which means you’re not using the power inside your house, it’s all being put out to the grid, it is measured, metered, and so forth, and you’re paid for that power. So, it’s actually, it’s a second shot at putting on solar if you missed out the first time around and it is still quite a good value proposition. It’s not as good as it what as 45.7 cents, that was a bit of a mad rush, but it’s actually a very sound value proposition. You’ll find that the pay back is still quite reasonable. So, as long as you know you’re going to be in your business premises or your house for seven or eight years thereabouts then it will pay for itself and it’s going to continue giving you value. So, that’s where we’re at now. If you want to have a chat about solar for your house or your business than please give me a call. The best number to reach me on is 0424225097. My name is Stuart Gordon. That number again 0424225097, if you want to have a chat about solar. Now, if you’ve already signed up I’m happy to help you out with any questions you got as well. I’m happy to do that and I speak to home owners all the time just to sort out their concerns and clarify what’s on their mind. Thanks very much.