The solar panel industry has been left reeling after the Barnett government pulled the plug this week on new subscribers to its successful renewable energy grid-subsidy scheme.
The scheme was suspended on Monday after its popularity led to the $127 million installation quota for solar panels being reached.
Energy Minister Peter Collier said feed-in tariff payments would continue for residents already on the scheme, for the remainder of their 10-year subsidy payment period. Synergy and Horizon Power would continue buying excess electricity fed into the grid from all residential renewable systems.
This has prompted claims that power companies would profit at the expense of solar power contributors because of the low rates on offer.
The solar tariff scheme was originally set at 60 cents per kilowatt hour and then downgraded to 40 cents. The final cut to the feed-in price was made in the state budget and it now sits at 20 cents.
Sustainable Energy Association of Australia chief executive Ray Wills pointed to concerns over what feed-in price domestic solar unit owners would get if they were installed after the closing date.
“The end of a feed-in tariff means the price being offered for electricity exported from domestic solar generation falls to 7 cents and this is not a fair price for the consumer,” he said.
He said the Australian PV Association had in the past estimated prices to be fair somewhere between 13 cents and 16 cents per kWh for exported energy.
Solar company SunConnect chief executive Mark Tuke said this would echo the state of the system in New South Wales, which suspended its feed-in tariff scheme in October, leading to power companies buying the power for less than they sold it for.
“They won’t even get the amount they pay for power off the power company, they get 7 cents,” he said.
“That is a travesty, it is unfair. It means the power goes back on to the grid and the power company can effectively sell it to your next-door neighbour for 20 cents.
“In a twist of irony, solar power is subsidising coal. How perverse is that? We are not looking for any special treatment, we just want a level playing field. It is an oversight. I hope the state government remedies that at least.”
The Clean Energy Council said it was disappointed at the lack of consultation with the solar industry before the announcement.
Clean Energy Council chief executive Matthew Warren said that without an alternative scheme in place, jobs would be lost.
“The solar industry continues to seek policy certainty so that it is not at the mercy of knee-jerk reactions,” he said.
Mr Wills said the suspension was likely to have significant short-term negative impacts on solar PV wholesale, retail and installation businesses as well as goods and services suppliers.
