Sun power certainty needed
Posted on 22 May 2008 by e-news
14 REGIONAL LOCAL CLIMATE ACTION GROUPS including MASG, met on 21 May 2008, in Abbotsford, Melbourne, and sent out this message from the gathering:
A meeting of Victorian regional local action climate groups in Melbourne on Wednesday 21 May called on the State Government to improve its scheme for the payment the of tariffs to householders who generate electricity from solar panels on their roofs.
The 13 groups from around Victoria plus 1 NSW group, representing over 3,400 individual members and several organisations, are all working towards making their communities carbon neutral as soon as possible.
“The science says we must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible,” said Dean Bridgfoot, coordinator of the Mount Alexander Sustainability Group.
“Many schools, churches and businesses in our community are interested in investing in solar energy but are excluded by the scheme as currently proposed. The scheme needs to be widened so that many community groups can play their part in producing renewable energy”, said Dean.
“The proposed tariff has made many people in our community uncertain about whether to invest in solar power”, said Kathryn McCallum from the Geelong Sustainability Group.
“The tariff needs to be paid on all the energy produced, not just the energy in excess of the amount used by the householder. Otherwise people will not be able to work out their return on investment. We also don’t know whether we will get any tariff paid if we buy more than the proposed 2kw limit, or even if the tariff will be paid on systems bought after 1 January next year,” said Kathryn.
The groups called on the State Government to show strong leadership and to introduce a tariff system that provides certainty and encourages investment from all parts of the community while protecting low-income earners.
Media spokespeople:
Dean Bridgfoot, Mount Alexander Sustainability Group tel: [03] 5470 6978 or 0448 327 791
Fran Woodruff, Surf Coast Shire: [03] 5261 0560
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