It’s a tense day for South Australia’s solar industry and supporters as the future of the State’s solar feed in tariff may be voted on today.
The South Australian Government had originally planned to increase the feed in tariff from 44c to 54c, plus a mandatory additional contribution from electricity retailers.
While this generous rate was understandably heartily welcomed by existing and prospective participants in the scheme, there was a catch - the program would have closed to new applicants at the end of September. This presented a very real threat of another boom and bust scenario all too common in Australia’s solar sector as it risks locking out tens of thousands of households from making the switch to solar post-September.
Several alternative models were tabled by various parties, including one from the Greens, which were then referred to the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) for independent analysis last week.
On Tuesday, after receiving findings from ESCOSA, South Australia’s Energy Minister said the Government would be proposing amendments to their Bill in light of concerns about the impact of their legislation on the PV industry.
After a great deal of further debate, the Clean Energy Council says that as of late Tuesday evening, the Government was now saying it will offer an interim scheme of 16c along with a retailer’s contribution of around 6c, starting from the end of September when the current scheme expires. The combined rate is roughly equivalent to current retail electricity costs; so in effect, a 1:1 feed in tariff.
Under the arrangement, entry to the program would be available for two years from the end of September, no other changes would be made to the legislation and the revised feed in tariff rate would apply to new connections only. Existing participants would continue to receive the 44c.
The situation is still fluid and further debate on amendments is likely to occur today - with an amended Bill possibly also voted on today. This article will be updated as new information becomes available.
