The Australian Solar Council has launched a campaign to protect the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and to ‘save solar’. The Solar Council has thus far been one of the most vocal solar industry bodies to speak out against changes against the RET, whose small-scale renewables segment (the SRES) is now the primary incentive mechanism for rooftop solar power in the country.
The RET is up for review this year and it is feared that it will be significantly altered at the hands of the Coalition government. In addition to making solar less affordable for ordinary Australians, changes to the RET could also cost the solar industry up to 7,000 jobs.
The Solar Council is looking to raise $25,000 in funds to carry out a strategy to raise awareness and petition the government to keep the RET in its current form. Namely, it is calling for no devaluation of Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STCs, which effectively act as an up-front rebate for small-scale solar customers), no reduction of the 100 kilowatt (kW) maximum size for systems to qualify for STCs, as well as keeping the incentives for larger-scale systems as they are.
“The RET has enjoyed bipartisan support since its introduction by the Howard government in 2001,” said Solar Council CEO John Grimes in an email announcing the campaign. “Your Solar Council wants that bipartisan support to continue, and we will run a positive campaign to highlight the benefits of the RET.”
Those who are interested can learn more about the Solar Council’s campaign on CleanTechFundr.
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