Australia’s biggest utilities and coal generators could push for another review of the federal renewable energy target, if the newly re-elected Coalition government is presented with a “workable” majority of […]
Category: Federal Government solar panel incentives
Solar Choice Blog entries about Australian government Solar Power incentive schemes
ARENA funding round results highlight falling large-scale solar costs
The final round of bidding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s large scale solar funding program shows the costs of the technology are still falling, the Agency says, and will […]
Could Labor deploy ‘reverse auctions’ for renewables on the national scale?
The Australian Labor Party could use “reverse auctions” to help meet a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 if it wins power in the federal election later this […]
What could a federal incentive for home solar battery storage look like?
Strong government incentives paved the way for rooftop solar power to achieve the prominence that it has in Australia. Home battery storage is the next frontier in distributed energy, but […]
One chart shows solar PV’s stunning progress over 40 years
A new graph by Earth Policy Institute and Bloomberg – sourced via this story on Treehugger – offers a stunning reminder the incredible journey solar PV has been on over […]
Adelaide plans to become world’s first carbon-neutral city
A plan to make Adelaide the world’s first carbon neutral city has been signed by the city’s Lord Mayor Martin Haese and South Australian premier Jay Weatherill. The deal was […]
Labor’s 50% renewables target would require $80b in investment: UBS
Federal Labor’s proposed 50 per cent renewable energy target for Australia by 2030 would require around $80 billion in investment, much of which would need to be spent anyway, a […]
Australia has a new PM: What’s in store for solar?
Malcolm Turnbull is now ensconced as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia after besting Tony Abbott in a dramatic showdown whose similarities to the travails of the previous Labor government […]
Electricity network companies fighting for price increases in NSW
NSW electricity rates could once again skyrocket from next July if network companies win a legal challenge to a pricing determination made by the Australian Energy Regulator. Prices for this […]
Labor Party to commit to 50% federal Renewable Energy Target by 2030
The Australian Labor Party will announce a commitment to supporting a Renewable Energy Target of 50% by the year 2030, according to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald and a press […]
Could the Coalition turn RET towards large-scale solar?
In seeking to justify its push against wind energy, the creation of a “wind commissioner” and its dealing with the Senate cross-bench, the Coalition is trying to turn the renewable energy target […]
RET deal details remain unsettled with questions about wood waste and wind
Last-minute wrangling over the inclusion of native wood waste in the Renewable Energy Target is threatening to delay passage of the amended legislation through federal Parliament’s Upper House, as the […]
Coalition reportedly investigating ways to promote large-scale solar ahead of wind
Solar energy could be favoured under the revised Australian renewable energy target, with Coalition ministers reportedly looking at ways to accelerate the development of large-scale solar projects, ahead of wind […]
RET deal’s passage will unlock billions in solar & wind investment
More than $10 billion in solar and wind investment would be unlocked if legislation to amend Australia’s renewable energy target achieved quick passage through parliament, the Clean Energy Council has […]
Renewable Energy Target deal struck: 33,000GWh with no 2-yearly reviews
The Abbott government and federal Labor have finally struck a bipartisan agreement on Australia’s renewable energy target, with both parties agreeing to slash it from 41,000GWh to 33,000GWh by 2020. […]
Queensland to aim for 50% renewables, 1 million solar homes by 2030
Queensland’s Labor government has restated its commitment to generating 50 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030, and to ensure one million homes in state had […]
Big solar could make up 40% of new 2020 large-scale renewables target: BNEF
Big solar could take up as much as 40 per cent of Australia’s 2020 Renewable Energy Target, even with a much reduced target of 33,000GWh, according to Bloomberg New Energy […]
RET deal back on hold as Labor walks out over continuation of 2-yearly reviews
Even as an agreement appears to be close at hand, talks have again broken down between Labor and the Coalition about the future of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET). Labor […]
Coalition and Labor to compromise on Renewable Energy Target: 33,000GWh by 2020
A compromise deal may finally have been reached on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), according to reporting from the ABC and other sources. The Coalition government and Labor Party have […]
Aussie small-scale solar stays strong even as large-scale lags due to uncertainty
Australia’s rooftop solar market is continuing to grow, despite a plunge in renewable energy investment that is driving the nation’s large-scale renewables sector into a deepening crisis. New analysis by […]
Government’s Energy White Paper focuses on coal, glosses over solar
The Abbott government has again shown its colours on renewables, using its Energy White Paper to describe interventions like the RET and solar feed-in-tariffs as “unintended disruptions” to competitive energy […]
Solar Citizens launch nation-wide Stand Up For Solar campaign
Australian solar lobby group Solar Citizens is calling for a higher renewable energy target and a fair price for solar, through the launch of a new year-long campaign that will […]
Coalition rejects 41,000GWh ‘compromise’ on Renewable Energy Target
Federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane has rejected the offer of a compromise on the Renewable Energy Target from the Clean Energy Council, saying his government would not budge above 32,000GWh. […]
Coalition says cross-bench senators votes could help them weaken RET
The federal government will take renewable energy target negotiations to the cross-benchers in the Senate, after its “final” offer on the RET was rejected outright by Labor.In an interview with […]
LGC price spikes as government comes closer to RET deal
Comments from within the Abbott government suggesting an agreement on the RET could come as soon as Easter have helped push prices of large scale renewable energy certificates (LGCs) to […]
Two new Apple data centres to run on renewables
Apple has announced plans to build two large data storage centers in Europe: one in Ireland and the other in Denmark. The $1.9 billion (€1.7 billion) investment, Apple’s largest ever […]
Extension of Renewable Energy Target could trigger large-scale solar boom in Aus
A new report has warned that Australia could miss out on the booming global solar market – a market some say will be worth more than $130 billion by 2020 […]
Australia’s great electricity price swindle: How the networks got away with billions in overinvestment
Last year, Jess Hill of the Monthly published an enlightening but damning report, called Power Corrupts, on the state of the electricity industry in Australia. Her main topic of investigation is whether the sharp […]
Climate Change Authority advises gradual reduction of small-scale solar incentives to avoid chaos for solar industry
The independent body set up by the federal government to advise on climate and clean energy policy has recommended no changes to the small-scale component of the Renewable Energy Target, […]
Australia Institute report shows 80% of Australians favour solar, wind & other renewables over coal
The majority of Australians look forward to a future fuelled by renewables, new research has found, with many naming solar and wind as their energy sources of choice. In two […]
Do the recent comments from Greg Hunts’s office mean small-scale commercial solar is safe from the government axe?
According to Climate Spectator, the government is dropping hints that it may have backed away from slashing incentives for residential and small-scale commercial solar projects. In a talk with Climate […]
