re in Victoria, Australia, homes with solar systems are about to get access to a feed-in tariff scheme that's claimed by the Minister for Energy and resources as "a pillar of Victoria's climate change strategy." This new tariff will provide customers with a credit of 60c per kWh for excess electricity fed into the grid...
The fact is, it's a lemon. If it was a car, you'd be able to go get a refund.
At first glance, this seems generous and reasonable, but it's the fine print that's the corker. Here are some details:
- Victoria is net metered - think of it as your meter running backward when generating, then forward when using.
- If you generate more than you use in a billing period (90 days normally) the householder will qualify for the 60c per kWh credit.
- You won't get any cash through... You will receive a credit to your energy account which will expire in 12 months, or if you change your retailer.
- It's eligible only for solar systems below 3.2 kW. This is the point at which a solar system starts to produce more energy than the average home uses.
- You will also need to pay $250 for a new meter, which will be ripped off the wall and replaced with a new "Smart Meter" in the next 12-18 months.
- It's limited to a subscribed capacity of 100MW. Yes folks, that's 1% of Victorians fossil-fueled energy habit.
Most systems will be around 1-1.5kW (driven by rebate economics). This means that only a very few, holiday home main residence dwellers will ever 60 cents. This just waters down the financial incentive, and perhaps just what the Brown Coal industry wanted?
What's worth noting is the rest of the community will be funding the feed-in tariff, so it's effectively at zero cost to retailers and energy companies. And, in the mean time, the government enjoys the spin from their investment into centralised initiatives, most of which are R&D pipe dreams, like clean coal.
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