Australian Federal government is moving towards abolishing the Renewable Energy Target..
According to an article in the Australian Financial Review on 18th August 2014; “the federal government is moving towards abolishing the Renewable Energy Target (RET).”
The RET is the government authority that funds the solar rebate for homes and businesses.
Link to The Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme
When is this Happening?
- No one knows yet, as the studies are still in progress. It may or may not happen, depending in how the results look.
- Many studies are done on different things all the time, but not all eventuate in the way that the media news headlines say it will happen.
How does this really affect us?
- The solar rebate is a sum of money taken from general taxpayers to help mainly individuals in buying Solar Panels to cut down their own electricity costs.
- The people that this rebate helps are those people who are generally able to afford the larger share of the total costs anyway, and may even be able to afford it all if the subsidy was no longer available.
- To the people who can’t afford any part of it themselves, there is no change.
- The saving of the taxpayers dollar on this scheme ($10.6 billion) may be used on other things benefiting other parts of the community.
What are the alternatives?
- Spend this money on installing Solar Panels on ALL Government buildings, schools etc., so that all benefits from reduced power bills, etc., will flow back into the taxpayers funds for other spending purposes, rather than subsidising those people who may not really need these subsidies anyway, Doing this would still achieve the intended targets of renewable energy.
Conceived under the Howard government, the RET mandated that 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2020. The Abbott government has been lobbied heavily by the business and energy sectors to abolish or water it down as renewable energy gained a larger than expected share of the electricity market. This target has been met, and is expected to stay even after the scheme is abolished to new applications. Therefore the RET has FULLY done the job that it was created for. What are the negatives?
- Solar Panel Manufacturers and retailers will see reduced profits, and may need to find ways to cut prices, to encourage more sales. It is these companies that are fighting any moves to end the subsidy.
News Headlines:
- Tony Abbott Planning To Kill Australia’s Renewable Energy Target
- The Abbott government has launched a formal review of Australia’s 20 per cent renewable energy target.
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