Date : 1 November 2009 

Eligible Victorians will now receive a premium rate for solar energy fed back into the electricity grid under a new Brumby Labor Government initiative that begins today.

Energy and Resources Minister Peter Batchelor said households, community organisations and small businesses with solar panels up to 5 kilowatts can sign up for the scheme and receive more than three times the current electricity price for solar energy they fed into the electricity grid.

“A clean environment is crucial to our future and that’s why we are helping Victorians reduce their individual carbon footprint,” Mr Batchelor said.

“Those who signed up with their electricity companies to receive the tariff and are feeding solar electricity back into the grid will receive a minimum of 60 cents per kilowatt hour – more than three times the current rate of electricity in Victoria.

“The new solar feed-in tariff will not only reward Victorians for taking action to reduce carbon emissions, it will help create jobs to supply and install solar panels to meet growing demand.”

Mr Batchelor said case studies showed retired couples, working couples and family with two children, who had with solar panels varying in size from 1.5kW to 2kW, would receive benefits of between $600 and $1200 per year.

“These benefits combine the amount saved on buying electricity by having the panels and the amount credited for electricity fed back into the grid,” he said.

“These are significant benefits. I encourage anyone with, or planning to install, solar panels to approach their energy retailer to check their eligibility and sign up to the tariff if they haven’t already done so.”

The capped scheme is a 15 year initiative for solar panel systems of up to 5KW.

The premium tariff is available for households that are a principal place of residence and for small businesses and community organisations, including schools, with annual consumption of less than 100 megawatt hours.

“Household solar panels were relatively limited in Victoria until recently but initiatives such as this are helping to make solar energy more accessible to all Victorians,” Mr Batchelor said.

“Since the Brumby Government’s premium feed-in tariff was announced in March 2008, the number of Victorian households with grid-connected solar panels has risen from just 1479 to over 10,000.”

Further information, including a step-by-step guide to eligibility and signing up, visit www.dpi.vic.gov.au/feedintariff or phone 136 186.