Queensland Minister Stands Strong for Solar
6 May 2021: Queensland Minister Stands Strong for Solar
Queensland Energy Minister Mick de Brenni has today indicated that he doesn’t support a rule change from the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) that will allow solar owners to be charged for exporting clean energy to the grid.
The announcement has been welcomed by community group Solar Citizens, who just released a report highlighting that the ‘sun tax’ would affect millions of people living in regional and outer suburban areas.
“We congratulate the Queensland Government for joining Victoria in pushing back against this harmful proposal,” said Ellen Roberts, Solar Citizens’ National Director.
“The same state governments that have empowered households to make the solar switch are the ones that have the power to stop solar owners from being unfairly penalised now.”
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is considering a rule change that will allow rooftop solar owners to be charged for exporting solar energy to the grid. Workings from Professor Bruce Mountain from the Victoria Energy Policy Centre suggest the annual income from exporting solar electricity in Queensland could drop from an average of $292 per year to just $12 if the rule change is implemented.
“Here in Queensland the State Government has done a good job at encouraging households to install solar to drive down electricity bills and pollution. It’s great to see them continue to stand up for solar,” said Ms Roberts.
“With feed-in tariffs dropping, if the sun tax goes ahead it will be a double whammy for millions of Australia’s solar owners.
“Moving forward we’ll have to be smart about how we manage the electricity system so more households can make the solar switch, but rushing through a rule change that will slug solar households isn’t the solution.
“But if we want to see this proposal well and truly dropped by the AEMC, we need other states like NSW to follow Queensland and Victoria’s lead.”
The announcement from Energy Minister de Brenni comes as a new analysis from Solar Citizens demonstrates that Australia’s top solar postcodes and Local Government Areas tend to be in outer suburban and regional areas.
Australia’s top postcode for rooftop solar uptake is Bundaberg with close to 16,000 small-scale solar installations, followed by Mandurah in Western Australia and Hervey Bay also in Queensland, according to the analysis.
Queensland now has a total of 770,000 solar installations across the state, which is by far the most of any Australian state or territory. New South Wales is a runner up with 660,000 installations.
Queensland Postcodes with the Highest Number of Small-scale Solar Installations
|
Postcode |
Total number of installations |
Ranking |
|
4670 - Bundaberg |
15,977 |
1 |
|
4655 - Hervey Bay |
14,705 |
2 |
|
4551 - Caloundra |
13,367 |
3 |
|
4350 - Toowoomba |
12,497 |
4 |
|
4740 - Mackay |
10,778 |
5 |
|
4211 - Nerang |
10,614 |
6 |
|
4207 - Beenleigh |
10,346 |
7 |
|
4300 - Springfield |
10,074 |
8 |
|
4510 - Caboolture |
9,902 |
9 |
|
4570 - Gympie |
9,901 |
10 |
[Ends]
Media contact: Ellen Roberts 0408 583 694
Analysis available here.
