Earlier this week, the NSW Government quietly announced the review as the 50MW review trigger had been reached.
The NSW Scheme which provides for a 60¢ GROSS Feed-in Tariff for eligible properties (details online here) was originally slated for review in either 2012, or when the 50MW target was reached.
The Minister has stated that any changes to the program as a result of the review would not be applied retrospectively. This means no customers who have already signed up to the scheme will be affected. Customers can continue to apply for and receive the current feed-in tariff until (and if) any legislative changes are made as a result of the review.
Public submissions must be received before 30 September, with the review to be tabled towards the end of the next session of Parliament.
More information can be found on the website for the Solar Bonus Scheme or by contacting the NSW Department of Industry and Investment on 1300 136 888. Submissions can be emailed to solarbonus.review@industry.nsw.gov.au.
This also foreshadows the likely review of the Victorian Feed-in Tariff scheme, as the take-up of Solar in Victoria has been higher than in NSW to date. Whilst the DPI in Victoria is yet to release any details on the Feed-in review which was scheduled to be conducted last May, the writing is definitely on the wall.
As the Feed-in tariffs that are currently on offer are the basis of the return on investment for solar, it is important that people who are looking to go solar commit whilst the opportunity is there.
We all know that legislative reviews and changes seldom result in an increase in benefits to the end consumer, and the most recent experience in Canberra saw the feed-in tariff cut from 54¢ to 44¢ per kWh.
Enviromate Australia 