The Federal Government has announced that it will phase out the Solar Credits mechanism six months ahead of schedule.

 

Federal Minister for Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, said the Government has made the move because of strong continued demand for household solar, and the program would now end at the beginning of January next year.

 

“Phasing out the multiplier early will strike the appropriate balance between easing upward pressure on electricity prices and supporting households and suppliers who install solar PV. The overall reduction in electricity bills is estimated to be in the order of $80 to $100 million in 2013,” Mr Combet said in a statement.

 

Mr Combet said the installation of small-scale systems and hot water heaters will continue to be subsidised under the Renewable Energy Target scheme, with solar PV systems to benefit from arrangements that will support 15 years of generation upfront.

 

 

“The Solar Credits mechanism has provided additional support for installations of small-scale solar PV by multiplying the number of certificates these systems would usually create under the RET scheme. As this benefit was never available to solar hot water heaters, the phase out puts solar PV and solar water heaters back onto a level playing field,” Mr Combet said.