Solar power Affordability in Australia

Solar power Canberra

We have been selling solar power since 2009 all around Australia. We first started selling solar power in New South Wales and Canberra. Canberra was a very interesting place to sell solar power, as most of the solar power providers, the companies selling solar power to Canberra residents knew that people in Canberra have a lot of money compared to the demographics of other states in Australia.

 http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/solar-power-booms-as-cranky-customers-choose-change-20140311-34kg6.html

solar power
solar power in Canberra

It is commonly known that Canberra is full of a lot of public servants, and that the public servants are on very, very good money compared to the average household. This meant that the average household in Canberra has a better disposable income. Solar companies went rife with this statistic and hammered the ACT hard, selling solar power systems for much, much more than they could get away with in any other state in Australia.

 

We were installing 5 kW systems in the Queanbeyan, ACT and Canberra regions. These systems were sold for as much as $25,000. This is just an insane amount of money, considering we announce installing in the heart of Brisbane and surrounding suburbs for just $5000. However we cannot compare the prices of 2014 and 2010. So much has changed in terms of feed in tariffs, government rebates, and the pricing of solar panels and inverters from Chinese manufacturers.

 http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/solar-power

But yes, the people of Canberra were still being rorted! by what we were guessing is around 25 to 40% on top of Sydney prices.

 

Were they really being ripped off?

No. When you think about it, they probably weren’t. After all, these guys were being hooked up with a very generous feed in tariff, the 44% gross feed in tariff. This feed in tariff meant they were getting paid per kilowatt for every single kilowatt hour that the solar system was producing. ActewAGL and the Canberra government were really crazy in the fact that they went all out and offered such a lucrative solar bonus scheme to ACT residents.

 

However the main debate with solar power systems being built on neighbourhood houses roofs is the fact that all the solar bonus schemes are doing, making the rich richer and the poor poorer. This is evident where we can see a family who can pay their $1500 quarter bill plus have money to spare to foot the bill to get the soul on the roof, in order to eliminate their electricity bill. Where on the other foot, we see a family of five struggling to pay that $600 recorder or electricity bill, are struggling to make payments on their already negotiated payment plan with EnergyAustralia, and would love to have solar panels on their roof but simply cannot afford it at all. Then there’s people whose circumstances lay between the two scenarios just listed, who can take part in purchasing a solar power system but have no idea as they are too stupid and stubborn to investigate looking at payment plans like Certegy for example because they think they are being ripped off. Absolutely crazy, if these people actually had a look and whipped out a calculator they would realise that the extra 24% tacked on to these “cash price solar system” is only 7% more per annum, over the 40 months, which is just over three years. These guys would most likely not have any more electricity bills to pay come 40 months time. But you can’t tell stubborn people this, you just can’t. There is a severe stigma attached when it comes to buying things on finance we have found, even if the finance is offering something guaranteed to be positively geared investment. I’m shaking my head as I’m typing this.

SOLAR POWER IN QUEENSLAND

As to the solar rebate in Queensland now(http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/queensland-government-to-axe-8cperkwh-solar-feedin-tariff-to-cut-electricity-costs/story-fnagkbpv-1226846455254), it is actually looking pretty good as our peak tariff is edging ever more closely to that inevitable $.30 kilowatt-hour mark. Ironically, solar power customers are cheering when State governments announce the increase in electricity prices for the next financial year ahead, as this more expensive price of electricity means that solar power systems are making more financially per year for the customer. If a 5 kW system was saving a family $2000 per year, and the Newman government announced electricity will be going up a further 20% in 2015, this would mean that that family is now saving $2400 per year. As you can see, we can never stop the increase on the price of electricity but we can make you change as for how much electricity we are billed for.

solar power
This is Solar power

Thanks for reading my rant here, I wish everyone out there who is doing some research on what solar power company to use, or how much for example a 5 kW system will make them in dollar amounts has the best of luck with it all. Keep in mind we install all over Australia, and if you feel you have any questions, no matter where you live, we are always happy to them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power

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