The Hodgman Liberal Government made a commitment at the last election to undertake a review of the Solar Feed-In Tariff arrangements, and we are delivering on this commitment.
From 1 January 2019 Tasmania will implement revised Solar Feed-in Tariff (FiT) arrangements to ensure the system remains fair and equitable to all Tasmanians.
The Standard FiT rate for the 2018-19 financial year has been set at 8.541 cents/kWh by the independent Tasmanian Economic Regulator and continues unchanged as from 1 January 2019.
For those customers who had solar installed or approved prior to 31 August 2013 and are currently eligible for the premium Transitional FiT rate until 31 December 2018, their rate will automatically revert to the Standard FiT rate set by Regulator.
To ease the adjustment from the premium Transitional FiT rate, the Government will provide an additional amount of 5 cents/kWh on top of the Standard FiT rate for one year from 1 January 2019 until 31 December 2019.
Under this new scheme, by January 2020 all solar customers will then be on the rate set by the Regulator, removing the current two-tiered arrangement, providing a fair and equitable scheme for all Tasmanians.
In addition, the Government will also ask the Tasmanian Economic Regulator to investigate the merits of a Time-of-Use Solar FiT in Tasmania and to report back by the end of 2019.
This builds on other measures we provide to support residents and businesses invest in energy saving initiatives like solar, including the highly successful Tasmanian Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (TEELS).
Since launching in 2017 TEELS have provided over $28 million no interest loans to thousands of Tasmanians, with investment in solar systems one of the most popular choices of investment.
Aurora Energy also provides energy efficiency advice to help guide Tasmanians with their energy usage, and to maximise the benefits of renewable energy.
The advice can be found on Aurora Energy’s website: https://www.auroraenergy.com.au/help-and-advice/energy-saving-hints-tips
Our targets for energy include:
See all of our targets at: https://www.tas.liberal.org.au/sites/default/files/BuildingYourFuture.pdf