Clear broken promises from the COALition government

The government has broken its promises with regard to supporting Renewable Energy in this country.

Sydney solar panel installations will likely reduce as a result of the changes to solar rebates.

Hardest to swallow

Most reasonable adults can accept that in society there will be a variety of views, different to our own. And that governments will be elected to represent a majority position on those views. Governments should then strike a balance between the long term interests of the country, and the popular views of the electorate.

What is hardest to swallow, is when the government says one thing and does another.  Particularly when there is no budget impact. Prior to the previous election, the government said explicitly:

  • We support the Renewable Energy Target (RET);
  • We are open for business and support investment in renewable energy projects; and
  • Contrary to “rumour”* we support the 41000GWh target of the RET that supports the existing programs.

In fact, Senator Birmingham said at last year’s 2013 Clean Energy Week conference:

It has been interesting to note the claims being made about what the Coalition will or won’t do.  All of it is simply conjecture.  The Coalition supports the current system, including the 41,000 giga-watt hours target.

You can read more on Senator Birmingham’s website

As a business, Greenforce Energy would be most impacted by changes in the STC component of the RET – because the STCs part of the program supports household solar installations, which is our focus. However, we are happy to accept some changes to those programs.

What is most concerning is the changes to policies supporting larger solar farms (millions of dollars of investment, jobs). After that, the changes that basically seek to wipe out commercial solar installations on business rooftops is very concerning.

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