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South Australia's Solar Feed-In Scheme

news and eventsThe Electricity (Feed-In Scheme-Solar Systems) Amendment Act 2008 is the first solar feed-in law in Australia that will pay a premium guaranteed tariff of $0.44 per unit of electricity (kilowatt-hour, kWh), to households and small customers who feed solar electricity into the grid.

The law came into effect on 1 July 2008, and will extend for 20 years.

In May 2009, South Australia reached 10 MW capacity, which triggered a review of the feed-in scheme. The Terms of Reference and the formal announcement of the review were released on 31 October 2009 and submissions for the review closed on 23 November 2009. Independent consultant, Mr Paul Miley of Consulting Partners, is now reviewing the submissions received, and is expected to provide a report to the State Government by the end of 2009.

 

At a Glance

If you are a ‘small electricity customer' in South Australia - that is a household, small business, community building, church or other facility that consumes less than 160 MWh of electricity per annum* - and have installed or intend to install, a solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity system on your premises, you are able to receive a premium price for any excess electricity you return to the electricity grid.

The scheme rewards customers whenever they generate more electricity than they are using - NOT just the balance at the end of the month or quarter, but whenever generation exceeds consumption during the day.

You will need a meter that separately records the electricity you return to the grid so that, even if it is only for a second, the meter will keep track of any electricity you return. When the meter reader comes around at the end of the month or end of the quarter, the total amount of electricity you have returned and the total amount you have consumed will be read and passed onto the state's electricity distributor, ETSA Utilities.

Under the feed-in scheme, ETSA Utilities will credit you with $0.44 for every unit of electricity you return to the grid from your solar system (as read by the meter reader). ETSA Utilities will then forward your incentive to your electricity retailer. Your electricity retailer is obliged to pass through the incentive payment which will appear as a credit on your electricity bill.

Depending on how much solar electricity you produce, and how much electricity you consume while the solar electricity system is generating, this credit could see your total electricity bill approach zero. It may even send you into credit!

Some electricity retailers will continue to offer an additional credit for excess electricity fed into the grid. Any such offers will be determined by the electricity contract between you and your electricity retailer.

The scheme commenced on 1 July 2008 and will be available until 30 June 2028.

* As a guide, typical annual electricity bills would be in the order of $30,000 or less

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