Solar Feed-In Tariff

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (15:10): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Sustainability Environment and Conservation a question about solar feed-in tariff prices.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: Solar electricity is something no longer in the realm of science fiction or something for the wealthy but an alternative energy source taken up by many South Australians concerned about our climate and looking for a way to beat escalating electricity prices. In 2011 there was a rush by South Australians to get solar panels before the federal Labor government dropped the rebate on the purchase price, and they were hoping at the same time to take advantage of the state government inducement which offered a 'buy now and your rebate goes up by another 10ȼ to 54ȼ' deal.

For those who missed the 1 October deadline, the feed-in rate was set to fall dramatically. At the time the solar industry was concerned about the rate drop as falling feed-in rates in New South Wales had a devastating impact on the industry. At the end of last year the government ended the transitional feed-in tariff part of the South Australian feed-in scheme, leaving only the retailer feed-in contribution for people with solar panels.

On 22 October, an ad was run in The Advertiser announcing that the retailer solar feed-in tariff for 2015 could drop from the current rate of around 6ȼ to 5.3ȼ per kilowatt hour. Understandably some of the people who were induced to jump aboard the solar panel train during its peak times are not as happy these days. My questions to the minister are:

1. Can the minister tell me what impact the falling price of the feed-in tariff has had on the solar industry since it headed south about three years ago?

2. Can the minister tell me if the number of installations of solar panels has nose-dived since the closure of the state's transitional feed-in tariff scheme 12 months ago?

3. Finally, I understand submissions closed today for people wanting to comment on the proposed new feed-in retailer rate. I ask the minister: will he undertake to inform the parliament this year on the number of complaints made once that information has been collated?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for his very important question on renewable energy, and I know he is a very strong supporter of renewables, particularly solar and wind power. I guess one of the parts of the answer for him is in fact—

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: I'm very green.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Indeed he is; an unusual shade of green but nonetheless very, very green. Part of the answer was that South Australia, despite everything he said in his introductory remarks, still leads the nation in photovoltaic rooftop installations. One in five rooftops, it is estimated and I am advised, has solar panels on its roof of some sort. So despite everything he has said, we still are leaders in rooftop solar installation and there is a real desire on behalf of residents in South Australia to actually engage with renewables.

That is why it is so important that we actually come back to this renewable energy target, because it comprises two parts. Part of that target is for small scale renewable energy, which encourages the use of rooftop solar. If the federal government backslides again on that renewable energy target, and they use all sorts of language that, 'Well, we want a real 20 per cent', what that actually is, is a 40 per cent reduction on the current target.

We cannot afford to let the federal Liberal government off the hook on renewables. It is vitally important for business sustainability and business investment into the future that they know they can rely on the economic level that the federal government maintains for renewable energy and that the federal government must keep it in place.