Solar News
Government States 90% of Electricity Rise Due to Network not Solar
Claim 1: PV (Photovoltaic) will result in large increases to power bills
Australian Photovoltaics Association (APVA) response:
'The associated report states that more than 90% of the price increases are due to network costs and the potential introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). Of the remaining 10% only a few percent of the increase to electricity costs.' [...]
'According to the NSW Government, each 50MW of PV installed under their current gross Feed-in Tariff (FiT) program (a 60c gross FiT over 7 years), will add $7.47 to an average household's annual electricity bill – or just over 14c per week (NSW Gov, 2009). These are consistent with the APVA's own calculations of just over 16c per week.'
Claim 2: PV is a very expensive way to reduce emissions
APVA response:
'The cost of abatement driven by PV shouldn't be compared only to the CPRS abatement costs because PV is doing more than just reducing emissions: it is also producing electricity. Thus, the abatement cost of PV is equal to the difference between the price of the retail electricity it displaces and the price of the FiT.'
Read the full APVA report.