The Victorian Government has announced a reduction in the payments to all solar owners who feed surplus energy back into the grids. As of January 2012, a transitional rate of 25 cents will be given for each kilowatt.
This reduction of 35 cents (more than 50%) will reduce the benefits households with solar panels currently receive. The move has been a long time coming as the Victorian incentive structures surrounding solar panels moves to a more financially sustainable level.
The Minister for Energy and Resources, Michael O’Brien, has been quick to compare Victorian policy to other states.
“Unlike many other states, which have closed down all feed-in tariff schemes, Victoria’s TFIT will provide a fairer, more sustainable approach which reduces the boom/bust cycle for the industry,” said Mr O’Brien.