Commercial Solar Power Opportunities Missed By Australia
The commercial solar power industry is on the up after a decade of frustration and neglect, according to physicist and energy studies Associate Professor Philip Jennings of Murdoch University. Despite being a world leader in many aspects of solar power research in the 70's and 80's, Australia has fallen behind the likes of Japan, Germany and the US in the race to develop solar energy technologies. This lack of investment in commercial solar power has been a major concern to Jennings but he believes all that is about to change. "I believe it's just about there now. With new markets developing rapidly, the sales of solar power products doubling every three years, commercial solar energy will surely come to the fore within the next decade." Professor Jennings believes Australia has missed out on many commercial solar power opportunities to cement its place as a world leader. "We've got some of the best solar energy researchers, producing some of the best solar energy systems in the world, yet we're not providing them with the support through our industry and research policies like some other countries do.""There are a number of examples of where renewable energy industries that were established as a result of research that was done in Australia have had to go overseas to survive. For example, the solar hot water industry." "Similarly, the solar cells industry has a potentially large market in Australia, but because of various government policies - such as the diesel fuel rebate - it's been very hard for solar energy to become competitive in a field where it should actually be in the 'box seat'. "We've got a product that's well priced. It's potentially in a large growth industry, which could create a lot of jobs for Australia, but instead we're still subsidising the use of a non-renewable fossil fuel." "Now we are no longer the world's major solar hot water system producer, and we've lost some of the lead we held in the development of remote area power supply systems." Professor Jennings said it was imperative for government - at all levels - to recognise the value of the research being conducted in in Australia for both commercial solar power and residential solar energy and to support that research and the development of local industries from it. "We should be leading the world in this field," he said. To return to the Solar Power Australia page. To return to our home solar energy page. |
