Solar Power Australia

However, solar power in Australia, provides less than one percent of electricity needs.

This is disappointingly low considering the country has a reputation for a hot, dry and sunny climate that you would think would make it ideal for solar panels. There are many solar energy benefits which should be utilized more productively.

It's all part of a $3.5 billion climate change strategy of which around $1.4 billion is specifically for renewables such as solar energy.

And with strong, long term incentives to encourage the use of solar power, australia government experts are expecting a surge of interest in both commercial and residential solar power installations.

The Australian Government has set a target to achieve a 20 per cent share of renewable energy in Australia's electricity mix by 2020.

Another great piece of news for the Australia solar power sector is that a feed in tariff is being introduced by a number of states to increase the amount of solar PV energy generated.

Current Australian solar power tariffs are only net basis tariffs, whereas environmental groups are arguing for gross feed in tariffs.

However, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has introduced a solar energy gross feed in tariff.

For Australia solar power systems up to 10 kW the payment is 50.05 cents per kWh. For solar energy systems from 10 kW to 30 kW the payment is 40.04 cents per kWh.

And these incentives aren't just limited to homeowners. Businesses can also benefit from the rebates. Aside from the lure of creating clean, solar energy to run your own business and slashing your power bills, the Australian government offers additional incentives and rebates to encourage uptake of solar energy by businesses and commercial enterprises.

Feed-in tariffs (FITs) reimburse you for any power your solar electricity system feeds back into the grid. They're designed to encourage more Australians to generate their own electricity.

While feed in tariffs are not a solar energy rebate as such, they are a further powerful incentive to install a solar power system. Solar energy feed in tariffs exist in most states and pay you a premium rate for the electricity you produce - far higher than the market rate for electricity!

Thanks to State Government solar feed-in tariffs in Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia, you will be paid for the energy exported back into the grid from your solar electricity system if you're on a net metered arrangement.

But if you can't afford the solar panels up front, then most companies will fit them for free but keep the feed in tariff payments. So you will get free solar panels.

The payment is made quarterly based on energy generated. The tariff rate is guaranteed for 20 years. In Germany, a guaranteed PV tariff means that Germany now has the highest PV capacity per capita.

If Australia solar power companies can be half as successful as the Germans in rolling this out then they can become major players in the world market.

Solar Power Grants

The Australian governments solar power grants initiative seem to have had their desired effect as households take advantage of these rebates to install their own solar power systems.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett says the government's controversial solar rebate program is growing fast.

He said applications for the $8000 rebate for solar power systems have grown at significant levels since they were introduced.

The opposition relentlessly attacked the government for means testing the rebate claiming that it was unfair.

However, Garrett says "We've seen record growth in the number of solar rebate applications lodged since the government acted on budget night to better target the rebate to those earning less than $100,000."

"An average of 522 applications have been lodged weekly since the budget with 794 in one week alone."

Mr Garrett said this rate of application was higher than in any single week before the budget throughout the program's history and was 150 applications per week higher than the average in the four weeks before the budget.

It was far beyond the average of 30 weekly applications at the time of the last coalition budget, he said.

"This confirms that the government took the right step in bringing funds forward for this program and ensuring that they go to those Australian families that most need financial assistance to install solar power systems in their homes," Mr Garrett said.

"Despite the scaremongering of the opposition, in the 10 weeks since the budget we have seen continuing solid demand for this program and I am confident that will continue."

Australia used to be a world leader in solar energy and despite still having some of the most skilled people in the industry, the country has slipped behind the likes of Germany and Japan on the world stage for installing solar power systems. But hopefully with initiatives such as these solar power grants they can claw their way back.

Australia Solar Power Installers

Solar Max Australia - JRL Energy Solution Pty. Ltd - is one of the pioneers with the utilization of the all-glass evacuated tubular solar collectors and solar hot water systems in the world, and their products have been sold in multiple countries, including Australia, Korea, Peru, New Zealand, Mexico, Belgium, Canada, Scandinavian, Thailand and France. They have earned a national and international reputation for excellent technology and performance results for high efficiency.

Planetary Power - founded in 1989, these specialise in the design, supply and installation of solar panels from the heart of Cairns through to some of the most remote locations in Australia.

Siddons Solar Stream - located in Toorak, Victoria, they specialise in an unique heat pump water heater.

For more in depth information go to solar power australia

If you would like more information on building and installing your own solar panels and saving yourself a fortune on installation costs, go to my solar power diy section.

Green Electricity

Australian green electricity suppliers are plentiful. So I'd advise you have a good shop around before you jump in.

Green energy suppliers supply electricity from environmentally friendly sources. Typically, this refers to renewable and non-polluting energy sources such as solar power, biomass or wind power.

It is called Green Electricity because it doesn’t generate any harmful greenhouse gases, while conventional electrical source such as fossil fuels, coal, and natural gas are enormous sources of greenhouse gas emissions which contributes to the global warming crisis.

Buying green electricity is an opportunity to power your home or business in an environmentally friendly manner.

In Australia, green electricity suppliers are accredited under the GreenPower scheme whereby all suppliers are government audited to ensure that customers are getting exactly what they are paying for.

Today, many electricity providers offer green electricity. They may have a renewable or green tariff whereby every unit of electricity bought by the consumer on that tariff comes from a renewable source of energy. In many cases this green electricity is available to the consumer at little or no extra charge; you just need to sign up for it.

There are currently 750,000 GreenPower customers with these electricity suppliers with the largest distributors being EnergyAustralia, Jackgreen, Origin Energy and TRUenergy.

Below is a list of electricity suppliers who offer a residential green power accredited program:

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