A Green Opportunity for Melbourne Residents

Despite the recent uncertainty in the Victorian Feed in Tariff, Melbourne residents need not to worry and can still enjoy the benefits of solar power with a new transitional Feed in Tariff scheme early this year and generous rebates by replacing electric powered water heaters to solar hot water systems and installing rooftop solar PV systems.

Under the new tariff households and local businesses can save hundreds of dollars per year on energy bills and reduce at about 2 tonnes of carbon. By installing a solar hot water system you can reduce your water heating cost by up to 75% equivalent to 30% of your total energy bills whilst installing rooftop solarpanels in Melbourne properties can help reduce your total energy bills by almost 40%.

The New Feed in Tariff

The Victorian feed in tariff will be open to Victorian properties on January 1, 2012 with a cap of 75 megawatts across the state.  The new scheme will pay Victorian residents 25 cents for every KW of surplus electricity fed back to the state grid generated by rooftop solar PV panels given that they abide by the guidelines and eligibility factors released by the state.

Although a significant cut was made in the scheme, it is still the second most generous in the country next to Queensland and with the falling prices of solar power systems quick return of investments can still be noted.

Consumers who are under the new feed in tariff and will be under the scheme will receive guaranteed credits up to 2016.

For Solar Hot Water

Installing solar hotwater in Melbourne properties became easier with the rebates program of both the federal and the state government. The federal government will be providing a $1000 rebate for pensioners and low income families and a $600 rebate for the rest of eligible citizens of the country. The rebate will be boosted by the Victorian rebate scheme of $300 - $1500 in Metropolitan Melbourne and $400 - $1,600 in Regional Victoria.

Other Incentives you can take Claim

The Australian government will be issuing Small-scale Technology Certificates to eligible system owners which can be sold to subsidies the upfront cost of solar PV and solar hot water systems at a current average price of $37 each.

Under the VEET (Victorian Energy Efficiency Target) which was introduced on 2009, the state will be creating Energy Efficiency Certificates (Energy Saver Certificates) to promote and assist Victorian residents in making the switch the solar power.