New Victorian Feed in Tariff Opens

The closure of the premium Victorian feed in tariff is not the end for solar PV system owners in the state and surely not a blunder in Victoria’s renewable energy goals. Starting January 1, 2012 eligible system owners can start receiving credits through the state’s transitional feed in tariff.

Replacing the 60 cents premium feed in tariff, the transitional scheme at 25 cents for every kilowatt of surplus electricity fed back to the state grid will be the second most generous tariff in the country next to Queensland and is still slightly higher than the average retail rate consumers pay for electricity. The transitional feed in tariff will have a designated cap of 75 megawatts of installed solar PV in Victoria territory with guaranteed credits up to 2016, which gives plenty of time for consumers and system owners to benefit from the scheme.

• Key eligibility factor for the transitional feed in tariff are as follows:
• Installed solar PV system must not exceed 5 kilowatts in capacity.
• For households -  must be claiming for your principal place of residence
• For small businesses and organizations – must not exceed an annual energy consumption of 100 megawatt hours

·         Claim only one solar PV system per site (if you are a small business or community organisation operating across multiple sites, you can claim for one system per site)

·         have bi-directional metering in place that measures two-way electricity flows and records them on a half hourly basis (smart meters)

For solar PV system owners with a capacity of greater than 5 kilowatts and less than 100 kilowatts, the standard feed in tariff will remain open and will continue to be offered not only for solar power but also for wind, hydro and biomass system owners.

Customers already under the standard feed in tariff will be given an option to either transfer to the transitional scheme or remain in their current feed in tariff scheme for maximum benefit and better service from the local government

The introduction of the new tariff in the opening of 2012 serves as a new hope for solar PV system owners and renewable energy enthusiast, the 75 megawatts cap is expected to be filled as quick as the original 150 megawatts premium cap, it is best to act now if you want to benefit under the scheme and start reducing your energy bills whilst reducing your carbon footprints for future generations.