Green-power households would cash in under proposed renewable energy laws

A scheme which would see WA households and businesses paid for any renewable energy they generate - plus a small profit - has been introduced into Parliament.

The Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff Bill, a gross feed-in tariff scheme, was introduced by Greens MLC Robin Chapple in the Legislative Council this morning.

It would oblige transmission companies Western Power or Horizon Power to pay generators, including households, the cost of production, plus a rate of return yet to be worked out - but likely to be around the long-term bond rate (about 6 per cent at present) - for 20 years.
Those costs would be passed on to retailers such as Synergy who would then pass them on to customers "if not offset by other savings", Mr Chapple told Parliament.

Savings could include renewable energy certificates - issued by the federal government - being surrendered by generators to power retailers to be sold on the open market.

The Bill drew on legislation from Germany, Denmark and Spain, which were recognised as world leaders in feed-in tariffs, and could easily be adopted by other Australian states.

Payments would be stopped after 20 years by which time it was expected renewable energy would be cost-effective.

The scheme could encourage more than $4 billion in renewable energy investment in the next 10 years, Mr Chapple claimed.

"(It's) a simple robust cost-effective mechanism to support renewable energy development in WA," he said.

Unlike the federal government's scheme, which heavily favoured large wind energy projects over other forms of renewable energy, the WA scheme would be democratic.

The state government announced a net feed-in tarriff scheme in last month's budget.

With a net scheme, only excess power above that required by a household is paid for, while with a gross scheme all power generated is paid for, with the homeowner still required to pay their full power bill.

The government's $23 million scheme, which would see households paid up to 47 cents a kilowatt-hour, was "piecemeal window dressing", Mr Chapple said.

Environmental groups criticised the net scheme as few households would ever generate more energy than they needed to take advantage of it.

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Financing for energy retrofits coming soon, but facing hurdles

Oakland homeowners may soon have incentives to insulate their walls, upgrade windows and install solar panels, thanks to a countywide program set to launch this fall. Through the Alameda County Energy Efficiency and Green Retrofit Program, owners of residential property in the county can get rebates for making energy-saving improvements to their property. They will also be able to take out a loan to pay for the improvements, and then pay it back through their property taxes over a period of up to 20 years.

"There's a big tidal wave of money coming into the state for energy-saving home retrofits," said Bruce Mast, director of programs for Build It Green, one of the retrofit program's numerous partners. Mast introduced the complex scheme, part of a statewide initiative called Energy Upgrade California, to some 70 contractors at Hayward City Hall on Wednesday evening, June 30.

"It's a government-sponsored tidal wave so it's moving at a glacial pace," he joked, followed by chuckles from the audience, who listened intently to what could be a major boon to the green building industry. "But it is eventually going to thaw, and when it does it's going to be big, and hopefully we're going to be ready."

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British Gas starts £15 million free solar installations scheme for schools

To kick-start its move into becoming a major solar energy installer in the UK, the country's leading energy supplier, British Gas has started a £15 million project to supply 1,100 primary and secondary schools in total with free solar systems worth between £20,000 and £40,000 pounds per school over the next five years.

British Gas estimates that the scheme will generate approximately £1.3 million in revenues per annum under the UK feed-in tariff, which will be reinvested by the British Gas Energy For Tomorrow Trust, a 'not for profit' trust fund established by British Gas to invest in low carbon projects in the UK fund further free installations at schools across the country.

"This is the biggest investment of its kind in solar technology for our nation's schools, which will help them cut both their carbon emissions and their electricity bills - as well as learn about renewable energy in a hands-on way,” commented Phil Bentley, Managing Director, British Gas.

So far, British Gas has earmarked half of the total investment at schools in low income areas in conjunction with the Government's Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), but all schools in the UK can register for an application form at http://www.generationgreen.co.uk/ British Gas. A competition is expected to be announced that schools can participate in to potentially win a free solar installation at their given school.

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Free Energy Efficient Fridge Freezer

This is an amazing opportunity to get yourself a brand new energy effecient Fridge Freezer worth £400. nPower are giving away 900 of these but there is a small catch. You need to have broadband internet connection because the appliance will be using it to monitor your energy usage.

These trials, funded through npower’s Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) programme, will be the first of their kind to happen in Britain’s residential market.

The aim of the trial is to establish how effective Dynamic Demand technology can be when used in fridges deployed in residential properties. In order to carry this out, we need volunteers to use the Dynamic Demand fridges*, just as they would their current fridge.

Volunteer