Solar panels are a significant investment, but fortunately there is a subsidy for installing them as well as a netting scheme once they generate electricity. The netting scheme would be completely abolished: with this rule you can earn money by supplying electricity generated from your solar panels back to the electricity grid. The plan was to stop this scheme, but the government has now decided differently: the netting scheme will remain.
Netting arrangement remains
While the cabinet thought it was a good idea to stop that benefit for people with solar panels, the Senate faction voted against. That’s good news if you have solar panels, because it means a discount on your energy bill. You can deduct the energy that you generate with your own solar panels from the energy that you receive from your energy supplier. This is not always clearly reflected in smart meters, but it is settled in that way.
The scheme has been in existence since 2004 and aims to persuade people to purchase solar panels. They were certainly relatively expensive in the early years, but it is still a significant investment. Ultimately, the panels often pay for themselves, but that takes a lot of time. However, it does help create a lot of green energy, which is why the government wanted to encourage the purchase of solar panels. It did (and does) this by providing a subsidy to reduce the purchase price somewhat, but also with this netting scheme. Being able to “feed back” electricity means that you spend less money on your electricity and that is a major advantage, especially with the prices we have seen in recent years.
Solar panels more attractive again
This netting scheme would be stopped completely in 2031, but will first be phased out over a number of years. However, the Senate faction is putting a stop to that. It states that the beneficial schemes surrounding solar panels are now being removed when people on lower incomes are less eligible for them and that is not fair. Solar panels have fallen significantly in price in recent years because there is more supply. Ultimately, politicians want the payback period to be approximately seven to nine years and it should remain that way once the netting arrangement is no longer in place.
This requires time and encouragement for people to choose solar panels. It is therefore logical that this netting arrangement will remain in place for a while and that people with solar panels will benefit from it, and people without panels will be persuaded to also switch to this more sustainable form of energy.
