THE RET (RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGET) REVIEW AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR SOLAR INDUSTRY

The Federal Government has had the solar industry in its sights for a long time and now that it is
in Government it is doing all it can to cripple the industry. Its hands are tied until the end of
June but come July it will have a Senate that will be able to rubber stamp its retrograde policies.
Their approach will not change unless there is a massive voter backlash and as an industry we need
to be the trigger for that backlash by educating our past and future customers about the impact of
the RET removal or reduction. When is the RET Review to be finalised? Around the time the
Government has a rubber stamp Senate!

• The RET is the driver for the STC price. If the RET is reduced the price of the STCs will fall.
Remember the impact on our businesses when it dropped to $15? Sales dropped with the price. If the
RET is removed as the Government would love to do, there will be no STCs and not only will
residential solar be in crisis, but so will all the large scale renewable energy projects that
require a RET to be viable. There will be massive job losses in the thousands and many business
closures.
• To obtain STCs, the job must be installed by an accredited solar installer, YOU. No RET then no
STCs and unless the energy retailers start requiring accreditation to connect to the network, you
will be redundant. Any electrician, trained or not, will be able to install solar. The quality
issues that will arise in our industry if this happens are monumental.

The Government’s agenda so far …

  • Shutting down ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) which provides crucial funding for renewable research and cutting edge projects
  • Shutting down the CCA (Climate Change Authority) which provides independent climate analysis to Government so that the decisions made by Government have a sound basis in the science.
  • Shutting down the CEFC (Clean Energy Finance Corporation) which loans funds to industry to grow new renewable technologies and fund ventures. It actually makes money for the Government.
  • Removing the Carbon Tax so that polluters will not be penalised and have no incentive to reduce emissions.
  • Removing or reducing the RET to ensure that their mates in the coal and gas industry have less competition from renewables such as solar and wind.

THE INDUSTRY NEEDS YOUR HELP!
Contact your local pollie. Have all the solar people in the electorate turn up for a meeting.
Send details to your customer database flagging what is about to take place. They will have friends
and family who haven’t yet installed solar but will want to in the future.
Make sure they all know that only 3% (and falling) of power cost increases are due to the RET, the
bulk (92%) is network costs and margins.
Contact the local media – TV, radio, newspapers.
Get the message out on social media, there is no time to lose.

BRIAN ENGLAND
National Chairman, Solar Energy Industries Association Inc