Do you know that the average amount of solar energy that falls on Australia is about 15,000 times the amount of energy that we use each year! Well that could be money in your pocket that is currently going to waste………..The Queensland Solar Bonus Scheme is a net tariff scheme which means that at any point in time when your household consumes less electricity than your PV system is generating, you are paid for the surplus electricity that is fed back into the grid, and they will actually pay you more for what you generate then you usually pay for your electricity currently, what a great deal!:-)

To be eligible for the feed-in tariff, you must:

• Consume less than 100 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year.
• Purchase and install a new solar power system (not solar hot water system) or operate an existing system that is connected to the Queensland electricity grid.
• Generate surplus electricity that is fed into the Queensland electricity grid.
• Have an agreement in place with your electricity distributor (Ergon Energy, ENERGEX or Country Energy) and have appropriate metering installed.
• Have a solar PV system with a capacity of up to 10kVA for single phase power and 30kVA for three-phase power.
• Hold an electricity account with an electricity retailer.

 Check your eligibility on the Queensland Government Office of Clean Energy website; http://www.cleanenergy.qld.gov.au/solar_bonus_scheme.cfm

Your electricity bill will be credited at the rate of 44 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for surplus electricity fed into the grid at any instant when your household is using less electricity than your system is generating. When the meter reader visits your home or business at the end of the quarter, the total amount of surplus electricity exported to the grid and the total amount imported from the grid will be read and passed onto the retailer to calculate the bill.

You may need to make changes to the way that your property is wired and metered in order to start claiming the rebate. (see our previous news item on the additional costs imposed by new Electricity retailer requirements for metering commencing July 1st 2010) Contact your electricity retailer for detailed information on what you need to do. The additional costs associated with these changes will now be included in all the quotes we do for our customers for the installation of Solar PV Grid systems. 

Full information is available on the Queensland Government’s Office of Clean Energy website. You can also contact the Office of Clean Energy on (07) 3237 1508 or by email to info@cleanenergy.qld.gov.au if you have further questions after speaking with your electricity provider.

If you are thinking that you might be interested in finding more about installing a renewable energy system with the intention of furthering a business, or creating extra income, then we have some exciting news about solar investment opportunities……..

Please call Michael Berris 0419 796 845 for further information