The city council of the up-market suburb of Nedlands has made it mandatory for home builders and renovators to install 1.5kW’s of renewable energies on all new builds.

“All new development and at Council’s discretion, substantial additions to existing development, shall provide on-site power generation by solar, wind or other means,” the law states. “For new residential dwellings, a rooftop solar or other on-site energy system of a minimum capacity of 1.5kW must be installed. For non-residential developments with a value exceeding $1 million, the size of compulsory additional on-site energy capacity will determined by Council ‘with due regard to roof area and height’.”

The motion was brought forward by Nedlands Mayor Max Hipkins who called on the wealthy home owners of the suburb to lead by example and embrace renewable energies. He compared the cost of installing the mandatory size system with the amount of money the average Nedland resident would spend on a dining room table.

The myth that renewable energies are for the wealthy has been debunked so many times with stats showing that average Joe’s with mortgages and regular salaries have the highest solar uptake. That is because installing solar makes good financial sense and is now obtainable with no deposit, interest free finance. People can get relief from high power bills and constantly increasing electricity prices through solar power.

If the support for the RET stays intact, more and more city councils will also be enforcing similar laws to encourage on-site electricity generation from renewables.