Speakers from the Australian Photovoltaic Association have said at the Solar 2013 conference that renewables are going to have a battle on their hands with ‘big energy’ companies. The solar boom went on ahead without them and now they are going to have to fight to protect their revenues and old out-dated coal plants. In the meantime, the Greens have suggested an Energy Saving Agency that will be independent and ensure fair pricing while saving us all money.

Muriel Watt from the Australian Photovoltaic Association has said that big energy companies will fight and push against solar power by any means possible. They will attempt to demonise it and impose harsh fees – they will discriminate and divide the population into “have and have nots.”

The solar industry has already seen articles about ‘terrible costs to big energy companies’ without listing any of the benefits solar power also offers them. We have busted myth, after myth, after myth – probably with still many more to come. However, research and facts will always overcome and the industry will bust any future myths they can throw at us. Individual owners of solar systems now also have a means of getting themselves heard with ‘Solar Citizens’ which officially launched earlier this month.

Ms Watt’s said, “The incumbents have found that renewables actually work. They thought that we would always be in the R&D bucket.” It is obviously no surprise to any in the solar industry that solar works and is obviously no surprise to the million plus households around Australia that have had solar power installed. The ‘big energy’ companies just got left behind.

According to RenewEconomy’s article, Ms Watt cited the following tactics that could be used by big energy companies to push back solar.

– Low buy back rates

– Gross metering

– Higher fixed charges

– Restrictions on new connections

– Discriminatory offerings (homes without solar will get offered different deals/discounts)

– Restrictions on operation (curtailing output when they don’t want it)

– Divide customers by ‘have and have nots’

– Mobilizing anti-renewable lobby groups

– Political and regulatory support

The Greens have proposed and independent body called the Energy Saving Agency that will help lower electricity bills for all households and ensure a fair pricing scheme. The Greens believe that the Agency could bring power bills down by $1 billion in energy savings through improving efficiencies and reducing greenhouse gases.

Targets set by the Agency would be collaborative in the beginning and become mandatory if networks do not meet the standard set within 18 months. According to costing’s done by the Parliamentary Budget Office, the Agency would cost around $400 million a year to operate.

Ms Watt’s and the Greens both complain that the Governments let overspending occur in the ‘gold plating’ of the network system and have not catered for the boom in renewables and decreased demand.