Peak industry bodies are disappointed with the NSW Government for its changes in the Solar Bonus Scheme.

The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) criticised NSW Premier Kristina Keneally for its decision to substantially reduce the solar feed in tariff for future solar electricity systems.

NECA's NSW Chapter Chief Executive, Mr Lindsay Le Compte, said the Keneally Government's announcement that it intended to immediately legislate to reduce the gross feed-in tariff from $0.60 per kilowatt hour to $0.20 per kilowatt hour was a gross mistreatment of small business.

The Government was advised when the original legislation was introduced that it could create a boom and bust outcome and now that is what we have.

"It is as if they just do not care about the massive effect of their decisions on the many mum and dad businesses that have made the decisions to spent hard earned money establishing their businesses to deliver solar power systems to the people of NSW," M r Le Compte said.

"The result of lowering the feed in tariff to $0.20 per kilowatt hour will be that a significant number of electrical businesses still recovering from the global financial crisis may go bust - a scenario that was advised to the Government when the initial legislation was being considered."

There are a number of options that are available to address the effect of the take up of the solar rebate that do not appear to have been canvassed and will not be canvassed if the legislation is rammed through the NSW Parliament this afternoon or tonight.

"The Government has undertaken a review of the scheme, panicked and acted without consulting any stakeholders including the peak electrical body in NSW.

"The Government should release the report of the review and give all stakeholders the opportunity to give it careful consideration and propose alternative options before any legislation is debate d in Parliament," Mr Le Compte said.

Solar Bonus Scheme - A missed opportunity

NSW has missed the opportunity to take a bold step forward in the uptake of renewable energy, according to the Property Council of Australia (PCA).

"We are disappointed that the Government has not expanded the scheme to include customers that generate more than 10 kilowatts of electricity," PCA's NSW Deputy Executive Director Edward Palmisano said.

"This would have allowed the commercial sector to participate in the scheme. It would have increased the amount of renewable energy transferred back to the grid and taken the load off traditional energy sources.

"This means no real incentives are available to office buildings, shopping centres, industrial parks, tourist accommodation and other commercial properties.

"It would have been a great opportunity to stimulate the renewable energy sector and provide a greater return on investment for installing solar panels. It would have increased investment in clean energy and created more green jobs.

"If you are interested in saving the planet, it shouldn't matter whether a solar panel sits on the roof of a home or the roof of a commercial property."