Solar peak bodies in Australia are growing more concerned that there has been no progress or policy announcement and that their Solar Solution and expert industry advice has been sidelined.

Three weeks on from the NSW Government Solar Summit, where the industry and NSW householders were promised an urgent review of the solar program, the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) understand no progress has been made.

Solar jobs are being axed at an unprecedented rate and householders are increasingly uncertain about their solar future.

AuSES and SEIA said they welcome the efforts of other organisations such as the Clean Energy Council (CEC) who have been trying to work with the NSW Government to resolve the issue without success.

“The more organisations we have supporting this vital renewable energy industry, the better”, said AuSES Chief Executive John Grimes.

“But this is not the time for long, drawn out negotiations, which are costing jobs and killing the industry.”

“The solution isn’t hard. It can be implemented tomorrow at no cost to the taxpayer,” said Grimes.

“Installers across the state are putting customers interested in reducing their family power bills and helping the environment on hold because there is no policy”, said SEIA President Ged McCarthy.

The peak industry bodies have agreed that the solar industry can’t afford to compromise below a 1:1 fair price for solar. Under this model, households that generate excess power through their solar systems are reimbursed for the clean energy they feed back into the electricity grid.

“It’s only fair”, said Grimes. “We aren’t asking for handouts, special treatment or extra money. If there is no solar policy, people with solar systems can’t do anything with their excess power except give it to the utilities for an unfair price. The utilities then sell it to non-solar households at an inflated rate.

“That’s not fair to solar households, it’s not equitable for non-solar households, and it doesn’t help the people of NSW, their power bills, or the environment,” Grimes concluded.