Electric Cars an Opportunity for Feed in Tariff System
By
Victor Bivell
Eco Investor,
December 2008 Edition
The Germans
may not be famous for their sense of humour but a German solar energy
trade mission seemed to have a good chuckle in Sydney last month as they
explained how Germany is the world leader in solar energy despite having
a northern European level of sunshine. The prospect of doing business
in high sunshine Australia also seemed to give them good cheer.
The reason
for their success is the German Government's feed in tariff system, so
it was the right place for NSW Climate Change minister Carmel Tebbutt
to announce that NSW will join the other states in introducing a feed
in tariff system for solar energy, and that the NSW system will be along
the lines of the anticipated federal system.
The design
of a national feed in tariff (FIT) system, and what renewable energy sources
to include, was the subject of a recent report by a Senate Committee.
While FIT schemes
are generally based around solar energy, and while it may not be appropriate
for all renewable energies to be part of a national FIT scheme, wind energy
is an obvious candidate for inclusion.
Two developments
point to the inclusion of wind energy. The first is the imminent arrival
of small wind turbines for houses and small properties, and the almost-as-imminent
arrival of industrial wind farms for industrial properties in urban areas.
Small wind
is likely to prove popular with many householders, and industrial wind
to interest businesses and commercial property investors. The technologies
will allow both groups to make an important contribution to our energy
supply and enhance their family or business budgets at the same time.
The second
development is the much-anticipated arrival in a few years of the plug-in
electric car. If the electric car is as popular as expected, it could
transform the national economy.
On one hand
it will substitute massive oil imports for home made electricity, and
give additional energy security. On the other hand, it will create an
increase in electricity demand that needs to be met in a responsible way.
The electric
car could also transform household and business budgets. Where a household
may spend say $500 on electricity and say $3,000 on petrol each year,
it could change to spending the equivalent of $3,500 on electricity.
This change
would be an opportunity to transform household and to some extent business
budgets in a very positive way. Instead of paying out say $3,500 a year,
families could dramatically reduce this cost or even generate cash if
they could apply the full range of suitable renewables to the task. With
potential 24 hour operation, wind is a logical inclusion in the feed in
tariff mix.
The same applies
to businesses and property owners. Recently a US hospital turned its car
park into a solar energy generator and a new source of cash flow. In the
UK industrial wind turbines have turned supermarkets and petrol stations
into energy and cash generators. An Australian owned company and its US
partner are working to turn architectural shade cloth roofing into solar
generators and revenue sources.
The trend seems
global and unstoppable. So let's go with it. Let the government join in
too. The Solar Schools Program is a good start and makes it easy to envisage
solar panels on every school roof. It's just another step to see solar
panels on every hospital, police station, prison, Council and other government
owned roof. Many of these properties are also suitable for wind turbines.
With houses
and investment, commercial and government properties generating renewable
energy we have a national project that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
reduce oil imports and provide energy security while generating income
for families, small businesses and investors.
How much is
that worth?
This article
was also published in The Australian newspaper
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