A majority of Victorians want to see even more investment in renewable energy and remain concerned about climate change according to a recent survey.
Recently released results from polling involving 3,091 Victorians aged 18 years and over commissioned by the Victorian Trades Hall Council and conducted by Redbridge Group from 13-18 November 2020 indicate 61.3% believe the state needs to invest more in renewables. 25.8% said the level of investment was fine as it is, while just 12.8% believed more investment in non-renewables was required.
In terms of employment, 59.6% believe investing in renewable energy will create jobs, 14.4% said it will cost jobs and 26.0% weren’t sure either way. On the issue of climate change, 40.8% said they were extremely concerned and 34% somewhat concerned, while 25.2% were unconcerned.
While there is widespread support for climate action and renewables, support was strongest among women and by quite a margin on some questions asked.
The survey also looked at the notion from some corners that battlers are most resistant to climate change action and feel most threatened by the renewable energy revolution. Respondents were asked to self- identify whether they considered themselves to be ‘working class’, ‘middle class’, ‘upper middle class’ or ‘wealthy’. The report notes these self-identified classifications matched well with responses provided related to indicators including household income and highest education level.
It was the “wealthy” group most likely to be unconcerned about climate change, believe that renewables will cost jobs and think the government should not take climate action – and on the latter two by a significant margin. The group self-identifying to be “working class” were the second most likely on all three counts.
The full survey report can be viewed here.
Home Solar Power Popular All Round In Victoria
Regardless of views on climate change, home solar is continuing to power ahead in the state. While some may be installing systems with emissions reduction in mind, the biggest lure is undoubtedly the potential for solar energy to smash household electricity bills.
The latest data from Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator indicates more than 508,796 solar systems had been installed in Victoria (small-scale systems <100kW) by December 31, 2020. Diving deeper into the CER data reveals the following are the top 3 postcodes in the state for solar panel installations in terms of overall numbers to date.
- 3029 – suburbs include Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit and Truganina
- 3977 – suburbs include Cranbourne, Sandhurst and Skye + more
- 3030 – suburbs include Werribee, Point Cook, Quandong + more
It’s little wonder households continue to flock to the power bill busting technology given Victoria’s solar panel rebate, which currently offers up to a $1,850 subsidy on the cost of a system – and that’s in addition to the national “solar rebate“.
The two incentives mean a very rapid payback for many. For example, according to the SolarQuotes solar calculator used with its default settings (but reducing the noted system cost by the $1,850 state rebate), simple payback on a 6.6kW system installed in Hoppers Crossing is around the 3 years, 3 months mark.
As is the case around Australia, going solar is currently one of the best investments available to Victorians.
About Michael Bloch
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With the WA state parliamentary election polling day being due in about a month’s time (four weeks this coming Saturday), it is unfortunate, with the antipathy of the state government, and, the state parliament, overall, here, to clean energy, that an equivalent poll was not run for WA.