Solar Citizens is asking Australians to sign its Clean Energy For All petition, which calls on all political parties to assist millions of Australians currently unable to access the benefits of solar energy.
The myth that solar power is for the rich has been well and truly (and repeatedly) busted; with some of the nation’s top solar postcodes located in what are considered “mortgage belts”. But there’s a significant chunk of the population who still can’t access solar – primarily Australians in rentals, apartment dwellers and those in low income households.
The Solar Citizens petition, launched yesterday, urges all political parties to commit to making clean energy accessible for all Australians, by:
- Committing to solar power systems for one million rental homes.
- Making it easy for people who live in apartments to tap the benefits of PV.
- Assist low-income households in slashing their power bills by making solar more accessible.
“People with low disposable incomes, or who live in public housing, often struggle to pay the upfront cost of solar, even though they would benefit the most from generating their own cost-cutting power,” says Solar Citizens new National Director, Joseph Scales. “Likewise, renters and people who live in apartments face unique obstacles when it comes to soaking up the solar savings. It’s time for everyone to have a slice of the clean energy pie!”
Missing from all this was any mention of how Solar Citizens believe this should be achieved. Still, it’s a call to action and given the group’s strong support base, no doubt they’ll be racking up quite a few signatures. A previous publication by the group – the Homegrown Power Plan (PDF) – does touch on some of these issues.
The rental market in Australia is huge, representing an ocean of rooftops that in many cases could be cranking out cheaper, clean power for the residents living below them and slashing emissions.
While the following are old figures (2011), the Australian Bureau of Statistics put occupied rental dwelling at the time at:
- 1.248 million stand-alone houses
- 357, 649 semi-detached homes, row/terrace or townhouses
- 662,465 flats, units or apartments
- 25,146 other rented dwellings
The above included stock associated with state or territory housing authorities (total figure: 314,692).
The number of occupied apartments not rented was around the 390,000 mark.
Queensland Solar For Public Housing Trial
To its credit, the Queensland Government has already been making some inroads on the solar for public housing front. In March, we reported close to 500 households in the state were part of a pilot program involving a mix of rooftop installations and a 200kW solar farm. The trial is evaluating the costs, challenges and benefits of such a scheme, with view to expanding the program if it’s successful. The Palaszczuk Government said it would next turn its attention to the situation in the state’s private rental market.
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Great, renters want to reap the benefits of solar, who is going to pay the daily supply charge, as here in Western Australia it is .862780 cents plus GST per day?
Good question to which I have no answer, Bob P. As a fellow sandgroper (WA resident to those over east), an owner-occupier with a new PV system and a landlord I’d like to know how the ATO treats the tax-deductibility of rental-premises solar systems–depreciation? If so, at what rate? Or upfront deduction? Sure, I could go to the ATO site and churn through the bureaucra-tease if they have an answer, but I’m lazy.
If a small businesses installs a commercial solar system for under $20,000 before July 1t this year they can write it off immediately. But my understanding is this doesn’t apply to rental properties. I don’t understand why not. Otherwise it appears PV solar is depreciated over 20 years. I go into this a little in this article:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/small-business-solar-payback/