Sun tax on customers

SOLAR customers are being urged to install battery systems ahead of an impending “sun tax” that will see users charged for exporting power when there is low demand, as the state grapples with the ongoing energy crisis.

LNP energy spokesman Pat Weir said Queenslanders would “continue to operate in the dark while the Palaszczuk government fails to detail its plan for future energy supply”.

“Solar users are rightly concerned that feed-in tariffs are dropping at a time when there should be incentives for the uptake of renewable energy,” he said. “The events of the last 24 hours have again proved the importance of a reliable energy network that prioritises network security and affordability.”

Clean Energy Council director of distributed energy Darren Gladman said “most solar customers still purchase some electricity from the grid so if electricity prices rise, they will be affected by that”.

He said the increase in wholesale electricity prices would (eventually) lead to an increase in the feed-in tariff (FiT).

“This will make solar an even more financially attractive option in future, once the electricity prices increases have flowed through to consumers,” Mr Gladman said.

The AEMC Retail Price Trends report for 2021 estimates annual consumption in Queensland to be 5650kWh per annum, which is equivalent to about 15.5kWh per day.

A 5kW system in Brisbane is expected to generate about 21.0kWh per day on average.

But Mr Gladman said to avoid buying from the grid, “the electricity would either need to be consumed when it is generated or stored in a battery”.

Sales of solar PV in Queensland in May were about 10 per cent above April figures – anecdotal reports from industry suggest sales are rebounding even more strongly in June,” he said.

It comes as the Australian Energy Regulator has confirmed a controversial shake-up to the solar industry that will see households charged for exporting solar electricity at certain times from 2025.

But experts say the impost can be navigated by avoiding peak times and making better use of energy storage systems.

Compare the Market’s general manager energy and utilities Brett Mifsud said when two-way pricing was introduced, families would likely be charged a fee to export during low-demand times, such as the middle of the day when solar electricity was generated.