Australia is the perfect place for solar power to reach its true potential. It has the sixth largest land mass of any country in the world and is home to great expanses of hot, sunny plains known as the outback. Today, the island country gets just two tenths of its electricy from solar panels and solar energy. Luckily solar panel installation in Australia is gainin popularity as the government begins to offer incentives to make the switch.
One such rewards program is a simple rebate for anyone who chooses to install solar panels in their home, business or other building. This is a common way governments, companies and organizations all over the world encourage citizens to make changes for the better. Though this rebate program has since been replaced with an energy credits system similar to the one in the US, the Australian government continues to provide citizens with financial incentive to install solar panels.
The Australian government is also offering feed-in tariffs to solar power companies. These contracts are another common tool to enable change. The government is choosing to boister these alternative power generating companies in order to boost the sustainability of their electricity. In most cases, these feed-in tariff contracts are loans that the government gives to a promising business that is ready and waiting to build a successful solar power plant. If left alone, a company that today produces a significant amount of Australia’s solar power could have never gotten off the ground. Feed-in tariffs clear the way for new and socially smart business niches to fill up.
It’s a good thing, too, because the Australian government has made a sincere commitment to solar power. Like many European companies, Australia is determined to switch 20% or more of their electricity to sustainable means by the year 2020! This kind of specific commitment to alternative power is what makes national and international change possible. The great Australian outback isn’t getting any cooler and the earth no younger. By 2020, a significant portion of the Western world will have made a dramatic shift to solar power. Here comes the sun!
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