Solar Bonus Scheme
QLD Feed-in Tariff pays 44c per kWh
Program Overview
The Queensland Government Solar Bonus Scheme is a feed-in tariff to pay domestic and other small energy customers for the surplus electricity generated from roof-top solar systems that is fed back into the Queensland grid.
Customers signed-up to the scheme will be paid 44 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for surplus electricity fed into the grid - around three times the current general domestic use tariff of 16.29c/kWh (inc GST).
Making Solar Pay
Taking advantage of this feed-in tariff is the single most important thing solar power customers can do to make solar power a true financial investment.
And even better than 44c per kWh, some electricity retailers are offering up to 50c per kWh for your clean, green solar power!
Eligibility
To be eligible to receive the solar bonus, customers must:
- Consume no more than 100 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year (the average household uses 10 MWh a year)
- Purchase and install a new solar power system (not solar hot water system) or operate an existing system that is connected to the Queensland electricity grid
- Generate surplus electricity that is fed into the Queensland electricity grid
- Ensure they have an agreement in place with their electricity distributor (Ergon Energy or Energex) to have adequate metering installed
Metering
The electricity generated by the solar power system is fed into the customer's electricity load to help power the home or business. It is also connected to the electricity grid via a meter which records both electricity imported from the grid and exported from the solar system to the grid.
When the electricity produced by the solar power system exceeds the load (customer's demand for electricity), this excess electricity is fed into the grid via the 'export' register of the meter.
When the meter reader visits a customer's home or business at the end of the quarter, the total amount of electricity exported to the grid and the total amount imported from the grid will be read and passed onto the retailer to calculate the bill.
How To Apply
The solar bonus will be paid to consumers by the electricity retailer that supplies them with grid-connected electricity.
Once the scheme commences in mid-2008, consumers wishing to sign-up to receive the bonus should contact their electricity retailer in the first instance.