A third factor and potential barrier is the market facilitator, namely, real estate agents. This group must be able to sense a market appetite for solar technologies if they are to be promoted in advertisements and the sales process. If the agent does not understand the benefits to owners and occupants, they are less likely to make such references in advertisements. Inability or reluctance on the part of agents to promote house solar technologies positively could therefore act as an impediment to long-term market acceptance of such technologies.
Solar in Australia
Australia is one of the sunniest continents in the world( NREL 2008) yet it has one of the lowest uptake of small-scale solar technologies( Pew 2013) suggesting a“ disconnect” between opportunity and resource exploitation. There are approximately 1.25 million solar PV installations in Australia( Clean Energy Council 2013) and relative costs for the purchase and installation of PV systems has fallen to approximately one quarter compared to costs around the late 1990’ s / 2000( APVA 2013). As a result of government efforts to enhance the uptake of such technologies, these costs are currently subsidised by rebates at Federal and State government levels. At the Federal level, homeowners seeking to install a new system are able to apply for solar rebates to assist with initial capital outlays, and at the State level feed-in tariffs of 6.2 cents per kilowatt-hour exist( Energy and Resources Victoria 2015A). This amount, under the current Liberal Federal government has been reduced substantially from 60 cents per kilowatt-hour provided in 2009 under a Labour Federal government( Energy and Resources Victoria 2015B). This decline in feed-in tariff rates is arguably appropriate as the market rate for domestic electricity supply is around 30 cents per kilowatt-hour( Origin Energy 2015) and therefore, high feed-in tariffs are unsustainable.
The argument for the adoption of solar technologies in Australia is predicated upon cheaper energy bills. Typical Australian rebates for PV systems allow for payback back periods around four to six years depending upon the size of the system( Solar Choice 2014). Installations of solar PV systems in Victoria have increased significantly since 2008( Figure 1). This sudden and rapid uptake is largely attributed to the introduction of more generous government rebate schemes. Financial funding for these schemes has been progressively reduced from 2012. Figure 1 shows the total installations of PV systems in Victoria since 2006 and Figure 2 shows the year on year growth of these systems. In Victoria 12.9 % of dwellings have been fitted with PV systems( Australian PV Institute 2015).
50 ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari- Lecce, Italy