 
Parliament of Australia
Parliamentary Library; Carbon taxes
A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide. It is a pollution tax, which some economists favour because they tax a 'bad' rather than a 'good' (such as income). Carbon taxes address a negative externality. Externalities arise when an individual production or consumption activity imposes costs or benefits on others. In market transactions, these costs and benefits are not normally reflected in the prices involved in the transaction, or taken into account in the transaction decision.
By placing a cost on these negative externalities the underlying purpose of a carbon tax is to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and thereby slow global warming. It can be implemented by taxing the burning of fossil fuels—coal, petroleum products such as petrol and aviation fuel, and natural gas—in proportion to their carbon content.
http://www.aph.gov.au
Casey Weekly, Berwick; July 19, 2011
'No boom' for solar module maker
SOLAR manufacturers may not have their time in the sun despite the federal government's announcement of a $3.2billion renewable energy fund last week.
Jain Lal, director of Hallam-based Australian Solar Manufacturing, did not expect any of the windfall to flow through to his business.
http://www.caseyweeklyberwick.com.au
Casey Weekly, Cranbourne; July 18, 2011
Casey Solar Panel maker misses out on funds
SOLAR manufacturers may not be having their ‘time in the sun’ despite the federal government’s announcement last week of a $3.2billion renewable energy fund.
Jain Lal, director of Hallam-based Australian Solar Manufacturing, did not expect any of the windfall to flow through to his business.
The government’s proposed Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which is distributing the funds, will focus on research and development of new technologies.
http://www.caseyweeklycranbourne.com.au
SBS; July 13, 2011
Carbon Taxes around the world
Which other countries have a carbon tax?
Finland; The Netherlands; Sweden; India; Norway; Denmark; Switzerland; Ireland; Costa Rica; Quebec, Boulder
http://www.sbs.com.au
7 News; July 11, 2011
Coalition says Carbon Tax fight not over
The federal opposition is not conceding the carbon pricing scheme is a done deal, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her ministers cross the nation talking up the plan.
A day after unveiling her plan to put a $23 a tonne price on carbon from July 1 next year, Ms Gillard headed to the marginal Labor seat of Lindsay in Sydney's west to sell tax cuts and pension rises benefiting nine out of 10 households and emphasise the need for climate action.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/
Herald Sun; July 10, 2011
10 Things yu need to know about the Carbon Tax
1. About 8 million households will get some assistance
2. Average household costs will increase by $9.90 pw
3. The Tax will start at $23 per tonne and will hit about 500 companies - the largest polluters
4. About 60% of Australia's pollution will be covered
5. More than $9 billion is earmarked to preserve jobs in high polluting companies
6. Small businesses will get an asset write-off concession to help lower costs
7. Carbon emissions cut by 159m tonnes per year
8. Pensioners and self-funded retirees will get upto $338 extra per year
9. Farmers will not have to pay the tax
10. Tax thresholds will change
To read in detail click on link below:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au
The Sydney Morning Herald: July 10, 2011
Carbon tax explained
WHAT IS IT?
A flat charge of $23 per tonne of emissions will be levied on the top polluters. It is designed to change energy use and encourage investment in clean energy sources such as solar, gas and wind. In 2015, the tax will be replaced with a market-driven system, referred to as an Emissions Trading Scheme.
WHO PAYS THE TAX?
Only the nation's top 500 polluters, half the number originally planned. This is partly due to the government's decision to exclude fuel from the scheme. In total, 0.02 per cent of Australia's 3 million businesses will be taxed. Fuel suppliers and distributors and companies emitting synthetic greenhouse gases, including the refrigeration and air-conditioning industries, are exempt.
Click http://www.smh.com.au
Read more on " Where does the money go?" "When does it start?" "What does the opposition want?"
Casey Weekly, Berwick; June 14, 2011
Hallam Company's Day in Sun
SOLAR power has a bright future if governments can get the policy settings right and stick to them, says the head of a Hallam company that manufactures solar panels.
One of the few Australian makers of solar panels in an industry dominated by cheap Chinese imports, Australian Solar Manufacturing was named manufacturer of the year in last year's Casey Business Awards.
Company director Jain Lal said the award had boosted the company's reputation and resulted in a number of local orders for solar panel installation.
http://www.caseyweeklyberwick.com.au
27th August 2010
Casey Business Awards 2010 
From Left: Melissa Daquino (Sponsor - Fyna Foods), Janice (BDM), Jain Lal (Director)
Australian Solar Manufacturing Pty Ltd was announced Winner in the Manufacturer of the Year Category during the inaugural Casey Business Awards held at Arthur Wren Hall, Hampton Park.
The Casey Business Awards were designed to encourage local enterprise and celebrate business success in the City of Casey. 121 applications from 83 businesses across the municipality were received for this inaugural event!
inBusiness Magazine Issue 44 Special Edition Casey Business Award
http://www.casey.vic.gov.au
2nd March 2010
More would install solar if power paid for
THE cost of installing rooftop solar panels could be dramatically lowered by abolishing rebates and paying households a premium for all electricity generated at home, an economic analysis has found.
The analysis by consultants Access Economics, on behalf of the Electrical Trades Union, found a national gross feed-in-tariff would be a far cheaper way to boost uptake of rooftop solar panels than existing policies.
The union's Victorian secretary Dean Mighell said twice as many solar units would have been installed if the $1 billion spent on rebates was funnelled into a premium subsidy.
A national tariff has been backed by retailer Woolworths and the Property Council of Australia.
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/more-would-install-solar-if-power-paid-for-report-20100301-pdlu.html
2nd March 2010
Peter Garrett Demoted
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last week stripped Mr Garrett of responsibility for the program because of serious problems with its implementation.
Mr Garrett was demoted on Friday after the now-axed $2.45 billion home insulation program he oversaw was linked to four deaths and 93 house fires.
He will remain as Environment Minister but his portfolio will focus on environmental protection as well as heritage and the arts.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/02/2833721.htm
26th February 2010
Changes to the Renewable Energy Target Scheme
The Government announced proposed amendments to the RET scheme effective from 1 January 2011 including:
- the RET scheme will include two parts - the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET).
- the SRES will provide a fixed price of $40 per REC.
http://www.orer.gov.au/
Visit: Media Release -26 February 2010
As detailed in the media release, the Government will shortly release an industry consultation paper and intends to legislate the changes in the Winter Sittings of Parliament.
19th February 2010
The Australian Government’s Home Insulation Program and Solar Hot Water Rebate have been discontinued as of close of business Friday 19 February 2010.
The Government announced a series of changes to the administration of the environmental programs to boost safety and improve environmental performance.
These changes are aimed at boosting safety for households and safety for the workers whose employment is funded by these important environmental programs.
A new household Renewable Energy Bonus scheme
A new household Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme will assist households save money on power bills and reduce their carbon emissions
The Government’s focus is on the safety of households and tradespeople who will both benefit from the operation of this new scheme.
Under the household Renewable Energy Bonus scheme households will be able to receive a rebate for the installation of ceiling insulation or a solar hot water system or a heat pump.
$1000 rebates will be available for ceiling installation and solar hot water systems and $600 rebates for heat pumps systems.
It is intended that the insulation component of the Renewable Energy Bonus scheme will come into operation by 1 June.
The Government’s objective remains to see insulation installed in up to 1.9 million homes, including those already installed under the discontinued Home Insulation Program, to be completed by 2011.
Significant Changes to Green Loans Program
The Government will help over an additional 600,000 Australian households tackle climate change through a re-designed and extended Green Loans program.
That is on top of the 360,000 assessments already available under the program, of which more than 270,000 have already been booked nationwide.
The re-design of the program will include:
- the discontinuation of the less popular loans component next month to provide for the significant boost to assessment availability;
- a new cap of 5000 assessors, allowing up to an extra 1200 trained assessors to contract with the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts;
- a weekly cap of 15,000 assessment bookings and a daily and weekly cap per assessor of three and five respectively to ensure greater quality and a more even distribution of work for assessors right around the nation;
- changed booking arrangements allowing only individual assessors to make bookings.
These new arrangements will apply to the end of 2010.
A new Green Start program
The Green Start program will now commence from 1 January 2011.
This Program will remain directed at helping low income households and those most at need improve their energy and water efficiency and help tackle climate change.
The Program will also include a web-based assessment tool for all households.
This Program will include in-home sustainability assessments, providing an ongoing pipeline of work for home sustainability assessors following the Green Loans program.
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2010/mr20100219.html
http://www.environment.gov.au/eehp/insulation/index.html
http://www.environment.gov.au/energyefficiency/solarhotwater/index.html
http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/index.html
18th February 2010
Dodgy Solar Installations
ABC's Lateline program has revealed that up to 2,000 homes could be at risk of electrical fires from poorly installed roof-top solar panels.
Ted Spooner, from Standards Australia's committee on renewable energy, has told Lateline that there is no restriction to stop panels which do not meet the Australian standards being imported into Australia.
Mr Spooner says there needs to be more inspectors and an audit of the scheme.
"There is very, very limited inspection of houses to make sure they actually meet those requirements," he said.
"If you have poor quality modules, you can have fractures in electrical joints, and that can lead to arcs and then fires, and these burn at quite high temperatures."
Peter Marshall from the United Firefighters Union of Australia says there are concerns faulty panels could cause high voltage fires.
"The problem is, there's been a rush towards installing this type of equipment," he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/18/2822941.htm
Accredited Solar Power Grid Connect Design & Install
9th June 2009... Australian Government Press Release
Announcement has been made that Solar rebate has been phased out as of 9th june 2009 until the new "Solar Credits" scheme which should replace the Solar Homes and Communities Plan(SHCP) from this day till expiration.
Green Loans Program
Green Loans is a new Australian Government initiative to help Australians tackle climate change. Green Loans has two main components of support from the Australian Government:
- a free Home Sustainability Assessment and report (valued at over $250); and
- access to a Green Loans subsidy provided to participating financial institutes to cover up to four years interest for borrowing of up $10,000, to implement changes recommended in the assessment report
http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/index.html
Solar Credits Scheme
Through Solar Credits, households installing rooftop solar panels can receive five times as many RECs for each megawatt-hour of solar energy produced by their solar panels. For example, based on a REC price of $40, a 1.5 kilowatt solar panel system installed in Sydney would receive $6200. Based on a REC price of $50, the same system would receive $7750.
“Solar Credits will significantly reduce the cost of going solar at home,” the Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong said.
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/en/minister/wong/2009/media-releases/September/mr20090910.aspx
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