Clean Energy Council chief executive Matthew Warren said solar electricity was becoming more affordable, more efficient and more reliable, but it still needed responsible government assistance to compete with carbon-based electricity generation.
“Claims that the cost of solar energy are competitive with coal, while intended to be constructive, risk doing more harm than good. Leading solar industry analysts expect that the falling cost of solar will meet the rising the cost of fossil fuel electricity somewhere between 2015-2018. At this point we will achieve what is known in the industry as ‘grid parity’.
Mr Warren said the industry was currently “on a knife-edge”.
“Delivering a safe, efficient and responsible solar industry is like landing a plane. We’re approaching the runway, but we haven’t landed yet. If we cut the engines now the plane will still crash,” he said.
“Since the closure of the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme we have seen the industry come to a complete standstill. We have come so far in developing this exciting clean energy industry. But we still have to finish the job,” Mr Warren said.
“If we cut off support at this point, we damn hundreds of solar businesses that have helped deliver this transformation, along with thousands of solar jobs.”
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