In a surprise move, the NSW government announced it will implement a Gross Feed in Tariff for small PV and Wind systems, effective from January 2010. Details about the Feed in Tariff, which it has called the Solar Bonus Scheme, can be found on the State Government's website.

A Gross Feed in Tariff means that solar system owners would be paid a higher rate (in this case 60c/kWh) for all the electricity that their solar system produces. The scheme's time frame has been nominally stated as 7 years. One possible interpretation is that the payments of 60c/kWh will last for 7 years. A typical 1kW system would receive approximately $900 per year in payments, around 4 times more than the current value of payments.

The Scheme, available to 'small retail customers'. sets a limit of 10kW on the system size to receive the higher payment. The definition of 'small' is having consumption less than 400kWh/day.

What does this mean for existing Solar System owners?

In a nutshell, it means that you will receive more money for the solar electricity you are producing. It also means that it is most likely worthwhile to put more panels onto your system.

Is there anything a system owner can do right now?

No. The details of the Scheme are not yet finalised and the scheme is not in operation.

Is my metering configuration appropriate for Gross metering?

If you are in the Country Energy or Energy Australia distribution area, then your solar metering is configured to 'net metering'. This means that the meter in your meter box can only read the portion of electricity that left your house, which is not the total, or 'gross' quantity of electricity that your solar system produced. To effect gross metering, the meter has to be physically substituted and one wire has to be moved. In most cases, this would be a quick job. If your inverter is wired into a switchboard that is not in the same box as your meter, then changing to gross metering may be a big job.

If you are in Integral Energy distribution area, then in 99% of cases your metering is currently 'gross metered'. It is still possible that your metering configuration may have to be adjusted depending on the requirements of the Scheme. However, it is likely that nothing will need to be done.

Not sure which Distribution Area you are in? Look in your meter box and see what it written on the meter for clues, or consult the Distribution Area Map.

If you have more questions, please register to use the forum at www.energycoop.com.au/content/forum and post your topics!