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