Ocean Memoirs

Government Grants and Green Loans

My attempt to be environmentally friendly!!!!

So a New Years Resolution (well not so much a resolution more a "I'd really like to get this done this year") for me is to get a better hot water system and if we could afford it Solar power.

So I've been researching what the government incentives are to go with Solar as things have changed since mid last year.

So my first point of call was to look at Solar Hot Water and the type of rebate you get for it.

http://www.environment.gov.au/energyefficiency/solarhotwater/index.html

The Australian Government is offering a rebate of $1,600 to install a solar hot water system or $1,000 to install a heat pump hot water system.

From there I went on to look at full Solar Power. This is where things have changed a little as it is no longer a Government Rebate that is offered, but instead something know as "Solar Credits"

I found this so much harder to find info on. I discovered that the "up to $8000 Rebate offer" has now expired. It seems the information is available through solar installers but not through the goverment sites.

What I can make of it is it's dependent on what Zone you are in for how much credit you get, It can be up to $7200. There is some mention about renewable energy certificates and selling them back to agents, therefore thats how you get your money back. But it's still very confusing

Key Points

• The Solar Credits scheme applies to all solar system installations from July 1st 2009
• The $8,000 rebate is no longer available
• There is no means test, all income levels are eligible
• Open to consumers and businesses alike
• Major financial benefit: Receive 5 times the number of RECs for the first 1.5 kW of system capacity

http://www.energymatters.com.au/government-rebates/solar-credits-australia.php

http://www.solarshop.com.au/incentives-and-offers/government-rebates/

So the big one that I have found and think is fantastic is the

Green Loans Program.

In basic terms you book in for someone to come and assess your home for how energy and water friendly it is. So you do that by calling this number 1800 895 076.

So they send someone out who then makes a report about the best energy and water saving changes you can make, as well as where you can purchase the devices to make the changes.

Once you've got the report you can then apply for what's called a Green Loan this is a Loan that has been subsidised by the government. You can borrow up to $10,000 to make the changes on your report with an interest free period of up to 4 years. There are a number of participating financial institutes to go through.

http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/index.html

So after that full information overload... I am waiting til the 11th (when their offices are open) to book in for my assessment. I'm hoping this will at least give me the avenue to get myself a new hot water system, I also wonder if they will think a verandah will make my house more sustainable for energy. I can hope afterall it would be less use/need for the fans and air conditioner.

No doubt this will be revisited once I've booked in for my assessment and gotten my report... Stay tuned....