Hanrahan, The government of WA is currently offering a nett feed-in tariff of 47c per unit for 10 years so I have taken advantage of it. Also there are generous renewable energy certificates available which discounted the cost of the system from $30,000 to just under $20,000. I think these are from the Federal Government. 5kW inverter is the maximum you can install on the Synergy grid. By my reckoning the system will pay itself off in about 8 years. I paid cash but if you borrowed for it you would need to include interest. Not sure what that would do to the sums. And by paying for it I lose the opportunity to invest that amount elsewhere. However, the panels should produce useful power for 20-25 years and the inverter (Sunnyboy) should last for at least 7-10 years hopefully, so after the payback period it effectively makes money from thereon.
Yes you are right, the best way to maximise the economics is to reduce usage during the day so the maximum amount of power is exported to the grid at 47c per unit, and then draw it back at night time at the lower rate of about 19c per unit.
Does this reduce the amount of generator capacity? Does this reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Does the feed-in tariff increase the overall cost of power to everyone else?
I don't know. There is a regime in place and I'm taking advantage of it. No different to capital gains tax discount on assets held for 12 months, or negative gearing on an investment. Use the rules to your advantage.
