Solar Systems workers demand

The following demands have been supported by a majority of the former Solar Systems employees:

1. Implement a gross national feed-in tariff for renewable energy.

This is the single most important legislative framework piece that can be provided to encourage private sector investment and the roll-out of renewable energy around Australia.

The Chinese government has recently announced it will introduce a preferential tariff. It will pay energy companies that use solar power. This directly resulted in agreements with several international companies to provide more than 3 gigawatt of new solar energy infrastructure
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2. Commit the Mildura site to new solar technology.

The 154 megawatt Mildura project supported the development of new generations of utility-scale solar technology. It is imperative that the site not (only) be used to install a solar farm with current technology, but also develop new technology that will address the requirements for future large-scale renewable power generation.

3. Provide loan guarantees for the Mildura project.

The national infrastructure sector has recently recommended that governments provide guarantees or gap funding for large infrastructure projects. Victoria's desalination plant is a prime example of critical infrastructure that would not be viable without government acting as a guarantor to the project. A public-private partnership needs to be urgently investigated for the Mildura project.

From GLW issue 814