The Australian Solar Energy Society, the peak body of the Australian solar enegy industry, is celebrating its 50th anniversary by announcing a change of name to the Australian Solar Council.
CEO John Grimes says the decision to drop the word “society” and replace it with “council” reflects the emergence of solar as a multi-billion dollar industry in Australia, where four million people enjoy some form of solar energy. “We have been waiting for solar to come of age, we’ve been supporting demonstration projects and technologies at the early stage of commercialization,” he told RenewEconomy. “Now we now that solar works and we can count on it, and it’s a rational economic choice.”
Grimes said the council would help ensure Australian policy-makers were better informed about solar energy and the huge potential for its future development, which is tipped to increase from its current deployment of around 1,700MW to 10 times that number or even 20 times that number by 2030.
“Solar presents a massive challenge to the traditional energy generators who rely on fossil fuel sources,” he said. ” Our job will be to dispel the myths and misinformation that is put to policy-makers and the public about the practicalities and potential of solar as the driver of Australia’s clean energy future.”
Among the principal challenges were the rolling out of financial products that would allow zero-down financing, leveraging Australia’s expertise in off-grid energy for deployment in the Asia-Pacific region, and ensuring the right of access to solar for all consumers.
