Australia intends to impose a tax on rooftop photovoltaics

    According to Australian media reports, the controversial new rules proposed by the Australian Energy Market Commission (Australian Energy Market Commission, referred to as AEMC), the main rule maker of the Australian energy market, may soon cause millions of Australian households to sell Use Solar Energy At Home solar energy to the grid. An additional "solar tax" is levied.

    According to the published draft rules, AEMC proposes to impose a tax of 2 cents per kilowatt hour on solar power connected to the Internet at noon. AEMC said that the tax will send a “price signal” to help reduce grid congestion and encourage more households to install battery storage devices to reduce the amount of electricity used to connect to the Internet during peak periods. In 2020, about 33,000 Australian households have installed battery storage, but the installation cost of Tesla Powerwall 2 exceeds 14,000 US dollars, which cannot generate a return on investment for the household.

    Some solar energy advocacy groups strongly oppose the levy of any solar tax. They believe that through the existing grid electricity prices, the grid can get rich returns. They should make the necessary investments to adapt to the demand for distributed energy. Before making a final ruling in June, AEMC will solicit feedback on its proposal by May 13.