Canberra utility ActewAGL has announced it will be more than halving the capital’s solar feed-in tariff to a net tariff of 7.5c/kWh for all new solar connections in the ACT, starting July 1. The change to net metering from the current gross 1:1 FiT – which pays customers the retail rate for energy exported to the grid – follows what some in the solar industry have described as “an unfortunate tradition in Australia”; one already observed in Victoria and NSW.

ActewAGL, however, describes it as part of a strategy “to keep the cost of energy in the ACT the lowest in Australia,” and justifies the cut to just above the wholesale energy price of 7 cents as a necessary adjustment to match the falling cost of installing rooftop solar systems. Falling PV costs make the current subsidy “significant”, says the utility, with electricity currently purchased from customers at approximately 18 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Meanwhile, the looming tariff cut is likely to spark a rush on rooftop solar installation in Canberra – as we saw happen in Queensland – as households rush to beat the June 30 deadline and lock in the gross rate. According to Energy Matters, a 4kW solar power system installed in Canberra under current arrangements can return financial benefits of approximately $1,050 annually. Those who miss out, it warns, face a “substantial decrease that will have a significant effect on the payback time of a system.”

In other news…

London-based cleantech company Ocean Thermal Energy has formed a partnership with French engineering company DCNS to develop and build marine energy plants to generate power using differences in sea temperatures. OTEC will build, own and operate the projects and raise financing for them, the companies said today, while DCNS will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction. Two initial projects have been selected in the US Virgin Islands and in Asia. As well as generating power, the technology can make clean water and replace conventional air conditioning.

Swiss company SolarMax has announced a new partnership with Australia’s Sol Distribution to provide its grid-connected solar inverters to the local market. The agreement will see Sol Distribution sell both SolarMax’s S-series and MT-series solar inverters and accessories to the Australian market, as part of the latter’s plans for rapid growth in the region.