It is Sunny and Still “Sun-less” Anatomy: Welcome to Australia

On July 8 2011, Minister Ferguson hosted Large Scale Solar Deployment Round Table conference at Canberra, ACT. The intention of the conference was to give an opportunity to solar power technology companies, construction firms, developers and others who have invested in large-scale PV and solar thermal industries. The conference was a corollary to the "commitment" the government has made to the Australian Greens which has managed to pass the flood tax. There were over 200 businesses participated in this conference ranging from global companies to emerging smaller companies. The demand from solar power industry is - "clear framework that encourages the sector to grow sustainably." Having listened to this categorical industry demand, it was evident after detailed discussion in this conference that the renewable fundings are directed towards Clean Energy Future (CEF) and it gets deposited in the New Australian Renewable Energy Authority (ARENA).

It was revealed during conference that Prime Minister Gillard has committed to establish a new public service authority to boost solar power and other industries that advocate and invest in renewable energy. The Australian media and intelligentsia hail this move as shifting focus and a move to protect solar power.


Tracing back the history of solar power industry and renewable energy, it would not be wrong to state that the first initiative in this direction was taken by Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1989 which was called Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) process. This was comprised of members from the public service, research community, business, unions and NGOs (primarily Greenpeace, Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF). The intention to convene this group was to advise the government through the consensus that what Australia should commit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This was in the wake of the coming 1992 Rio Earth Summit which wrote the foundation treaty of international climate law, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).Read More...