news, act-politics, government loan, subsidy, electric cars, rooftop solar
Pressure is mounting on the ACT government to confirm its new emissions-cutting subsidy will back local providers and businesses ahead of others as it prepares to release details on how its $150 million zero-interest “sustainable household scheme” will be applied. Interest-free loans are already on offer to government agencies looking to cut emissions, with 23 projects funded so far. The next step, and more complicated, is the framework and implementation of the public funding program which, according to government sustainability agency ACT Smart, will “finance a range of products … including rooftop solar panels, household battery storage and efficient electrical appliances”. Second-hand electric vehicles were recently added to the scheme, but not electric motorcycles, bicycles or scooters. The consumer eligibility criteria are still unknown, but government-backed zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 will be offered soon – possibly for terms as long as 10 years – with a registration “expression of interest” form now available on the ACT Smart website. Solarhub co-founder Benn Masters, the head of one of Canberra’s biggest solar providers, has strongly urged the ACT government to structure the scheme in such a way that it supports local businesses and local jobs “not those who operate online, use contractors from elsewhere, and send them home after the installation”. Solarhub is a Canberra-based business with around 68 staff. It employs 10 qualified electricians and 13 apprentices. It has installed major photovoltaic systems across the city including 236 solar panels on Merici College and 384 on St Xavier College. “What’s needed with this government-backed finance scheme is a well-defined structure and eligibility which supports businesses who work here, employ people here and are going to stick around to provide the back-up support required for years to come,” Mr Masters said. “It’s an ACT taxpayer-funded scheme so the work and jobs it generates should stay here in the ACT. “I don’t mean this just for ourselves, but for the 10 or so other installation companies based in Canberra providing quality service and support. “As a company we’ve been around long enough to see what happens when stimulus is applied to the market; all these installers jump in, some online, doing deals and making promises, only to disappear again when the funding goes away, with Canberra customers left in the lurch if something goes wrong.” He said that when the government loan scheme opens, it could provide as much as “a 20-30 per cent lift” in solar installations across the territory. Mr Masters’ views on local business stimulus were echoed by the owner of IonDNA, Rob Ogilvie, who sells second-hand electric vehicles out of his Fyshwick showroom. “Provided Canberra-based businesses can fill the potential extra demand this will create, and I believe they can, then the government should support local business and put a vetting process around it, including an ACT business registration and a physical presence in the ACT,” Mr Ogilvie said.
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Pressure is mounting on the ACT government to confirm its new emissions-cutting subsidy will back local providers and businesses ahead of others as it prepares to release details on how its $150 million zero-interest “sustainable household scheme” will be applied.
Interest-free loans are already on offer to government agencies looking to cut emissions, with 23 projects funded so far.
The next step, and more complicated, is the framework and implementation of the public funding program which, according to government sustainability agency ACT Smart, will “finance a range of products … including rooftop solar panels, household battery storage and efficient electrical appliances”.
Second-hand electric vehicles were recently added to the scheme, but not electric motorcycles, bicycles or scooters.
The consumer eligibility criteria are still unknown, but government-backed zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 will be offered soon – possibly for terms as long as 10 years – with a registration “expression of interest” form now available on the ACT Smart website.
Solarhub founder Ben Masters says the scheme should support ACT businesses. Picture: Elesa Kurtz
Solarhub co-founder Benn Masters, the head of one of Canberra’s biggest solar providers, has strongly urged the ACT government to structure the scheme in such a way that it supports local businesses and local jobs “not those who operate online, use contractors from elsewhere, and send them home after the installation”.
Solarhub is a Canberra-based business with around 68 staff. It employs 10 qualified electricians and 13 apprentices. It has installed major photovoltaic systems across the city including 236 solar panels on Merici College and 384 on St Xavier College.
“What’s needed with this government-backed finance scheme is a well-defined structure and eligibility which supports businesses who work here, employ people here and are going to stick around to provide the back-up support required for years to come,” Mr Masters said.
The work and jobs it generates should stay here in the ACT.
Solarhub co-founder Benn Masters
“It’s an ACT taxpayer-funded scheme so the work and jobs it generates should stay here in the ACT.
“I don’t mean this just for ourselves, but for the 10 or so other installation companies based in Canberra providing quality service and support.
IonDNA owner Rob Ogilvie. Picture: Peter Brewer
“As a company we’ve been around long enough to see what happens when stimulus is applied to the market; all these installers jump in, some online, doing deals and making promises, only to disappear again when the funding goes away, with Canberra customers left in the lurch if something goes wrong.”
He said that when the government loan scheme opens, it could provide as much as “a 20-30 per cent lift” in solar installations across the territory.
Mr Masters’ views on local business stimulus were echoed by the owner of IonDNA, Rob Ogilvie, who sells second-hand electric vehicles out of his Fyshwick showroom.
“Provided Canberra-based businesses can fill the potential extra demand this will create, and I believe they can, then the government should support local business and put a vetting process around it, including an ACT business registration and a physical presence in the ACT,” Mr Ogilvie said.
