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With the government’s quota for renewable energy production filled, the solar panel industry is warning of a collapse in demand for new installations.
This could make solar panel production the least sustainable industry in Australia.
The solar industry has long been one of the most volatile in the country: production goes through a total collapse and recovery every 24 hours, or if there is a cloud.
West Coast Solar’s Jay Funnell told The Sydney Morning Herald that ‘‘If the industry cannot effectively promote and sell their products at a reasonable price, the industry will be decimated”—showing the kind of insight into market forces that kept shrewder businesspeople away from solar panels in the first place.
Solar industry subsidisation dates back to ancient Rhodes, where a chariot and horses were sacrificed in honour of the god Helios. But Rhodes turned against government energy subsidies after the legislature forced riders blend horse feed with at least 10 per cent ethanol.
Industry sources warn that if market forces are allowed to kill off further solar panel installations, Australians may be faced with the nightmare scenario of a free market in energy that fails to deliver anything other than abundant power at reasonable prices.
