Wodonga solar buyers jibbed hundreds

Wodonga resident David Broad was shocked at the difference when he began investigating installing solar panels.

“The Commonwealth government have zoned the whole of Australia in accordance with where there is better sunlight and better prospects of solar power production,” he said.

“Albury-Wodonga being in different climatic zones is ridiculous, every time you look at the news you see the same weather pattern for Albury-Wodonga.”

“It’s just another one of those stupid state boundary anomalies.”

The system works using renewable energy certificates, a form of renewable energy currency which can be traded for cash or discounts.

The number of certificates residents receive depends on their zone, which are based on average hours of sunshine.

Albury is in zone 3, entitling residents to 155 renewable energy certificates when they install a 1.5?kilowatt unit.

But Wodonga residents are in zone 4, where the subsidy drops to 133 certificates.

A map of the zones, based on Bureau of Meteorology data, has Wodonga in zone 3.

But the federal government table allocating postcodes to zones puts Wodonga in zone 4.

The certificates are trading at $36 each, leaving Wodonga residents $792 worse off at the point of sale.

“The map clearly shows the change into zone 4 is south of the divide,” Mr Broad said.

“But the government bureaucrats, instead of trying to follow this map, they’re using postcodes and they’re conveniently using the state border.”

Mr Broad and other Wodonga residents Brian Gilby, Ian Charge and Bill Miller are calling for the government to change Wodonga’s zone.

“We want the federal government to use the climatic map rather than some lazy bureaucratic system where they use postcodes to suit themselves,” Mr Broad said.

“We really want the federal government to redraw the boundary, it’s that simple,” Mr Gilby said.

A spokeswoman for Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water said the zone rating system “reflects average system performance in broad geographic regions”.

“It is based on average sunshine in each location as well as average installation performance and lifespan,” she said.

“Within a given zone, installations may produce electricity at a higher or lower rate than the zone average but it would not be efficient to determine a specific rate for all localities in Australia.”

Federal member for Indi Sophie Mirabella said it was clear the border was “off Canberra’s radar”.

“It’s bad enough we get ignored for a cancer centre, it now seems that they don’t even know Albury is next to Wodonga,” she said.

“I will be writing to the Labor minister, Senator Wong, to inform her that the weather doesn’t change by crossing the Murray River and asking her to use her ministerial discretion to give Wodonga residents a fair go.”

Albury residents can also pay their solar systems off far quicker due to the fact NSW operates on a gross feed system.

The power generated from a system in NSW goes back into the power grid at 60?cents a kilowatt, it can then be bought back at 18 to 20?cents a kilowatt.

However, Victoria uses a net metering system, which only pays for unused kilowatts.

“The difference between the zoning and those tariff differentials means you can recoup the costs of the solar system in NSW in about two years and it’s closer to six years to recoup the cost in Wodonga, that’s lunacy,” Mr Charge said.

“You’re going to be far better off if you’re in NSW and you’re not very far across.

“There’s only a river the difference.”