Global solar PV industry may suffer from the impact of the Australian carbon tax

In November 2011, Australia’s carbon tax law, which will be implemented on July 1, 2012, targets pollution emitters for major carbon emitters such as miners, coal-fired power plants, steel mills, and airlines. It is also the largest outside Europe. The carbon tax act has attracted attention from countries around the world. California is scheduled to introduce a carbon tax in 2013, and the mainland and South Korea are also developing emissions trading plans. India has already started to impose coal-fired taxes, and South Africa intends to set limits on carbon emissions.

It is estimated that the Australian carbon trading market will grow to A$15 billion (approximately US$15.5 billion) by 2015, and the carbon emissions allowance will reach A$25 billion in the first four years. With the adoption of the carbon tax law, the global carbon trading market will continue to expand in the next few years. The Global Climate Change Conference will be unveiled in Durban, South Africa, in December 2011. The Australian government hopes that the carbon tax law will enable countries to reach agreements to reduce carbon emissions.

The carbon tax implemented in Australia will also be a new policy affecting the global solar industry. Because no one country’s government will indefinitely subsidize the solar photovoltaic industry, this is an inevitable trend. Continuous promotion of clean energy is also a long-term policy for all countries. Carbon tax has become a new policy to replace solar power purchase (FIT). 2 Policies may also be used in a staggered manner; Side-by-side carbon taxation is encouraged, and solar energy systems are encouraged to accelerate the popularization of solar power generation. Finally, the government completely separated from the subsidies and simply requested solar power generation by laws and regulations to continuously increase the proportion of total power generation.