President Donald Trump’s move to slap tariffs on imported solar equipment is the biggest blow to the renewables industry yet. Apparently, the United States proposed solar tariff has imposed duties of about 30 per cent on solar systems made abroad, a decision that threatens to ultimately collapse the $28 billion industry that heavily relies on imported parts for at least 80 per cent of its supply.

The refusal of Australian utilities to recognise the value of local generation – such as rooftop solar and battery storage – means that they are undermining their own business models and effectively accelerating the “death spiral” they fear so much.

The Victorian Government has lowered the state’s feed-in tariff as of January 1st 2013 to eight cents per kilowatt hour for excess power exported from businesses and homes into the electricity grid.

New South Wales Parks and Wildlife service says it will continue to invest in solar power, despite a lower-than-expected feed-in tariff. The state’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is now recommending a tariff of between five and ten cents for every kilowatt hour of solar energy fed into the grid.