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PLUMBING CONNECTION
AUTUMN 2016
TRADE SECRET IS A CERT
A
re you struggling to compete with other plumbers in
your area?
Are they undercutting you, and you can’t figure
out how? Are you having difficulty with cash flow in your
business as a result?
The solution to all these problems, in some way, is the
renewable energy certificate (REC).
RECs are the byproduct of the Howard Government’s
renewable energy target (RET) – a policy designed to
ensure that at least 33,000GWh of Australia’s electricity comes
from renewable sources by 2020. (The RET was reviewed by
the Federal Government and reduced in June 2015 from the
previously legislated 41,000GWh to 33,000GWh.)
In addition to RECs, state-based energy efficiency
schemes (that are completely separate to the RET) also
offer environmental certificates that can add value to your
business.
Under the various schemes, people can earn the following
simply by making energy-efficient changes to their
properties:
∫ RECs under the RET for installing solar systems or solar
hot water heating;
∫ Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) through
the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET); or,
∫ Energy Savings Certificates (ESCs) through the NSW
Energy Savings Scheme (ESS).
NEED A CASH FLOW BOOST? RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES MEAN YOU CAN GET THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS
FOR A FEW PIECES OF PAPER.
PAUL SKELTON
TELLS HOW.
RENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATES