The Lismore Climate Care Solar Rollout began installations this week with the first of 56 houses being connected.

For each household putting in a one kilowatt system, it represents a reduction in greenhouse gases of 1.6 tonnes per year, equivalent to taking two cars off the road or planting 83 trees. It will save approximately $250 a year on their electricity bill at the price in NSW at the moment.

For organiser Gordon Fraser-Quick it is the culmination of a lot of hard work.

“It gives me a huge sense of satisfaction that people care about the planet and have invested in and created employment in an environmental industry,” Gordon said.

Gordon and Laurie Axtens called a public meeting at the Lismore Workers Club in June to gauge the community’s interest in finding a way to bulk buy and install solar systems.

“The interest was incredible, there was a real buzz in the room,” Gordon said. “People were keen to get solar power for the cost savings, but also to do something for the planet. The message from that night was ‘bring it on –we want to do it quickly’.”

After a comprehensive tender process a new Lismore-based company called Nickel Renewable Energy were awarded the first contracts. The 56 households who signed up were able to take advantage of the federal government’s $8000 rebate as well as the significant cost savings achieved by bulk buying and installation.

A second round of contracts has been awarded to Rainbow Power Company in Nimbin and if the demand continues, Gordon said a third round of contracts will go to Kyogle-based SunSparks Electronics.

The interest shown in Lismore has led to another group in the Broadwater and Rileys Hill area being formed that will see 15 to 20 houses going solar. It has also seen the establishment of a North Coast office by the Sydney-based company Aussie Solar.

Gordon estimated that over $1 million worth of investment in solar power has been generated in the area.

Nick Lake, director of Nickel Renewable Energy, said there had been bulk buying groups springing up all over Australia that were driving the solar market.

In this year’s budget the Rudd government introduced an income cap of $100,000 per house to be eligible for the rebate and many people predicted it would result in a reduction in the number of houses applying and slow growth in the solar industry. But the Department of Environment are now receiving approximately 1000 applications a week for the solar rebate scheme, up from an average of 120 in the last financial year.

Nick said he thought a lot of people were getting in as soon as possible because they believed the rebate wouldn’t last much longer.

But he believes awareness about climate change will mean the solar industry will continue to grow over the next few years, regardless of whether the rebate remains.

In all other states apart from NSW ‘feed in tariff’ legislation has been introduced that means people producing renewable energy are paid at a rate of up to 3.8 times the rate that power companies pay for coal-fired electricity.

Nick said if similar feed in tariff rates were introduced in NSW, people with a one kilowatt solar system would save around $1000 a year on their power bills.

He said in some European countries where high renewable energy targets have been set, power companies are paying a premium price to take out long-term leases on people’s roofs so they can lock in renewable energy supplies.