New South Wales gets solar subsidies

SYDNEY, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The minister for environment and climate change in the Australian state of New South Wales announced a new solar feed-in tariff.

Now homeowners who put solar panels on their roofs and generate more power than they use will be paid a fee by the government so the electricity can go back into the power grid, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Carmel Tebbutt, minister for environment and climate change, said the amount of the fee will not be announced until January.

New South Wales is the last state in Australia to approve a solar power subsidy.

"We know the community want to act on climate change, and this is one way the NSW government can support people who want cleaner, greener energy," Tebbutt said.