## 2 Background
### Australian Policy and Regulation
#### 2.1.2 Renewable Energy  
The Renewable Energy Target (RET) is an Australian Government scheme that was designed to encourage energy generation from renewable sources in order to achieve the national target of approximately 23.5% renewable energy generation by 2020 [21]. The RET is expected to be in force until 2030 and is divided into two core components: the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) and the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES). RET participants who invest in or generate renewable energy may be eligible for financial incentives under the scheme [22]. All residential and commercial buildings that have PV systems with a 100 kW rating or less and an annual electricity output of no more than 250 MWh are eligible for the SRES [23]. In the case of FB, only PV systems that were installed before 2030 benefit from this scheme.  
At the state level, Victoria currently has targets for the share of renewable electricity generation to be 25%, 40% and 50% by 2020, 2025 and 2030, respectively [24]. Victoria's Renewable Energy Target (VRET) package includes the Solar Homes Program, which provides a rebate of up to AUD 1400 for solar panel (PV) system installation [25]. The Solar Homes Program also includes a solar battery rebate option of up to AUD 3500, which is available for all eligible households in Victoria that have solar panels [26; 27].  
The City of Melbourne's Climate Change Mitigation Strategy [19] aspires to have the city being powered by 100% renewable energy by 2050 and is committed to facilitating Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) for businesses through the Melbourne Renewable Energy Project (MREP). To date, PPAs that were articulated by the MREP have enabled the development of two wind farms in Victoria [28]. A PPA is a long-term agreement between the seller and the purchaser of wind energy. Attaining a PPA is a key incentive for the development of wind farms because it secures a long-term revenue stream through the sale of energy and thus, is critical for managing risks and securing financing for the project [29].  
The electricity distributor in the FB area, CitiPower, supports the uptake of rooftop PV generation that can be interconnected with their network through a pre-approval process. Key requirements include the installation of \"smart meters\" that are in accordance with the National Electricity Rules and the use of \"smart inverters\" that are compliant with AS4777 [30]. Following the approval of an application and the subsequent connection to the grid, the user is able to export their surplus PV energy for a feed-in tariff (FiT), which is offered by the chosen retailer. The minimum FiT rates are defined annually by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) of the state of Victoria. The minimum flat rate FiT that is in force for the 2020-21 financial year (starting 1 July 2020) is AUD 0.102/kWh [31]. However, the ability of the network to absorb the solar export can be limited in many areas, which can restrict the amount of energy that is exported by each system and therefore, the revenue from that energy [32]. This information must be considered in order to correctly size the PV systems prior to their purchase and installation. The future residents of FB could potentially benefit from the feed-in tariffs once their rooftop PV systems are operating and connected to the grid. It is important to note that the specifications of the small embedded generators must comply with the Electricity Distribution Code, which is set by the ESC [33].