Price of Solar Power in Australia

One of my friend just installed a 1kW solar panel on his roof, costing his family AUD12,000 after an Australian government rebate of AUD8000. I think it is not right.

I checked this website which quoted the price of solar panel in US to be around USD3 to USD4.85 per watt. My friend is paying AUD12 per watt (after installation and connection to the grid), i.e. without government rebate, we have to pay around AUD20 per watt which is up to 5 times the price from US.

A note for green business entrepreneur, there is a federal government rebate of AUD8 per watt for up to 1000W. If you can import solar panel into Australia (say from China at around US1.5 per Watt + 10% GST), connection equipment to grid at AUD3000, with the government's rebate, you have about AUD3000 to cover your effort and profit. May be if this is not enough, many home owners would be happy to pay something on top of that too (My friend paid AUD12,000!). My friend told me that it took two men half a day to install his solar panels. Yes, the current funding is capped at AUD150 million. But that should be able to give your business a good start. Contact me when you start your business, I will be your first customer (but don't expect me to pay AUD12000 on top). I do not support greedy enterprises!