In Canada it can be very difficult for a residential property owner to get any kind of financial help from the government to install a solar electric system. Why dont the companies that offer these products run promotional campaigns and write the losses off in thier taxes? It seems to me that most people want to get PV panels but have a hard time affording them, and it would be in a companies best interest to cater to the market in any way they can. So basically when you buy a solar energy system, the company selling it to you would give you a large discount and then have the accounting team do the legwork.

I am studying renewable energy in Engineering.
Unfortunatly the Australian govt. does not consider it to be a recognised training program.
I have had to move to science while turning up to night classes in Renewable energy.
Now the government has cut my welfare as I am not in a "government approved training course"..;..
Yet the government offers 8k flat rebate off 12k solar panel system installations. Even larger ratio rebates for solar hot water.
I am one of few studying it, I even met Kevin Rudd what he thought of it, when I met him, he said I am in the right industry and I should stick with it.
Now the government says I owe THEM 15,000 back in welfare payments (which they have now cut) as I am not in a government approved training course.
considering i only get 12k a year welfare, this is just madness telling me solar & P.V course are not government accredited. They said it would be this year but I have to do an irrelevant science course to keep my welfare.
Is this madness?
of coarse the renewable energy course is only being offered part time, even though I have been nearly undertaking full-time study load with the subjects and classes.
I am royally screwed.
I am half way through a Science Cert IV and half way through a Engineering Diploma in renewable energy (which almost noone in the whole of australia will have) and I have been kicked off my welfare payments when I could finish it all off next year and get a huge edge in the work force. YET IT IS NOT RECOGNISED BY CENTRELINK OR THE GOVERNMENT THE WORK FORCE AND INDUSTRY I AM IN.
Seriously I need some help with any ideas anyone has on how to get through this beureucratic madness I am in.

cheaper to buy/install in the first place, it would be alot easier for all of us to do our bit for the environment. Im not saying this as an excuse, but I find that things like energy saving lightbulbs are more expensive than the normal ones. And solar panels! They should be cheaper to entice people to use them. This technology should be the norm in this day and age so that we can make a difference, not a speciality. Does anyone agree?

I ask because I can’t get a clear answer from the college near me thats offering the sustainable energy technician program which leads to an A.A.S.

I know what the course if for and what I will learn, but when I actually search for a sustainable energy technician JOB I can’t find anything whatsoever! I see other "green jobs" but all require a bachelors degree. So, is there anyone out there who can help me get a clearer picture of what exactly I can do with this degree? I see there are a few things listed that I can do, I’m not interested in installing and repairing in just one field though, I’d rather be more involved then that, in a job that pays more money then what some of these listed pay. If I have the knowledge in ALL of it then I want to use all of it, know what I mean?

Thanks in advance.

PS here is a part of the description.

In the SET courses’ labs, students will gain practical hands-on
experience in a variety of sustainable energy technologies. Students
will be qualified for entry-level positions in sustainable energy fields
such as wind, photovoltaic solar, biofuels and gasification.
These jobs include, but are not limited to:
• wind turbine installation and repair;
• solar panel installation and repair;
• energy efficient building, construction and remodeling;
• repair of energy-efficient vehicles;
• biofuels production;
• energy-efficiency assessment;
• alternative energy research; and
• geothermal installation and repair