Throughout Australia and the rest of the world, tremendous progress is being made regarding the availability of technologies designed to harness sustainable energy resources and to reduce the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. While progress and growth are indeed readily apparent, there is much more work left to be done, particularly when it comes to the existing infrastructure for residential areas.

Awareness is certainly part of the issue, as there are still many homeowners — and business owners, too — who have not yet recognized the fact that the long-term savings generated through many of the sustainable energy options now available far outweigh the initial capital costs associated with construction or implementation. This issue can be addressed rather easily, but there is also the need to improve the existing infrastructure so that green energy options are much more accessible to homeowners.

Certain policy measures will assist in driving growth, particularly as it relates to orienting economic structures around the widespread implementation of sustainable systems. While the competitive advantage created through the use of energy-efficient sustainable technologies is an effective driver of growth in the corporate world, residential homeowners may need additional motivation for making such a switch.

While there has been a great deal of recent progress, there is simply much more that can be done to encourage the increased use of sustainable technologies in residential areas. A review of incentives in markets outside of Australia may prove to be quite helpful in identifying the most effective concepts, and improvements to the existing infrastructure will go a long way toward ensuring the continued progress and widespread implementation of sustainable technologies.