Solar systems in Australia have become more popular over the last 10 years, mostly due to the price of renewable energy dropping materially. It comes to no surprise that some […]
Category: Off-grid solar power, Stand-alone solar power, Remote solar power
Solar Choice blog articles about off-grid solar power, stand-alone solar power, or remote solar power systems. Read about off-grid solar inverters, batteries for off-grid solar power systems, and other issues related to remote area solar power systems
Off grid power systems: can you go off the grid with a 10kW solar system plus battery storage?
We previously wrote an article about the feasibility of an Australian home going off-grid with a 3kW solar system – quite a small system size for such an ambitious endeavour. […]
Backup power with home solar battery storage: What are your options?
Home battery storage is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, and one of the most in-demand features is backup power, which provides electricity to a home even when the grid is […]
Energy storage conference highlighted strong storage potential
Running 23-24 May in Adelaide, the Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition (AES 2018) saw the biggest names and leading companies in energy storage come together to showcase new technologies […]
Backup power with home solar battery storage: What are your options?
NOTE: This article has been updated with a June 2019 article, click here to see! Home battery storage is becoming increasingly popular in Australia, and one of the most in-demand […]
Australia’s 5B launches ground-breaking ‘solar farm in a box’
Sydney-based 5B has launched a pre-fabricated, easily deployed solution for solar farm construction that looks set to revolutionise medium to large-scale solar in Australia (and possibly the world). The company’s […]
Thinking about going off-grid? Keep these points in mind
With the dawn of the age of (nearly) affordable battery storage, more and more Australian homes are considering the possibility of disconnecting from the electricity grid; or the first time, off-grid […]
Ergon publishes 10-point ‘reality check’ list for would-be off-gridders
Queensland utility Ergon energy has decided to address the issue of grid electricity defection by publishing a 10-step guide for consumers considering the idea. Ergon, which doubles as the main […]
Can you go off-grid with solar and energy storage?
These days, almost everyone considering solar and battery storage is wondering if it’s possible to disconnect from the grid altogether; ‘going off-grid’ seems to be all the rage. Just how feasible […]
On grid or off-grid? Some advice for a Solar Choice customer
We were recently in touch with a customer who was deliberating between whether to have his new-build home connected to the grid, or to go off-grid with a solar-plus-storage system. […]
What’s a partial off-grid solar-plus-storage system?
Going partially off the grid is a smart alternative for homes who want to become completely energy self-sufficient. A partial off-grid solar system is one that runs a few essential […]
Aussie property developers could skip grid to design microgrid-powered communities
Australian property developers are exploring the option of not connecting newly built housing estates to the electricity grid, but instead offering solar and storage as part of a standard package, industry […]
New residential energy storage pilot projects to showcase promise of energy independence
In a sign of the times and an indication of things to come, a total of 22 homes are to be fitted out with emergency backup energy storage systems in a pilot […]
15-20% of Australian solar customers interested in energy storage
Installation rates of battery storage systems in Australian homes could reach around 1,000 a year by the end of 2014, according to new estimates, as solar households look for ways […]
Morgan Stanley: US solar PV and solar-with-storage installs to skyrocket
Investment bank Morgan Stanley says the addressable market for solar PV in the US is way bigger than anyone had previously imagined; and battery storage costs could fall way quicker […]
Latronic Sunpower: Australian-made grid-connect and stand-alone inverters
Latronic Sunpower is a Queensland, Australia-based inverter manufacturer that operates globally. The company has been in business for over 27 years. The company makes inverters for residential, commercial and industrial […]
Magellan Power’s ‘smoothing’ devices for grid-connect solar
When northwestern WA‘s electricity utility Horizon mandated that solar photovoltaic (PV) systems must regulate their power output, one of the first companies with the capacity to offer a viable technological […]
BHP’s mining in Western Australia gets solar-powered
BHP Nickel West Kalgoorlie is a mining facility located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, approximately 600 kilometres east of Perth and includes two sites – a smelting operation […]
A gross Solar Feed-in Tariff for Queensland?
Although a gross metering setup for small-scale solar, suggested as a possible alternative to the current set up, has resulted in uncertainty and concern in solar industry, solar PV still […]
Solar power storage solutions: Beyond batteries
The development of affordable storage solutions for solar power or other renewable energy sources such as wind will change the nature of electricity generation and distribution as we know it. Most people […]
Off-grid solar power system in Sydney’s Western Suburbs
Nev and Linda Sweeney have been living on their 500-square-meter suburban plot in Sydney’s St Clair Suburb since the early 1980s, and have been trying to live sustainably using the […]
South Pacific Solar Power
We are all familiar with the large scale solar projects sweeping developed countries, producing Megawatts, if not Gigawatts of solar electricity. But what about the 1.4 billion people without access to […]
Residential Solar System Warranties: What to look for, what to watch out for
When thinking about installing a residential solar power system, it is important to carefully consider the types and durations of the warranties offered by solar system installers. This article explains […]
First international solar-powered flight
The Swiss-engineered Solar Impulse is set to make its first international flight on 2 May 2011 (yesterday in Australia as of the time of this writing, but today in Switzerland!) […]
West Australia’s first 100% renewable-powered mine: Wind and Solar
Lithium producer Galaxy Resources is planning to be operating West Australia’s first mine powered by 100% renewable energy within 3 years. The mine is already partially powered by solar panels […]
Stand-alone solar power to be set-up in Japan refugee centres
As part of the relief effort for the 11 March 2011 Northeastern Japan earthquake and tsunami, Sharp and Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery are planning to assemble and provide 250 solar power […]
Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Maintenance
This is the third instalment in a series about batteries for stand-alone or off-grid power systems. Our first blog in the series provided a rundown on how to size a […]
Solar Powered Stand Alone Power Systems: Ways to minimize cost!
There are several components to designing a Solar Powered stand alone power system and thus there are several ways to minimize the cost of the system! This article will talk […]
Inverters for Stand Alone Solar Powered Systems
When you decide that you want to power your entire home from solar power one of the decisions that installers make is the size of the inverter this is the […]
Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Types of Batteries
Part 2 of 4 Welcome to the second installment in a four-part series about batteries for stand-alone power systems (SAPS) otherwise known as ˜off-grid’ power systems. […]
Solar Power the choice of Renewable Energy in the Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands have been under the influence of volatile oil prices for far too long and they have, for the last few years, decided to move towards renewable energy […]
