Signs are emerging that the Australian commercial solar market is finally taking off, with increasing numbers of businesses and councils signing up for rooftop PV; not least among them IKEA, […]
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Solar PV Price Index – May 2014
1.5kW and 2kW solar PV system prices continue to rise from April to May while 3kW-5kW remain steady and 10kW system prices have fallen. This month’s article includes for the […]
Solar solution for apartment owners
Australia has one of the highest per capita and rooftop penetration rates of solar power in the world. Our position at the top of the rankings is largely because we […]
Sun MonitOZ: Solar system performance app (Currently seeking beta-testers)
The popularity of rooftop solar power systems has soared globally in recent years, and Australia remains one of the global leaders for home solar uptake. This is due in part […]
Why Perth’s POST newspaper installed a 30kW solar system
Perth’s POST newspaper is a perfect case study of a business that decided to go solar to fight rapidly ballooning power bills. The independent, privately-owned, Shenton Park-based newspaper made the […]
Solar PV system prices for April 2014
Average 1.5kW solar system prices appear to have plateaued between March and April after steadily rising over the course of the last 8 months or so, while prices for 2kW […]
Zero Export Device ZED 1 approved for grid-connect solar systems
Queensland-based GNT Engineering Pty Ltd has developed a device that will enable solar system owners & operators to limit the amount of solar power that their systems export to the […]
Solar power for businesses in Sydney & surrounds: Compare prices & components
More and more businesses are making an investment in solar power—in Australia and around the globe. This article takes a look at solar power for businesses in and around Sydney, […]
The good and the bad of solar in Australia: One solar homeowner’s story
Like any other industry, the solar power industry in Australia is not perfect. Sometimes companies do a fantastic job of providing equipment and servicing consumers and sometimes they don’t. Recently, […]
Texan start-up offers plug-in DIY solar kit for the US market
Nothing says self-reliance and (energy) independence quite like a do-it-yourself (DIY) solar system. And, as a US start-up, Plugged Solar, would like to convince you, nothing says easy DIY better […]
Energy storage: are we there yet?
As a solar industry analyst, technologist and electric motorcycle owner, you would expect me to be optimistic about where storage is up to. The reality is, every time I turn […]
Victron Energy’s ECOmulti: Energy storage for small-scale solar systems
Grid-connected energy storage for solar PV systems has become a hot topic in 2013 as energy storage technology prices fall and retail electricity prices rise–seeming inexorably. Meanwhile, feed-in tariff rewards have […]
Five billion reasons why independent power makes sense
Australia. Often described as modern, sophisticated and of course, sunny; a country with 22 million smiling and suntanned jokers. What you may not know is that almost half a million […]
Solar PV Price Index–March 2014
Between February and March, average 1.5kW and 2kW solar PV system prices continued their steady rise in all cities included in the PV Price Index except for Adelaide, while pricing […]
Suntech, under new ownership, plans a comeback
The Suntech brand is staging a comeback, according to a press release from the company. Wuxi Suntech (colloquially referred to as Suntech but actually one subsidiary of Suntech Power Holdings […]
Are Australian utilities creating extra hurdles for rooftop solar?
A leading international manufacturer of solar inverters has suggested that Australian utilities are throwing up artificial barriers to slow down the uptake of rooftop solar in Australia. The Swiss-based SolarMax […]
Bill Gates-backed renewables storage battery begins production
Attracting the attention – and money – of Bill Gates is a big deal. But Aquion Energy, a battery technology start-up, has managed to woo not just the world’s richest […]
Germany to build world’s first modular, multi-technology battery storage system
Can’t decide on which battery technology to use for your next big energy storage project? Well, now you can use them all! A consortium consisting of researchers, an electric utility, […]
Solar PV Price Index–February 2014
Average prices for systems of all common sizes included (1.5kW-10kW) in almost all cities have increased this month, with 1.5kW systems rising the most. Systems in Canberra appeared to undergo a decrease […]
‘Community solar’ offers another way to own solar panels in the US
Even for those who are fully onboard in their support of renewable energy and understand how it can save them money, finding a meaningful way to take advantage is not […]
Market for module-level power electronics set to grow five-fold in 2017
Greentech Media Research (GTM) has recently released a report that predicts the module-level power electronics (MLPE) market to grow five-fold by 2017, singling out 2014 to be the landmark year […]
RESA’s VoltLogic attains AS4777 standard certification
Renewable Energy Systems Australia (RESA) has received approval for its VoltLogic to be connected to the grid under the Australian standard for solar system inverters, AS4777. The certification is of […]
Solar modules set to get smarter in 2014
While no one argues that investing in PV modules isn’t a smart move today, it won’t be long before we start asking if our modules are just as smart – […]
Victorian network operator to dispatch grid energy storage trial
Victoria’s SP Ausnet, the grid operator for the state, has plans to run an grid energy storage trial in order to examine new ways to deal with the issue of […]
SolaX Power hybrid energy storage systems and batteries
SolaX Power, a subsidiary of the Suntellite Group, is a developer and manufacturer of energy management & energy storage technologies. The company offers an array of products for residential, commercial […]
Solar PV Price Index–Jan 2014
At the start of 2014, solar PV system prices are up in Canberra and steady in other capital cities, except among 1.5kW solar systems. Although included for all other cities as per […]
Solar Selections brokers installation of solar power systems for UK’s largest bakery chain
The largest chain of bakeries in the UK has installed the equivalent of 1.28 megawatts (MW) of solar PV capacity on the roofs of 10 of its locations with the […]
Solar Choice develops & brokers installation of solar panels for 6 ACT McDonald’s restaurants
Rooftop solar power systems are now generating electricity for 6 McDonald’s restaurants in the ACT. The installations, whose tenders were exclusively developed and managed by Solar Choice Commercial, will save each […]
QBotix: Robot-controlled tracking systems for ground-mounted solar systems
QBotix is a company offering a revolutionary approach to ground-mounted solar systems through its solar tracking technology. The QBotix Robotic Tracking System (RTS) employs intelligent, self-charging, track-mounted robots (“SolBots”) which adjust […]
Solar PV Price Index–Dec 2013
Nationwide, average system prices across all solar system sizes (1.5kW-5kW) increased slightly between November and December, although this trend was not as noticeable with 3kW–5kW systems as with 1.5kW and 2kW system. […]
Eco Whisper Turbine: Australian-made, small-scale wind power
Solar Choice, as Australia’s solar photovoltaic (PV) installation brokering service, does not ordinarily work with wind turbine installers or manufacturers, but both technologies are similar in spirit and offer many […]