Australia’s Energy Security Board has effectively rejected the Conservative push for wind and solar to conform to outdated standards of “baseload” energy supply, and instead focused its thinking on reliability […]
Utility-scale solar farms: Landowner benefits
Landowners stand to benefit substantially by using their land for utility-scale solar farm developments The number of commercial-scale solar installations has been increasing significantly in Australia, thanks to the growing affordability of […]
Gannawarra Solar Farm connects to grid (battery coming soon)
The 60MW Ganawarra project in north-west Victoria – the state’s biggest solar farm, to date – has been connected to the grid, and will soon begin on the installation of […]
All new ACT government vehicles to be electric
The ACT government has again taken a lead on green policy in Australia and unveiled the nation’s most ambitious transition plan to electric vehicles, including a mandate for all newly […]
The biggest barrier to microgrids
The establishment of viable business cases for different applications is the main barrier to the continued uptake of microgrids in Australia, according to Greg Allen, Executive General Manager, Carnegie Clean Energy. Mr […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – April 2018
Average solar system prices again fell slightly between March and April, down to about $1.35 per watt, the lowest we’ve seen since the beginning of the year, but not as […]
Tour the Hornsdale Power Reserve (AKA Tesla’s ‘Big Battery’) at energy storage conference
South Australia is leading the way in renewable and energy storage with the state investing in major energy projects. The Australian Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition 2018 is giving attendees […]
Over 20,000 battery storage systems installed in Aus in 2017: SunWiz
After an extended period of research, SunWiz has released its much-anticipated Australian Battery Market Report for 2018. As Australia’s leading provider of solar market research, SunWiz’s position of a trusted independent […]
Powershop, Diamond & Energy Locals top 2018 Green Electricity Guide
Who is the greenest electricity retailer of them all – and how do you know? Fortunately, every year the Total Environment Centre commissions a report on the topic, the results […]
5 alternatives to the ‘Big 3’ electricity providers for your solar panelled home
If you want to reduce your electricity bills, the first place you should look is your choice of electricity retailer, which is the company that sells you electricity. Although some […]
How baseload can be replaced with renewables & storage
Deconstructing baseload. It is the title of a chapter in a recent report from REN21, the global renewable energy agency, highlighting just how dramatic the energy transition will be as […]
Battery Storage Price Index – March 2018
With another month of minimal changes to battery pricing in our database, we’ve used the opportunity to again alter the presentation of our ‘Our We There Yet’ Meter to focus […]
Gannawarra Solar Farm to get one of two new Victorian ‘big batteries’
Following on the heels of South Australia, Victoria is set to become home to two ‘big batteries’ of its own. The grid-scale battery banks – one manufactured by Tesla and […]
Regulator to suggest reductions to NSW feed-in tariff
Solar households in New South Wales look set to be penalised for the lower electricity prices their rooftop PV has helped to deliver, with the state’s pricing regulator proposing a […]
Solar-powered lawn care (Solartopia #13)
And here’s a quick blog article to talk about a cool thing you can do with a solar system on your roof: Mow your grass (and trim your edges) with […]
Groundbreaking new energy storage solution: The rise of silicon thermal
Silicon thermal energy storage systems are more compact than batteries and have the lowest levelised cost compared to any other form of storage, according to Dr Kevin Moriarty, Executive Chairman […]
My house is net energy positive – for now (Solartopia #12)
I’ve now had two energy monitoring systems fully functioning for a few weeks, and it’s fascinating to see what my 4.4kWh solar system is capable of. It’s also interesting to […]
New SA government to scale back Tesla VPP plans, introduce battery incentive
The newly elected South Australia premier, the Liberal Steven Marshall, has made his first promise – his government intends to scale back the Tesla plan for the world’s biggest “virtual […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for March 2018
Average prices for commercial-scale solar systems continue to hang around $1.17 per watt, down from about $1.21/W this time last year, and down from about $1.30/W in 2016. 100kW systems […]
Our presentation to Ku-ring-gai Council
On Wednesday 14 March, James gave a presentation to about 60 residents of Ku-ring-gai Council in Sydney. Anyone who is interested can view the slides from the presentation here. Ku-ring-gai […]
Five myths about South Australia’s renewable energy
The South Australia election is just two days away, and the renewable energy myths are flying thick and strong. In so far as the election will be decided by energy […]
Powershop to pay battery owners under new Grid Impact plan. What’s the go?
Electricity retailer Powershop and battery control technology developer Reposit Power have come together to offer a first-of-kind product to battery storage system owners in Australia. Anyone with a (Reposit-equipped) battery […]
Germany’s VARTA enters Australia battery market
German battery storage maker VARTA has become the latest company to enter Australia’s burgeoning battery storage market, attracted by the huge penetration of rooftop solar and the growing shift towards […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – March 2018
Average solar system prices dipped slightly between February and March 2018 – coming in at about $1.38 per watt as opposed to $1.40/W last month – according to the most […]
Australian homes, business installed 6.5 solar panels per minute in 2017
New data from the Clean Energy Regulator has confirmed 2017 as a record breaking year for rooftop solar take, with Australian homes and businesses installing PV panels at a mind-bending […]
Solar power for doctors’ surgeries & medical centres: What’s the go?
Doctors’ surgeries and medical centres are among the best candidates for rooftop solar in Australia. Surgeries tend to use the most electricity during daylight hours; without solar, they pay their […]
Victoria town’s breakthrough deal on network tariffs as it pursues 100% renewables
The regional Victorian town of Newstead has negotiated new network charges with electricity distributor, Powercor, to to help clear the way to building a small solar farm and sharing the […]
Introducing our Commercial Solar System Payback Calculator
Solar Choice has been managing tenders for commercial solar projects since 2010, during which time our engineering team has composed thousands of free Indicative Business Cases for commercial clients. On […]
Solar Analytics is in! (Solartopia #11)
Solar Analytics Santa (AKA Nigel Morris) arrived on his sleigh (AKA his all-electric Zero motorcycle) on Tuesday to install the Solar Analytics unit that’s been sitting on my desk for […]
Victoria regulator finalises new time-varying tariffs for solar exports
Victoria’s solar feed-in tariff is set to shift to a time-varying model, after the details of the of the new scheme – an Australian first – were finalised by Victoria’s […]
Xenophon’s SA BEST unveils community electricity co-op plan
Nick Xenophon’s SA Best party has unveiled an energy policy plan to cut South Australia’s power prices by up to 20 per cent by setting up a community electricity co-op. […]
