Solar Choice will be closing up shop for the holidays on Friday afternoon this week. Please note that our office will be closed for two weeks from Saturday 23 December, reopening […]
A look back at 2017: A year that smashed multiple Aussie solar records
2017 has been a year of records for Australian solar power, and the year’s not even quite finished yet. Here are some of the highlights of the 10 records that […]
Happiness is an electricity bill? A coda to 2017 (Solartopia #9)
I never thought I’d find myself chasing up with my electricity company to ask for an electricity bill, but two weeks ago that’s exactly what I was doing. I’d been […]
What’s the current levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for solar in Australia?
Solar is affordable in Australia – possibly more affordable than anywhere else in the world. But as much as sunlight may seem like ‘free energy’, you actually pay for the […]
Victoria to introduce variable rate solar feed-in tariff – as high as 29c/kWh during peak times
The Victorian Essential Services Commission (ESC) has proposed a variable-rate feed-in tariff for solar & battery system owners in the state. A draft decision from the ESC on the matter […]
2018: When battery storage will get a grip on the grid
A new forecast on battery storage growth in Australia has predicted an additional 800MWh of utility scale batteries installed or in construction by this time next year, and almost as […]
AEMO plans for future (clean) grid, with no mention of base-load
The Australian Energy Market Operator has effectively thrown down the gauntlet to the federal government on its climate and technology assumptions, with the first installment of its mini white paper […]
Air conditioning terror in the heat (Solartopia #8)
Welcome to the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures in Newcastle soaring to 34 degrees around the middle of the day. Because my life is full of […]
Rooftop solar: Australia’s greatest opportunity – and its greatest risk
The huge amounts of rooftop solar PV being installed on Australian homes and businesses is rapidly becoming one of the grid’s greatest assets, but they could also represent one of […]
Resisting energy transition like trying to resist internet: AEMO chief
Trying to resist the global transition to renewable energy-based grids is like trying to stop the internet, the chief of the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned. In an interview […]
Battery Storage Price Index – December 2017
Welcome to the second edition of Solar Choice’s Battery Storage Price Index – the companion to our Solar PV Price Index, which covers solar system installation prices around Australia. The […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for December 2017
This month’s Commercial Solar PV Price Index sees the introduction of 70kW solar systems for the first time (a long overdue addition). The average cost of installing a commercial solar […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – December 2017
The average price per watt ($/W) for primary offerings was $1.30 this month – down slightly from November and a new low since we began tracking prices in 2012. The […]
Reduce vs. produce: When to invest in solar and when to invest in energy efficiency projects
If you’re interested in saving money on your electric bill, there are two popular ways to do it. One way is to invest in a solar energy system. The other […]
Australia hits new rooftop solar high as homes and businesses get smart – and go big
Australian homes and businesses installed a record monthly total of 120MW of rooftop solar in November, beating the all-time high set in June 2012 and rounding off what is now […]
ATA launches free home solar and battery sizing tool
Australian homes looking to install solar and battery storage systems can now access a free-to-use tool offering them key guidance on the system size, expected energy bill savings and payback […]
Solar-plus-storage: How much battery capacity do you need?
Lots of Solar Choice customers ask about battery storage for solar power, but not many have a clear idea of how much battery capacity they need. This article takes a look at […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for November 2017
Average commercial solar system prices remain at about $1.20 per watt (after STC incentive and GST are applied) for the month of November, according to data from the Solar Choice […]
ARENA still has $700m to spend, to bring down cost of storage
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has tipped 2018 to be a big year for large-scale energy storage, as the Agency focuses its efforts and remaining funds on the integration of […]
Queensland chooses sunshine over coal, to relief of solar industry
The medium-term future of the solar industry in Australia – along with several large-scale wind and hybrid projects, and some key storage installations – is back on stable ground, for […]
Stunning aerial imagery of Charles Sturt University’s 1.77MW solar array
Charles Sturt University has this week officially opened its multi-roof, 1.77 megawatt (MW) solar system at its Wagga Wagga campus in south-west NSW, the tender for which was managed by […]
Electricity meter board complications & partial monitoring success (Solartopia #7)
It’s been more than a few weeks since I last posted an update about the progress of my own personal solar project. In addition to just being generally busy, I […]
100% renewables “cheaper, less risky” than building new coal: ATA
Powering Australia with 100 per cent renewable energy is not only achievable by as early as 2030, but would be a “cheaper and less risky” plan than building new coal-fired […]
Inaugural Manly Solar Beach Hub Drinks
On Thursday 16 November Solar Choice held its inaugural Manly Solar Beach Hub Drinks on our ‘board room’ balcony overlooking Manly Wharf and Harbour. The get together was an enjoyable […]
Is public uncertainty holding back Australia’s home battery boom?
Australians love the idea of battery storage, in the much the same spirit with which they embraced rooftop solar – as another way to cut electricity bills, gain control over […]
Is home solar power a scam?
Because of our position in Australia’s solar industry as a comparison and advisory service, we get feedback and comments of all sorts. One of the most confounding that we have […]
Introducing Solar Choice’s Battery Storage Price Index (and a major overhaul of our Solar PV Price Index)
Since the beginning of 2017, there have been over half a million views of battery storage-related pages on the Solar Choice website and well over 3,000 customer enquiries about batteries. […]
Battery Storage Price Index – November 2017
We’re excited to announce that we have at long last published our first Battery Storage Price Index – a generalised view of what it costs to have a battery storage […]
Rooftop solar changes unsettle industry, raising fears worse to come
Australia’s peak solar industry body has called for written clarification from the federal government, after confusion surrounding proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Target triggered concerns that the booming commercial […]
Even IEA says coal boom is dead, hails the solar age
The International Energy Agency has called the end of the coal boom, and hailed the age of solar, in its latest annual World Energy Outlook. The report, long considered the […]
Jinko Solar breaks world efficiency record for PERC solar cells: 23.45%
Chinese solar manufacturer JinkoSolar says it has broken its own world record for P-type monocrystalline PERC solar cell efficiency, with a new benchmark of 23.45 per cent. The new record, […]
