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, […]
Australian solar on track for a record year following ‘massive’ October
Australian homes and businesses installed more than 100MW of new rooftop solar capacity for the month of October, up from 97MW in September, and almost guaranteeing a record 1GW-plus total […]
German battery maker sonnen to launch microgrid for NSW estate
A new Australian housing estate that will use solar and battery storage to create a kind of suburban microgrid is set to be announced by German home battery storage giant […]
National Energy Guarantee proposal raises red flags for renewables
The mainstream media may have embraced Malcolm Turnbull’s National Energy Guarantee, but analysts see red flags all over the place. Here are some reasons why people should be concerned. It […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – November 2017
We’ve introduced some major improvements to this month’s Solar PV Price Index. Namely: We’ve added 7kW solar systems to all tables We’ve included in new tables & data for ‘premium’ […]
GreenPower – Is it Worth It?
GreenPower is an attractive option for Australian households who want to support renewable energy production. Is opting for GreenPower a better idea than installing rooftop solar? In this article we […]
Rooftop solar pushes WA grid demand to 8-year low
Western Australia has charted its lowest levels of grid electricity demand in more than eight years, thanks to the state’s fast moving uptake of rooftop solar. In yet another example […]
Whyalla steel city goes green with 1GW of solar and storage
UK billionaire Sanjeev Gupta has announced massive investments in solar and storage that will knock 40 per cent off electricity costs for his newly acquired Australian steel business. Gupta said […]
Upsolar solar panels in Australia
Upsolar is a leading international developer and producer of quality solar photovoltaic (PV) modules at competitive prices. The company was founded in 2006 in Hong Kong, and has offices in […]
How much money can you save on power bills with a Tesla Powerwall 2?
Previously we’ve looked at the question of payback periods for home battery systems such as Tesla’s Powerwall 2, LG Chem’s RESU and Alpha ESS’s Storion Eco. These articles focused primarily […]
4 charts that show how quickly the global energy system is changing
Four charts put together and tweeted over the weekend by clean energy industry veteran Ray Wills have illustrated just how quickly the transformation of the global energy market is happening. […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for October 2017
Average commercial solar system prices stay steady at about $1.20 per watt for the month of October. The average price of a 100kW system comes in at about $1.10 per […]
New QLD program unlocks benefits of solar for renters
Queensland Labor has opened the way for thousands more homes in the Sunshine State – including the largely untapped rental market – to gain access to rooftop solar and battery […]
Sonnen announces ‘suburban microgrid’ model for new-build Australian estates
A new Australian housing estate that will use solar and battery storage to create a kind of suburban microgrid is set to be announced by German home battery storage giant […]
The National Energy Guarantee: What it means if you’re thinking about going solar
There’s been no shortage of media coverage regarding the Turnbull government’s recently proposed plan to tackle Australia’s rising electricity bills (see here, here, here and here). But what does the […]
Getting the upper hand on your electricity bills with energy monitoring & management
Do you have a clear picture of what’s actually using electricity in your home and how much that costs? If you’re like most Australians, you almost certainly don’t. Historically, this […]
Household savings from National Energy Guarantee to be minimal over 12 years
Malcolm Turnbull’s new energy policy will see little reduction in consumer energy bills over the next decade, and that’s outrageous. In an era where renewable energy costs are plunging, where […]
Small-scale solar systems help save electricity sector billions: Study
A new study has claimed that without Australia’s more than 6GW of rooftop solar capacity, the aggregate cost of electricity would have been several billion dollars higher over the past […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – October 2017
Average solar system prices hold stable for the third month in a row, with the average price per watt ($/W) for an residential solar system installation coming in at about […]
Do I really need that? Also: Solar power takes many forms (Solartopia #6)
As I write this, I am running the dryer for the first time since moving into the house; it’s only the second time we’re had rain (and even, it’s just […]
What if you sent all of your solar into the grid? Is it worth it?
If you’ve got solar, the way to maximise your electricity bill savings these days is to use your solar energy directly within your home (or business). From an investment point […]
Global energy industry at ‘tipping point’ for coal, wind & solar: BNEF
The global energy industry is experiencing two major tipping points that mean coal will never be great again, and the age of wind and solar has arrived. Speaking at Bloomberg […]
New poll confirms that battery is popularity skyrocketing
A new poll has confirmed the increasing popularity of home battery storage in Australia, as households look to reduce their dependence on expensive grid-supplied electricity, and cut soaring power bills. […]
Shiftable energy loads: What can you move into the ‘solar window’? (Solartopia #5)
We here at Solar Choice harp on a lot about solar self-consumption – the idea that you need to put your solar energy to direct use within your home to […]
