A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article about the ‘Energy Awareness Factor‘ in household energy savings. This was prompted in part by having just moved into a house […]
Solar panel reliability testing: More relevant than tier ranking for solar homes & businesses?
Deciding whether you’re happy with a solar installers’ panel offering can be tricky business in a market flooded with different options (as is the case in Australia). Fortunately, DNV GL […]
Coal port of Newcastle to get 5MW solar farm
Plans to develop a 5MW solar farm on a former landfill site in the NSW coal port city of Newcastle are set to go to tender, after eight companies were […]
Pro-battery changes to energy market rules delayed to 2021
The Australian Energy Market Commission’s decision to put off changing the settlement period for the electricity spot price has been slammed by leading experts, who say the delay will reinforce […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – September 2017
Average residential solar system prices are roughly on par with last month’s figures – about $1.43 per watt for a fully installed system. 5kW systems continue to offer the best […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for September 2017
Average commercial solar system prices continue to hover around $1.20 per watt for the month of September, following an STC-driven increase between July and August. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) […]
Export control & grid protection for commercial solar installations from BCJ controls
BCJ Controls is a solar technology company set up by ex-utility industrial electricians. Between them they have significant experience in electrical grid protection and switchboard building, as well as dealing […]
First week in a solar house: Why do we keep running out of hot water? And other fun questions. [Solartopia #2]
It’s been just over a week since I moved into my solar-powered house in suburbs of the beautiful Newcastle, the largest coal port in the world. (You can almost taste […]
Retrofitting battery storage in Brisbane: Some example case studies
We recently published an article containing a number of example case studies about retrofitting solar battery storage in Sydney. This time around we’ll be taking a look at the case […]
How SunTenants bringing solar power to the roofless
While nearly 1.7 million Australian home owners now enjoy the benefits of cheaper electricity from rooftop solar, an even greater number of households don’t have access to the market – […]
VSUN to launch vanadium flow battery for homes
ASX-listed mining group Australian Vanadium has firmed up plans to target Australia’s energy storage market via its vanadium redox flow battery offshoot, VSUN Energy, and catch the wave of home solar and […]
A customer survey compares battery quality and brand recognition
When it comes to energy storage, Australia has captured the world’s attention and is a testing ground for battery products and sales strategies that will ultimately be rolled out across […]
SA to install 30MW battery bank
South Australia is set to install another large-scale battery storage system, this time to be located on the Yorke Peninsula in, as part of a renewables-based mini-grid with the nearby Wattle […]
In response to ‘battery bunker’ standards debacle, AEMC recommends new body to oversee distributed energy
The Australian Energy Market Commission has called for the creation of a new regulatory body to oversee the distributed energy generation market, including storage technology. In its final report on […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for August 2017
August saw a slight increase in average commercial solar system prices as compared to July, due to a combination of price modifications due to changes in the value of STCs […]
The ‘energy awareness factor’ and how it helps households save money
For most of us, for most of our lives, electricity bills and our consumption have both been something of a black box. We know that we get a bill every […]
Warnings of energy storage market chaos, as industry unites against home battery ban
A home battery storage installation guideline proposed by Standards Australia has again been slammed by the industry as fundamentally flawed and – if passed – likely to throw the energy […]
I’m (finally) going to live in a solar-powered home
After nearly a decade working in Australia’s solar industry, I’m finally getting in on the action on a personal level. From next week I’m moving to Newcastle and will be […]
In Australian first, SA to build 150MW concentrating ‘solar tower’ plant
US company SolarReserve has been tapped by the South Australia government to deliver all its power needs via a 150MW solar tower and molten salt storage facility to be built […]
Solar Choice brokers 100kW solar car park for Sunny Queen Farms in Queensland
Solar Choice Commercial has brokered a 100kW solar car park for Sunny Queen Farm’s facilities in Carole Park, QLD. Sunny Queen is one of Australia’s leading producers of eggs, supplying […]
Tesla slams South Australia’s proposed security target
South Australia’s proposed energy security target has been slammed by Tesla as a “relic” that incentivises old energy technology over new, including the kind of grid-scale lithium-ion battery system that […]
Queensland opens registrations for 100MW energy storage installations
Queensland has called for early registration of companies wishing to tender for the installation of up to 100MW of energy storage before 2020, as part of the Palaszczuk government’s reverse […]
What are the best cities for home solar battery storage? (August 2017 update)
Having just published an article on the state of Australia’s battery storage market at the beginning of 2017 (recently updated), we decided we would endeavour to shed a bit more light […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it in 2017? (August update)
Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of financial viability. Are home batteries worth the investment in 2017? We’ve crunched the number for […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – August 2017
Average residential solar system prices have risen slightly following two consecutive months at their lowest levels since Solar Choice began keeping track in August 2012. This month’s higher average price […]
Battery safety standards decision looms large over industry
Standards Australia will soon decide whether to allow home lithium battery banks to be installed in a garage or external wall – or whether they’ll be required to live in […]
Australia headed for 12 gigawatts of solar by 2020: APVI
Australia’s installed solar PV capacity is on track to double, jumping from its current total of 6GW to 12GW in 2020, 2.3GW of which is expected to come from large-scale […]
Graph of the Day: Tesla battery popular on both sides of politics
While support for Australia’s shift to renewable energy can sometimes be split down party lines, new data has shown that support for one of the key enabling technologies, battery storage, […]
Energy Unlimited: A roadmap towards 100% renewables for government, business & community organisations (Book review)
Under the current government, it’s unlikely that we’re going to see a 100% renewable energy target for Australia as a nation, but accomplishing this goal on a smaller scale is […]
Interested in batteries? NSW Government’s Home Solar Battery Guide is a must-read – no matter which state you live in
Earlier this year the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment commissioned Total Environment Centre, Alternative Technology Association and Zumio to produce a guidebook for state residents interested in […]
How home heating affects your solar PV setup
The relationship between home heating and solar PV is significantly different to that between home cooling and solar PV. There are two key differences: Time of day: we need heating […]
