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 […]
Emissions-free mowing & garden maintenance service hits Sydney
When it comes to emissions from internal combustion engines, cars and trucks are not the only offenders. Consider this department of environment statistic: “A two-stroke leaf blower used for one […]
Report describes Australian electricity utopia – that doesn’t seem to exist
A new report from Australia’s principal electricity market rule-maker has sought to portray a utopian image where consumers believe they are getting value for money and face only one blight on […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for July 2017
Average commercial solar system prices remain mostly unchanged at about $1.19 per watt ($1.19/W) between June and July 2017. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) All prices in the tables below […]
Aussie businesses failing to reap benefits of cheap renewables: Report
A new report from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has found that less that half of Australian businesses actually source any renewable energy at all, and if they do, it […]
STC prices are falling: What you need to know
‘The federal solar rebate is falling!’ is a cry that Solar Choice has been hearing pretty loudly from our customers, website visitors and installers in and outside our network for the […]
Solar system prices could rise up to 10% as STC prices drop
(Please see Solar Choice’s in-depth coverage of the STC price drop in this article.) The cost of installing rooftop solar looks set to rise by as much as 10 per […]
Australia’s 5B launches ground-breaking ‘solar farm in a box’
Sydney-based 5B has launched a pre-fabricated, easily deployed solution for solar farm construction that looks set to revolutionise medium to large-scale solar in Australia (and possibly the world). The company’s […]
Introducing our new Home Solar & Battery Storage Systems Guide
Over the years Solar Choice has published thousands of articles on the topic of solar power and (more recently) battery storage. Much of this knowledge is spread across various parts […]
Big improvements to our Solar & Battery Sizing & Payback Estimator tool
It’s been well over a year since we first released our Solar & Battery Sizing & Payback Estimator tool in February 2016. Through its life so far, this handy tool has […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – July 2017
Average residential solar system prices for July remain mostly unchanged since June’s big shakeup, hovering at $1.34/W. 5kW solar systems continue to offer the best value for money, and Perth is […]
Newly formed battery giant Fluence aims to take on Tesla
Energy giants AES and Siemens have combined their energy storage divisions to take on upstarts like Tesla and other industry rivals, in an effort to dominate the soaring global battery […]
A guide to community microgrids
carbonTRACK Community microgrids are a way for neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities to meet their energy needs locally. Increasingly, community microgrids are being eyed as an option even in areas where […]
Walnut Energy: Battery solutions for commercial, industrial & grid-scale applications
Walnut Energy is an Australian developer of containerised battery storage solutions for medium to large-scale commercial and industrial premises – not to mention power plants and microgrids. Their battery storage […]
Ampetus Super Lithium: Modular, cost-competitive battery bank for homes
Ampetus Energy is an Australian battery storage system developer offering one of the most cost-effective battery products currently available: the Ampetus Super Lithium battery. The battery comes with a 10 […]
sonnenFlat: sonnen’s ‘free’ / flat-rate electricity plan looks great. Is it worth it?
German battery system maker sonnen has launched its ground-breaking sonnenFlat package – a retail electricity offer available to anyone with at least a 5kW solar system and a sonnen battery system […]
Retrofitting battery storage in Sydney: Some example case studies
You are a solar PV system owner who is now considering adding battery storage. The options you have depend on a number of factors, and there are a range of […]
sonnen launches battery-driven plan to take retailers ‘out of business’
German battery storage developer sonen has described this month’s near 20 per cent jump in the cost of grid power around Australia as “perfect” timing for the rollout of its […]
NSW regulator boosts recommended solar feed-in rates in final report
NSW pricing regulator IPART boosted its recommended range for solar feed-in tariffs in the state, suggesting between 11.9c/kWh and 15c/kWh for exports back into the grid in 2017-18. The recommendations are slightly […]
Concept of ‘baseload’ energy quickly becoming a relic of the past
A new US report argues that the concept of “baseload” energy generation is an artefact of an old fossil fuelled industry, and should not be confused with reliability. The Brattle Group […]
7 good reasons to install battery storage now
There are now dozens of home battery storage product options to choose from on the Australian market. Prices are coming down quickly, and as electricity prices rise (as they are […]
Industry responses to the Finkel Review
Earlier this month CSIRO Chief Scientist Alan Finkel debuted his panel’s report into reform of Australia’s electricity sector. Officially known as Independent Review into the Future Security of the National […]
Electricity prices to increase in NSW, SA and QLD: Why and what can you do about it?
As you’re likely to have read, there are significant electricity price rises coming into effect from 1 July if you live in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia. Driven by […]
Water heating on a timer vs solar diverter: A case study
The article below, written by Scott Young of CATCH Power, provides a look into the world of hot water diverters, which use excess solar energy to drive the element in […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for June 2017
Average pricing for commercial-scale solar systems has dropped to $1.19 per watt ($1.19/W) from $1.23/W following some shakeups in the Solar Choice installer network (see notes in our Residential Solar […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – June 2017
This month saw one of the sharpest drops to average system prices since Solar Choice first began keeping track in August 2012. Between May and June, the average system price […]
Energy Storage Conference & Exhibition 2017: Roundup
Every June for the last three years I’ve attended the Energy Storage Conference & Exhibition in Sydney. This year the event took place on 14-15th at Sydney’s new Convention and […]
Standards Australia renews threat of home battery storage ban
A draft of industry guidelines for the installation of battery storage in Australian homes and businesses has upheld a controversial recommendation that threatens to ban batteries from inside homes and […]
Finkel modelling ignores new technologies, cheaper renewables
The Australian public – and the Coalition party room – are being told that the cheapest and most effective way to address emissions is to allow coal-fired power stations to […]
Integrating solar with storage for a stable energy ecosystem
To successfully incorporate solar PV, storage and other innovative technologies into Australia’s energy grids without sacrificing grid stability, a holistic, whole-of-network approach is required, says Mark Paterson, General Manager of […]
