South Australia has not only met its legislated target of 50 per cent renewable energy eight years ahead of schedule, it is literally blowing past it, the Australian Energy Regulator […]
Can you go solar with a south-facing roof in Australia?
Anyone who has looked into installing solar panels in Australia would have quickly learned that north is the best direction for solar panels. If north is not an option, northwest […]
Add more solar panels or get batteries? A customer case study
Being a nation-wide advice & comparison service for rooftop solar, Solar Choice regularly receives enquiries from customers from people all over the country. We recently received a call from a […]
Diversification the key to a resilient energy market
Australia’s energy markets are becoming more complex due to battery storage and rooftop solar, and diversifying the mix of energy sources can ensure the grid remains resilient, according to Dr […]
Peer-to-peer trading with solar & batteries: What to look for
‘Peer-to-peer energy trading’ is a buzzword that is thrown around quite a bit in Australia as the number of solar & battery storage systems grows. What is peer-to-peer energy trading […]
Australian renewables head for a “boom-time” 2017
Renewable energy in Australia is shaping up for a “boom-time” 2017, powered by a rebound in hydro-power generation, the plunging cost of big solar, and ambitious and motivated state and […]
Tips for maximising your solar savings
When you go solar, you’ll need to adjust the way you use your appliances to ensure you make the most of the energy coming from your solar panels. Here are a […]
Battery storage: Retrofit or new build with solar?
If you’re considering installing battery storage for your grid-connected home, you probably find yourself in one of two situations: You’ve already got a solar PV system on your roof and want to add […]
Retrofitting battery storage to an existing solar PV system: What to consider
Lots of Australian homes are expected to install battery storage in the coming years. Many of these homes will install brand new solar-plus-storage systems, but quite a few will be […]
Beam Energy introduces a free ‘smart meter’ for solar & battery system size optimisation
When buying solar or batteries, most people would like to have an idea about how much money they would save with different capacity sizes before they go through with the purchase. […]
Empowered energy customers support the grid
With the right technology, homeowners and businesses with solar and battery storage systems have the potential to play a vital role in stabilising a grid with high renewable generation, according […]
What is a “Tier 1” solar panel? Tier 2 or 3?
When purchasing a solar system, the quality of the components to be used is frequently a key consideration. However, differentiating one brand from another may not be so simple, especially […]
Incredible new lows in cost of battery storage and large scale solar
Arizona has set a new low price for large-scale solar power in the US, but more importantly has also smashed expectations of the combined cost of large-scale solar and battery storage. […]
Subsidies are not the answer to battery storage market
The Clean Energy Council has called for urgent energy urgent market reform – and not subsidies – to unlock Australia’s energy storage market, in a new report that joins the […]
Levelised cost of storage: A better way to compare battery value
When it comes to choosing batteries for home or commercial battery storage, it can be difficult to sift through the multitude of options to find the IDEAL battery for your […]
Solar saved NSW consumers almost $1 billion in latest heatwave
Rooftop solar on homes and businesses across New South Wales likely reduced the market price of wholesale electricity by nearly $1 billion during a February heatwave, a new analysis has […]
Solar is so cheap it now cools the air outside too
Rooftop solar power is becoming so cheap, and will become so abundant, that we will reach the situation where the kilowatt-hours of use (i.e. the production) are effectively free, the […]
Could distributed battery systems ‘blackstart’ the grid?
Solar Choice recently received a comment from a visitor to our site asking about whether distributed battery storage systems – using Reposit Power‘s battery management technology – could be used […]
Avoiding the boom and bust for a sustainable energy storage market
By studying the successes and challenges experienced by overseas projects and markets, and using them to inform better policy and decision-making, Australia’s energy market transformation could be the best-practice example […]
3kW vs 5kW solar system: Which is a better investment?
One of the first decisions a household considering solar will need to make is the capacity (in kilowatts, kW) of the system to be installed. Two of the most popular […]
How home cooling affects your solar PV setup
Home cooling and solar PV are inextricably linked in two ways: Time of day: our need for cooling is strongest when temperatures peak during the daytime – the time when […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – May 2017
Average solar system installation prices for May 2017 hover at the same level as April‘s – $1.57 per watt ($1.57/W). 5kW solar systems continue to offer the best value for money […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for May 2017
Average commercial solar system prices remain unchanged for the second month in a row, coming in at $1.23/W, according to pricing from the Solar Choice commercial installer network database. Average […]
RET very much in reach with record $7.5bn renewables spend
Australia is experiencing its biggest ever investment spree in large-scale renewable energy, according to two new sets of data, putting the 2020 renewable energy target well within reach. The Clean […]
NSW solar feed-in tariff to increase: Three things to keep in mind
In a bit of good news for NSW solar PV system owners, state regulatory body IPART has released a draft report recommending that the benchmark solar feed-in tariff rate be […]
Solar panel tilt and orientation in Australia
What angle and orientation are best for solar panels in Australia? Solar panels are installed differently based on their geographic locations throughout the world. The premise behind this is simple; […]
Dropping solar and wind costs means renewable exports could replace gas and coal
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency set to announce that hydrogen projects will become one of its new investment priorities in the coming year, just as the country is being urged […]
Deutsche Bank predicts continued growth for global solar market
Global investment group Deutsche Bank has predicted continued growth for the global solar market, bumping up its 2017 estimate for total demand to 82GW, from a previous forecast of 74GW. […]
“Mobile solar” plants to challenge diesel for use in mines, construction sites
Australian developed “mobile solar” technology will be tested at the 1MW scale in New South Wales, after winning a new grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The modular, mobile […]
Microinverters: Are they right for your solar system?
As the name suggests, microinverters are small inverters for use in solar PV systems, usually installed at a ratio of one per solar panel. By contrast, most solar PV systems in […]
Alternative monitoring solution for Enecsys owners who are left in the dark
With the end of microinverter manufacturer Enecsys in early 2015, so ended the company’s online monitoring platform, leaving Enecsys system owners without any way to monitor their system’s output data. Two years […]
