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 […]
Coalition governments holding back renewable energy
New South Wales might be Australia’s only mainland state or territory with a Coalition government and energy minister, but that hasn’t stopped it from having high renewables and emissions reduction […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for April 2017
Average commercial solar system prices increased slightly between March and April, according to data from the Solar Choice installer network. The rise – up to $1.23/W from $1.21/W – follows […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – April 2017
Average residential solar system prices for April 2017 have crept to a fresh low of $1.57 per watt ($1.57/W) – slightly lower than March‘s average of $1.58/W but in keeping […]
Victoria beats South Australia tender with 100+ proposals
Victoria’s battery storage tender has attracted some 110 proposals, outstripping even the extraordinary response to the rival tender in South Australia. Officials confirmed the tender numbers last week, with more than […]
How much can you really save with ‘selective export’ of solar & battery energy?
Now that solar feed-in tariff rates are so low across the country, there’s little reason for a solar system owner to send their energy back into the grid, as they […]
Why the right solar trackers make bankable sense in Australia
Australian developers, financiers and EPCs are increasingly choosing solar trackers over fixed-tilt racking for their large-scale projects because of the trackers’ superior energy yield (20-30% more than fixed tilt) as […]
Solar Analytics to launch “game changing” energy management system
NSW energy technology company Solar Analytics is set to roll out a new and improved suite of smart home software and hardware aimed at helping consumers maxmise energy efficiency and […]
‘No more energy bills’ with solar? Buyer beware
Rooftop solar panels are a fantastic investment in Australia, but be realistic in your expectations “Eliminate your energy bills!” is a phrase – sometimes used in solar sales pitches – that […]
Victoria’s Hazelwood shuts down for good
Victoria’s Hazelwood brown coal power station shut down the last of its 8 units at 4pm on Wednesday, the latest and the most powerful symbol of the vast and rapid […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for March 2017
Average commercial solar system prices continue to decrease for the third month in a row, this month hitting a new all-time low of $1.21 per watt. Commercial solar system prices […]
Adelaide City’s solar & energy storage incentives
Since 1 July 2015, the City of Adelaide has been offering some of the most generous incentives for solar power in Australia – and the one of the only incentives for […]
Victoria’s pricing regulator sees network value in rooftop solar
Victoria’s pricing regulator has recognised there is network value in rooftop solar, but says it is difficult to measure it without the development of a grid services market. Since being […]
SA Government looks for one hour of battery storage to be built
The South Australian government is looking for only one hour of battery storage to be built from its up-coming tender, a stipulation that potentially rules out some technologies from applying. […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – March 2017
Average residential solar PV system prices in Australia crept down to $1.58 per watt ($1.58/W) from $1.60 in February, according to data from Solar Choice’s installer network database. Although so […]
Whitsunday, Hamilton and Gannawarra Solar Farms move into construction
It’s been an epic journey! As three large-scale solar farms (totalling 198 MW (DC)) now progress into construction, it’s timely for all of us here at Solar Choice to take […]
Queensland government launches distributed energy trial to benefit most vulnerable customers
Queensland’s Labor government has launched a distributed energy trial that aims to give the state’s most vulnerable electricity customers – as well as its half a million rental households – […]
Is home solar battery storage a good match and your energy consumption habits?
Each household uses different amounts of electricity in different patterns throughout the day. Some consumption patterns are more conducive to battery storage as an investment, and knowing your consumption habits […]
Malcolm Turnbull announces $2 billion on 2GW pumped hydro scheme
Malcolm Turnbull has announced federal government plans to spend $2 billion on a 2GW pumped hydro scheme in New South Wales’ Snowy Mountains, in what could be the most significant […]
New smart meter from carbonTRACK to benefit households, bolster grid resilience
Australian home energy management system developer carbonTRACK has announced the launch of an ‘intelligent smart meter’ that promises to benefit households, electricity retailers and grid operators alike. For end users, the […]
Localvolts’ vision for a truly peer-to-peer electricity market
There are now well over 1.5 million households in Australia with solar PV systems on their roofs, altogether comprising over 6 gigawatts (GW) of electricity generation capacity – about the […]
How your hot water system affects your solar PV setup
The hot water system you use in your home has a big impact on how you size your solar panels, and on how you position them on your rooftop. That’s […]
SA to spend $500 million on Australia’s largest battery storage and gas power plant
South Australia has announced plans to install the nation’s biggest battery storage installation, as part of a state government response to the series of blackouts and what it says are […]
Tesla founder predicts imminent end of the fossil fuel era
US EV and battery maker Tesla has suggested that the inflection point grid-scale battery storage is not 20 years away – as some politicians and industry groups would argue – but […]
Australian Energy Market Operator warns of looming domestic gas supply crisis
The Australian Energy Market Operator has warned of a looming domestic gas supply crisis, and noted that shortages over the 2018/19 summer would present huge opportunities for new technologies such as […]
LG Chem: solar and battery storage beating grid power in most Australian states
South Korean battery storage maker LG Chem has claimed that solar and battery storage is already beating grid power in most Australian states. According to Jamie Allen, the marketing head […]
