Strong government incentives paved the way for rooftop solar power to achieve the prominence that it has in Australia. Home battery storage is the next frontier in distributed energy, but […]
GoodWe inverters in Australia
GoodWe is a manufacturer of inverters whose products are used in residential and commercial solar PV systems Australia-wide. This article provides an overview of the company’s Australian product catalogue – […]
Tesla’s Powerwall in Sydney, NSW: How much, and is it worth it?
Tesla’s Powerwall is the home battery bank that has taken Australia by storm – interest and demand are through the roof for this particular product despite a plethora of other […]
NSW retail electricity prices face a hike as networks fight to reverse recent cuts
Australia’s retail electricity rates could be on the rise again as networks push back against reductions introduced by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) last year. The cuts were a welcome […]
Can you go off-grid with a 3kW solar system plus batteries?
One of the most common solar system sizes in Australia is 3 kilowatts (kW). 3kW solar system strike the right balance between size and affordability, costing on average about $4,700 […]
Giant Power’s lead carbon batteries are a cost-effective option for off-grid energy storage
Giant Power – a specialist in the supply of energy storage technology for off-grid solar systems – is now supplying a range of cost-effective and high-performance lead carbon batteries from […]
Rooftop solar soon to be Queensland’s largest generator
Rooftop solar on Queensland homes and businesses could soon become the state’s biggest power generator, according to energy minister Mark Bailey. “Rooftop solar is already the second largest power station […]
WA government nixes ‘solar tax’ proposal for Synergy customers
Western Australia’s Labor government has ruled out introducing what a “solar tax” – the proposed doubling of grid connection charges for the state’s more than 175,000 solar households – describing […]
NSW government to clear path for post feed-in tariff meter replacements
The NSW government will rush through a series of bills next month in the hope of avoiding anticipated bottle-necks and lower charges as nearly 140,000 households in the state seek […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: February 2016
Average prices for commercial-scale solar PV system installations have remained largely unchanged between this month and last, according to figures from Solar Choice’s installer network database. Commercial solar system prices […]
Residential solar PV price index – February 2016
Average solar PV system installation prices for Australia have risen for the 2rd month running, according to data from Solar Choice’s installer network database. The average price per watt for […]
With shortfall of electricians to change meters, NSW solar homes face crisis as feed-in tariff end-date looms
More than 150,000 NSW households face the prospect of hefty bills and unexpected losses on the value of their rooftop solar output at the end of the year when the […]
Greens propose plan for encouraging solar on government roofs
The Australian Greens have outlined a plan to cut local government energy bills by fitting council buildings with solar. The new policy announced by the Greens last Monday would allow […]
Australia’s Redback Tech partners with UQ to foster storage innovations
Australian energy storage system developer Redback Technologies has announced a partnership with the University of Queensland aiming to accelerate the commercialisation of the company’s distributed energy storage – while also […]
Tasmania government urged to consider strategy to boost wind & solar
The Tasmanian government is being urged to support the development of more rooftop solar and wind energy, as it negotiates the state’s biggest energy crisis after losing the grid connection […]
One chart shows solar PV’s stunning progress over 40 years
A new graph by Earth Policy Institute and Bloomberg – sourced via this story on Treehugger – offers a stunning reminder the incredible journey solar PV has been on over […]
Queensland Productivity Commission report ignores benefits, emphasises costs of QRET
A new study from the Queensland Productivity Commission has estimated the state’s renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2050 will cost $10.8 billion in subsidies, and has advised […]
Will Ecoult’s UltraBattery make lead acid as hot as lithium-ion?
Ecoult is the developer of a hybrid battery and carbon-based ultracapacitor called the ‘UltraBattery’ that rivals lithium-ion batteries on performance and beats them on costs. Already deployed in a number […]
Total Australian solar PV capacity now at 5 gigawatts
There is now a total of five gigawatts (5GW) of solar PV capacity installed in Australia, bringing the Sunburnt Country to its next solar milestone, according to leading solar consultancy […]
SMA introduces inverter suited for Powerwall retrofits
Inverter manufacturer SMA has introduced a simple but sophisticated inverter that works with Tesla’s Powerwall and other high-voltage battery banks. The company’s new ‘Sunny Boy Storage’ is a single-phase battery […]
Redflow to launch residential flow battery next month, installations to begin in June
Brisbane-based battery storage company Redflow looks set to launch its “plug and play” home battery storage unit as next month, ahead of the first residential installations of the product in […]
Telstra to enter arena as electricity retailer offering solar + storage
Australian telecommunications giant Telstra is taking on the nation’s major power utilites, with plans to roll out solar and battery storage technologies, and offer energy management services to millions of […]
Australia’s emissions headed back up – and may not peak until 2020
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are headed for a record high after 2020 and may not peak before 2030, despite the government’s claim it has been reducing carbon pollution. New analysis […]
Queensland government will not retroactively cut solar feed-in tariff payments
A proposal to make retrospective cuts to Queensland’s Solar Bonus Scheme has been ruled out by the state government, immediately after it was recommended in a report into driving down […]
QLD Productivity Commission: Solar Bonus Scheme should be ended early
The Queensland Productivity Commission has recommended bringing an early end to the state’s solar bonus scheme, arguing that it has done its job and is too costly to be continued. […]
Solar Choice’s Gannawarra Solar Farm is 2nd largest in recent ARENA funding round announcement
Solar Choice and Edify Energy‘s Gannawarra Solar Farm is the second largest of 22 ‘high merit’ projects selected to move ahead in the most recent competitive funding round for large-scale […]
Solar & wind are the future and ‘there is no going back’, says German energy minister
Germany’s Rainer Bakke – the minister responsible for the EU nation’s ambitious Energiewende, or energy transition, from coal and nuclear to renewable energy – says solar and wind energy have […]
ABC’s ‘Catalyst’ airs episode the rise of home battery storage
Earlier this week the ABC’s Catalyst aired an episode on the topic of how battery storage can support renewable energy generation. The episode, ‘Battery Powered Homes‘, marks the latest instance […]
Earth faults in solar PV systems: A cause for concern?
As of July last year, new measures have been introduced for dealing with dangerous earth faults in Australian rooftop solar PV systems. The most important among them is a requirement […]
ARENA may make additional $100m available for large-scale solar
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency is said to be considering making another $100 million worth of grants available in a new round of funding for large-scale solar projects, following the […]
Global solar growth in 2015 impressive at 34%, but government policy still key: GTM Research
Global solar PV installations for 2015 totalled 59GW according to a new report, marking a 34 per cent increase over the total installed in 2014. The report, based on preliminary […]
