Rooftop solar has proved itself to be immensely popular in Queensland, where roughly 27% of all homes have had a system installed, according to the APVI. But more and more Queensland homes […]
AKASOL’s neeoQube & neeoSystem: Solar energy storage solutions for Australian homes & businesses
AKASOL is a German manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries and grid-connect energy storage solutions whose ‘neeo‘ line of solutions has recently become available on the Australian market. The company’s neeoQube unit is […]
As retailers & regulators seek to protect revenues, next major battleground for solar emerges
Australia’s solar industry looks to have a major battle on its hands, as pricing regulators and utilities take action to protect revenues and make rooftop solar less appealing for consumers. […]
Solar Choice brokers winning bid on 100kW system for prominent retail chain premises in western Sydney
Solar Choice Commercial has successfully brokered the winning bid on a 100kW solar installation for one of the western Sydney locations of a major national retail chain. The completion of […]
SA announces $1.1m tender for energy storage on gov’t buildings
South Australia’s Labor government has announced a $1.1 million tender to install battery storage in several key government buildings, including parliament house and its flagship arts buildings in the North […]
VIC solar feed-in tariff faces further reduction
Victorian solar households face another cut to their solar feed-in tariff, after the Essential Services Commission recommended the rate for rooftop solar generation fed back into the grid be cut […]
Victoria, NSW will lead the way in residential energy storage uptake
NSW and Victoria will lead the adoption of battery storage by Australian households over the next two decades, the Australian Energy Market Operator has predicted. In its first ever analysis […]
Residential solar + storage system payback times: State by state
South Australian households planning to install rooftop solar and battery storage systems can look forward to the shortest payback period on the NEM, a new report by the Australian Energy Market […]
Solar Choice brokers 100kW solar array for Doug Hall Poultry in Millmerran, QLD
[Updated on 1 July 2015 with new images]. Solar Choice Commercial has brokered a 100kW ground-mounted solar PV installation for Doug Hall Poultry in Millmerran, Queensland. Doug Hall is one of […]
Solar Choice brokers winning 1.06MW bid for Brisbane Markets
Solar Choice has successfully brokered the winning bid for Brisbane Markets Limited’s (BML) epic 1.06 megawatt (MW) solar power system. The array will be the largest privately owned roof-top project […]
SPLASH: Flashy yet practical monitoring for solar energy systems
Quality performance monitoring should be an essential component of any solar energy system, but is sometimes the first thing to be sacrificed in the name of cost-savings. New Zealand’s SPLASH […]
Solar-plus-storage will account for nearly half of Aussie electricity demand by 2040
A major new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance has predicted that rooftop solar and battery storage will account for more than half of Australia’s electricity needs by 2040, as […]
Queensland’s Ergon decreases solar system size thresholds for network assessments
Queensland regional utility Ergon Energy has imposed a 3.5kW threshold on rooftop solar systems, making it more difficult and potentially more costly for households and businesses to install rooftop solar. The […]
Australian Energy Regulator rejects proposed fee on SA solar homes
A proposal by South Australia’s monopoly network operator to add a $100 a year tariff for households with rooftop solar has been rejected by the Australian Energy Regulator. As reported in […]
Over 18% of WA homes now have solar
A total of more than 180,000 West Australian households have installed rooftop solar, new data has shown, taking total residential penetration to 18 per cent of the state’s population: an […]
Could the Coalition turn RET towards large-scale solar?
In seeking to justify its push against wind energy, the creation of a “wind commissioner” and its dealing with the Senate cross-bench, the Coalition is trying to turn the renewable energy target […]
Rooftop solar to beat coal, demolish midday demand in SA by 2025
Rooftop solar PV capacity in Australia is expected to overtake that of coal fired generation within the next decade, according to new forecasts by the Australian Energy Market Operator, published on […]
Solar PV system prices in Darwin, NT
According to the APVI‘s solar map, only about 6% of homes in Darwin have solar panels – despite the fact that the city is home to some of the highest solar irradiation rates […]
RET deal details remain unsettled with questions about wood waste and wind
Last-minute wrangling over the inclusion of native wood waste in the Renewable Energy Target is threatening to delay passage of the amended legislation through federal Parliament’s Upper House, as the […]
Hot water storage helps maximise PV electricity use
Storing solar energy in the form of hot water is an effective and low-cost way of maximising the use of generated excess PV electricity. Australia’s net-metering arrangements and despicably low […]
Australia’s conservative districts also have the most solar: Solar Citizens
Australia’s rooftop solar market is still powering along nicely, adding another 11,865 systems in the month of May and bringing the nation’s total number of solar homes to more than […]
Solar Choice’s 2GW Bulli Creek Solar Farm: The lay of the land
At 2 gigawatts of capacity, once completed Solar Choice’s Bulli Creek Solar Farm will be the largest project of its kind in Australia – and among the largest in the world. For […]
Home solar battery and energy storage in NSW: Options & benefits
Battery storage is the next frontier in home solar power for New South Wales. In fact, a perfect combination of factors means that NSW – and Australia more generally – is […]
Testing complete, NSW’s Nyngan Soar Farm soon to be fully operational
Australia’s largest solar farm, the 102MW Nyngan Solar Plant in western New South Wales, is set to become fully operational in a matter of weeks after achieving the milestone of […]
UNSW adds fast chargers, Tesla Model S and BMW i3 to EV arsenal
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has recently installed two additional electric vehicle (EV) fast chargers at the Kensington campus. The charging station, which sits behind the Tyree Energy […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: June 2015
Average indicative prices for commercial solar energy systems changed little between May and June 2015, continuing to hover around $1.44/W. Commercial solar energy system prices (10kW-100kW): Averages All prices in the […]
Aussie rooftop solar installations continue apace despite RET debacle
Australian households and businesses continue their rapid take-up of rooftop solar, even as new Renewable Energy Target legislation prepares to pass through the Senate, and despite the Abbott government’s latest […]
South Australia’s two remaining coal plants will close, Alinta confirms
The likelihood of South Australia shifting to 100 per cent renewable energy received a huge boost this week, with the decision to close the state’s two remaining coal-fired plants. Alinta […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index: June 2015
Average residential solar PV system prices remain largely unchanged between May and June 2015, hovering around $1.86/W nationally. What appears as price rises in Melbourne were actually due mainly to a […]
IRENA report highlights the 164 nations with renewable energy targets
On the same day Tony Abbott described Australia’s RET as “not the right way forward,” a new report has described renewable energy targets as a “defining feature” of the global energy landscape, […]
Wind & solar save the day in SA as fire disables Northern coal plant
Renewable energy managed to carry the bulk South Australia’s electricity load over the long weekend, after a fire at the Northern coal power station – the state’s only baseload generator […]
