That’s right! Your solar energy panel is primarily made from silicon, an element which is found in sand. Well how does it happen? […]
Solar Panel System Design and Reliability for non-grid-connected systems
One of the biggest decisions for any engineer when designing a system is reliability. However, you don’t have to be an engineer to design your own Solar Energy Panel system. […]
Australian Solar Cities & Communities Growing!
Adelaide, Townsville, Blacktown, Alice Springs, Central Victoria, Perth and Coburg are getting $75 Million dollars over 5 years to demonstrate high penetration uptake of solar technologies, energy efficiency and smart […]
Emerging Solar Energy Panel Trends
The University of New South Wales holds the record for producing the highest efficiency solar energy cells and has had the privilege of holding this record for approximately 20 years, […]
How does my Solar Energy Panel perform over time?
Last week in “The Manufacturing and Science behind Solar Energy Panels” we talked about the different types of solar panels you could purchase and what all those complicated names meant. […]
Solar Power Update from Germany
Solar Powered Germany : a shining example The implementation and ongoing review of feed-in-tariff laws in Germany over the last 19 years has been hugely successful in encouraging solar PV […]
Australia’s Feed-in-Tariff debate
To Feed-in or not to Feed-in: Encouraging renewable energy electricity production The concept of a feed-in-tariff (FiT) has been around since the 70’s but it was only in the last […]
Solar Energy : UK FiT for action
Solar Energy Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for UK Households At long last the clouds have parted and the UK has followed its European neighbours to announce a solar feed-in-tariff. The Clean Energy […]
The Manufacturing and Science behind Solar Energy Panels
An introduction to the manufacturing and science about the solar energy panels that are on your roof already, and the panels that you are considering to put on your roof, […]
ACT Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) Revision
Important news for ACT customers only: Earlier this month a strategical recommendation was made by the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC in Canberra) that would directly affect the investment […]
What is Environmental Performance Disclosure?
Yet another reason to go solar! In the second half of this year mandatory disclosure will be introduced for commercial office buildings with a leasable space over 2000 square metres. […]
Can We Trust Solar Energy Panels From China?
With China being in the news for toy’s being coated with lead paint and other controversial issues with quality control it is quite normal to have concerns with their products […]
Tax implications of going solar in Australia
The Australian Tax Office [ATO] has released its findings regarding the treatment of income generated from selling electricity back to the grid. […]
REC/STC prices guaranteed at $40–but only if sold through ORER
On Friday 27 February 2010 the Minister for Climate Change announced some very positive changes to the prices of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs, also known as Small-scale Technology Certificates or STCs). […]
Free power, and the rest
The following article, by Mathew Cawood, appeared in the rural newspaper The Land on 20th of February 2010. It talks about a recent 10kW installation in country NSW that Solar Choice brokered. The installation earns […]
Home energy consumption versus solar PV generation
A previous article on this site looked at the first part of that answer, how much energy your solar cells will produce. Here we learnt that the amount of energy a 1kW […]
Gross Metering Details for Energy Australia New South Wales
There is a lot of discussion in the industry regarding exactly how the New South Wales Solar Bonus Scheme will affect properties meter boxes and connections with the grid. Solar […]
How do I use electricity throughout the day – the load curve
The previous article, how to save energy in your home, told you how on aggregate you use electricity in the home – that is, what percentage of your power is used by certain appliances. But […]
How to save energy in your home
Every quarter that electricity bill rolls in, and you may be left wondering – how is it so high, and how am I using that much energy? Here is a summary […]
Get a discount by buying in bulk – set up a Solar Community
Setting up a solar community is a great way to do a big thing for the environment. If you’re a local council, it’s a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of your […]
NSW feed-in tariff loophole to be closed
A loophole in the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme (the states feed-in tariff) that allowed energy retailers to only offer credit instead of cash will be closed. The NSW Energy Minister, John Robertson, […]
Putting solar cells on your holiday home – a nice little earner
For those of you luck enough to own a holiday home you no doubt already know that renting it out to friends and the public is a great way to earn […]
Make the Right Solar Choice – article in the Green Times
The following article, by Michael Salvatico, appeared in the Green Times. It talks about the service offering of Solar Choice and that fact that we are a carbon negative operation, through […]
Solar energy is lighting the way – article in the Western Advocate
The following article, by Louise Eddy, appeared in today’s Western Advocate. It talks about a major solar installation that Solar Choice brokered in Western NSW that will produce enough power to service […]
The Green Loans program
(N.B. the Australian government’s Green Loan program came to a close on 21 December 2010. Some information below is out of date.) A solar PV system is a great way to […]
Steel beam solar cells? A technology of the future
Imagine being in a sky scraper where the huge glass windows and steel beams act as solar cells, soaking up the sun’s light and generating electricity. This is exactly the […]
What happens if my solar energy installation is slightly over the Feed in Tariff limit?
So you’ve made the decision to install solar panels on you roof and would like to take full advantage of the Feed in Tariff’s available. How big can you make […]
Solar powered plane set to circumnavigate the globe
In 1903 two audacious young men set human kind into a new era with their bold attempt at flight. They were the Wright brothers, and their pioneering invention, which got […]
Myth Busted: Solar cells do NOT take more energy to manufacture than they will ever generate
One of the myths that has floated around about Solar Energy is that it takes more energy to produce, transport and install solar panels then the amount the panels will […]
Power prices set to rise by up to 60%
The NSW Energy Minister John Robertson said last Monday that he had received verbal advice from the state’s pricing regulator that power prices could rise by up to 60% in […]
ETS voted down in the senate for a second time
The Federal Government’s proposed Emissions Trading Scheme has been just been voted down in the Senate for a second time. After the tumultuous political events of the last week, the […]
