The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has developed the One Minute Solar Data interface providing a range of solar statistics, including global, diffuse, direct and terrestrial irradiance and sunshine-seconds for 20 locations round Australia. […]
Category: Commercial solar power
Solar Choice blog articles about commercial-scale (large-scale) solar power systems and solar farms in Australia.
ACT Reverse-Auction Feed-in Tariff ‘winners’ to be announced in coming weeks
The winning applicants of the Australian Capital Territory’s Reverse-Auction Feed-in Tariff, whose first round for 20 megawatts (MW) of capacity received 49 proposals in April this year, will be announced in […]
Suntech CEO steps down to focus on operations
Suntech founder Dr Zhengrong Shi has stepped down from his role as CEO of the company. Dr Shi will remain involved in the company as executive chairman and chief strategy […]
30MW solar farm approved for Kerang, central Victoria
A 30 megawatt (MW) solar farm has been granted planning permission in the town of Kerang, along the NSW-Victoria border. […]
Commercial-scale solar power farming in South Australia: 10kW, 30kW, 50kW, 100kW and beyond
Commercial-scale solar systems and farming are becoming increasingly popular investment options in South Australia. Large-scale solar installations and solar farms in SA offer owners and operators either an additional, low-input […]
Australian Renewable Energy Agency may fund Solar Flagships runners-up
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) may provide funding for projects that didn’t make the cut for the Federal Government’s Solar Flagships program, according to a draft of the Agency’s […]
Utility-scale solar power
Large-scale commercial solar power and utility-scale solar power are the two big frontiers in solar PV for Australia. Utility-scale solar power has the potential to dramatically transform Australia’s power generation […]
20kW Commercial solar systems: Pricing, output, and returns
A 20kW solar power system is potentially a worthwhile investment for small to medium businesses across Australia, thanks to the falling price of solar PV, and rising electricity prices. This article […]
City of Sydney’s big solar plans: 1.25MW on 30 rooftops
The City of Sydney looks like it will claim the crown for the country’s largest rooftop PV installation with a 1.25 megawatt (MW) installation, edging out current record-holder University of […]
Australian rooftop solar PV capacity at 1.7GW: Clean Energy Regulator
Figures from Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator show that there are now 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar PV capacity throughout the country. In total, over 750,000 homes (about 10% of […]
The economics of commercial-scale solar power farming in WA 10kW, 50kW and beyond
A growing number of residents of rural Western Australia residents are considering adding commercial-scale solar power farming to their portfolio of revenue streams. The primary benefit that solar farms afford […]
Solar power for retirement villages in Australia
There are good financial reasons for retirement villages to install solar power systems in Australia. Regardless of whether the state in which the retirement village is located offers a Feed-in […]
Funding for 250MW Queensland Solar Dawn project will not be pulled
The Queensland Liberal-National government will not withdraw from a $75m funding agreement made under the previous Labour government for the proposed Solar Dawn concentrating solar power (CSP) plant near Chinchilla, apparently as […]
ACT selects 22 proposals for large-scale solar power reverse-auction Feed-in Tariff
The Australian Capital Territory government has selected 22 large-scale commercial solar power projects by 10 developers to move ahead to the final stage of consideration under the territory’s reverse auction […]
The economics of commercial-scale solar farms in Western Australia
A growing number of residents of rural Western Australia residents are considering adding commercial-scale solar power farming to their portfolio of revenue streams. The primary benefit that solar farms afford […]
Solar Choice Commercial facilitates McDonald’s Australia’s move to solar power
With the help of Solar Choice Commercial, the first McDonald’s restaurant in Australia has gone solar. Although the Kilsyth restaurant’s 12kW solar PV system is ground-breaking in this respect, […]
The Economics of Solar Farms in Queensland
A growing number of residents of rural Queensland residents are considering adding commercial-scale solar power farming to their portfolio of revenue streams. The primary benefit that solar farms afford their […]
Solar panel installation begins on WA’s Greenough River Solar Farm
With above-ground electrical work complete and solar panel installation now underway, a major milestone has been reached in the construction process for Western Australia’s Greenough River Solar Farm, outside Geralton. […]
49 solar project bids for ACT large-scale Feed-in Tariff
Well on track to fulfill its goal of becoming Australia’s solar capital, the ACT government has accepted a wide range of solar project proposals for its large-scale feed-in tariff, which […]
Concentrating Solar Power Alliance formed in US
Three companies have come together to form an organisation to promote the acceptance, adoption, and implementation of concentrating solar power (CSP) in the USA. The new industry peak body is known […]
Desertec: Solar Power from the Sahara to Germany
A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald analyses German’s plans to pipe solar power from the Sahara Desert across the Mediterranean, and into its electricity grid. The project, known […]
100% Renewable Energy: Campaigning for large-scale solar power in 2012
Since 2010, 100% Renewable Energy has been working to build up grassroots capacity to effectively campaign for a complete transition to clean energy in Australia. Galvanised into action by the lack […]
Construction on Silex Solar Systems concentrating PV demo plant underway, PV production resumes
Australia’s Silex Systems has announced both that construction on its Mildura, Victoria concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) demonstration plant, and also that subsidiary SilexSolar will resume production of solar panels at its […]
What the Solar Flagships trouble means for large-scale solar
The Solar Flagships program has been receiving a lot of media attention recently for the failure of the program’s two winning applicants to meet the deadline for funding requirements. The […]
Solar Choice Kununurra, WA Solar Community
Solar Choice is running a Solar Community around Kununurra, in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. In addition to Kununurra, the community also encompasses Lake Argyle and Wyndham, WA. Residents of […]
NSW’s Renewable Energy Precincts project
The New South Wales government is undertaking a project to explore avenues to strategically encourage the uptake of sources of renewable energy in order to meet the state’s 2020 deadline […]
Solar Farms in New South Wales
With the cost of solar systems at an all-time low and the price of electricity rising, a growing number of rural NSW residents are looking at large-scale solar power as […]
Construction begins on Australia’s largest solar farm
Construction began on Australia’s first and largest solar farm in Western Australia on 4 November. The Greenough River Solar Farm is a utility-scale generation plant, meaning that it produces enough […]
Solar Choice announces new Commercial Solar PV Finance Package
Solar Choice Commercial has announced an innovative and unique financing package for customers looking to develop large-scale commercial solar PV projects across Australia. The Commercial Solar Finance package will be a […]
‘Solar Energy Zones’ announced for US desert regions
In a proactive policy move, the US government’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released maps of areas that have already passed most or all requisite environmental and cultural conditions […]
SunPower Solar Panels in Australia
The world record for solar panel efficiency goes to SunPower‘s solar panels: 24% cell efficiency (sunlight –> usable electricity in laboratory conditions) and 19.6% conversion efficiency (sunlight –> […]
