Solar power system prices have fallen significantly in recent years in Tasmania, as well as throughout Australia and the rest of the world. It is for this reason that installing […]
Category: Solar Panel & Renewable Energy Policies
Solar Choice articles about solar pv, solar power policy and renewable energy policy. Solar Choice is Australia’s solar power installation brokering and solar quote comparison service. Contact Solar Choice for a free comparison of solar power quotes.
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: November 2015
This month we have changed our methodology for calculating commercial solar system prices, leaving out the installer-nominated ‘Solar Choice Discount’ which is usually added on to the ‘final total’ column […]
Diamond Energy: Australia’s solar power-friendly electricity retailer
Diamond Energy is an electricity retailer with extensive experience servicing customers who have solar panels or are thinking about going solar. The company has helped thousands of customers in Victoria, […]
Battery storage systems to be allowed to export energy in WA from December
The Australian electricity industry is being “Uber’d” by battery storage technology, according to comments from West Australian energy minister Mike Nahan, a process he predicts will fundamentally change the nature […]
South Australian government seeking expressions of interest for ‘low carbon’ technologies
South Australia’s government has announced that it is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from providers of innovative low-carbon technologies to inform a potential future tender process for the supply of […]
Residential solar PV price index – November 2015
Average solar system prices have sunk for the fourth month in a row, reaching a new all-time low since Solar Choice began publishing system prices in August 2012. For the […]
Amaroo School’s 600kW solar panel array installation complete [PHOTOS]
The solar panel array installation has been completed and inverter preparation is underway for the ACT’s largest rooftop solar project at Amaroo School, developed since inception exclusively by Solar Choice. […]
Queensland’s new large-scale solar incentive: The Solar 60 Contract for Difference (CFD)
Making good on its pre-election promises to boost renewables (particularly solar) in the Sunshine State, Queensland‘s Labor government has implemented an ambitious program to support large-scale solar projects. The Solar […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: October 2015
Average commercial solar system prices have decreased for the second month in a row, according to data from the Solar Choice Installer Network database. The continuing drop follows a sharp […]
WA’s energy minister to roll back anti-battery regulations “within the month”
An energy market regulation that effectively bans homes in Western Australia with battery storage from feeding power back into the grid will be removed within a month, the state’s energy […]
Residential solar PV price index – October 2015
Average solar PV system prices edged down to $1.79 per watt this month, coming close to the all-time low of $1.76/W reached in March of this year. Average solar PV […]
10% of ACT’s electricity demand to be met by solar by 2020
A new report has predicted that the ACT could source nearly 10 per cent of its overall electricity demand from rooftop solar within the next few years. The report compiled […]
WA Aboriginal corporation goes off-grid with 100kW solar + 70kWh storage
A WA not-for-profit that provides essential services to remote Aboriginal communities in the Pilbara has successfully gone off-grid, after installing a 100kW solar plant with 70kWh of battery storage. The […]
Could Turnbull follow the pro-solar example set by WA energy minister Nahan?
If new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull needs guidance on how to get his more conservative Coalition members to embrace change in the energy market, he might use the example of […]
Labor’s 50% renewables target would require $80b in investment: UBS
Federal Labor’s proposed 50 per cent renewable energy target for Australia by 2030 would require around $80 billion in investment, much of which would need to be spent anyway, a […]
Australia has a new PM: What’s in store for solar?
Malcolm Turnbull is now ensconced as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia after besting Tony Abbott in a dramatic showdown whose similarities to the travails of the previous Labor government […]
Solar Choice brokers 100kW solar array for SlumberCare in Darwin, NT
Solar Choice Commercial has brokered a 100kW solar PV system for Australian mattress manufacturer SlumberCare in Darwin, NT. SlumberCare first approached Solar Choice for an impartial look at the market […]
QLD government aims to turn Sunshine State into Solar State
Queensland’s state Labor government says it has increased the capacity of its large scale solar auction to 60MW from 40MW as it seeks to accelerate the transition from the “sunshine […]
Residential solar PV price index – September 2015
Solar system prices fell on average between August and September, but there was significant variation between cities, especially among the smaller system sizes (1.5kW and 2kW). The rise in average […]
Vic Labor to introduce legislation to prevent retailer discrimination against solar homes
Victoria’s Labor government has announced new legislation that will prevent electricity retailers from refusing discounts to households with rooftop solar arrays. Victoria energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio announced the move on […]
SE Queensland network hits 1GW solar – a system on 3 in 10 homes
Nearly three out of every 10 households in south-east Queensland have invested in rooftop solar, sending the total amount of PV installed on the electricity network operated by Energex past […]
QLD government to give boost to rooftop & large-scale solar
The Queensland Labor government has pledged to help the Sunshine State live up to its name, by boosting development of large-scale solar projects and encouraging the uptake of rooftop solar. […]
2015-16 NSW benchmark solar panel feed-in tariff rates to drop further: IPART draft report
NSW’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has released a draft of its proposed solar feed-in tariff benchmark range for 2015-16. At 4.4-5.6c/kWh, the rates (which are unlikely to change […]
Solar will meet 100% of WA daytime electricity demand within next decade, says state’s energy minister
Western Australia’s treasurer and energy minister, Mike Nahan, has predicted that solar PV will meet the daytime electricity needs of the state within the next decade, in a speech at […]
ACT’s largest rooftop PV project reaches financial close
Solar Choice has this week reached financial close on an impressive 600kW project pursuant to a long term Roof Access Agreement negotiated with the ACT Government. The site for the […]
As feed-in tariffs end and battery prices fall, homes ‘hungry’ for batteries: ARENA CEO
The winding back of state-based solar feed-in tariffs could leave one million-plus Australian solar households “hungry” for energy storage, at the same time as battery costs start to decline, the […]
Solar-plus-battery storage in Brisbane
In some suburbs of the greater Brisbane area, nearly 50% of residential roofs are equipped with solar panels – among the highest rates in the country. Many of these homes […]
Victorian regulator confirms feed-in tariff to be slashed to 5c/kWh
Victoria’s Essential Services Commission has confirmed it will slash the feed-in tariff for solar power exported to the grid to 5c/kWh, starting January 01, 2016. The ESC announced the decision in in […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: August 2015
This month Solar Choice upgraded its price reporting functionality to encompass a larger number of commercial installers – with interesting results. While average prices now appear as higher for 30kW, 50kW […]
Electricity networks propose connection fees for all homes – including off-gridders
Australia’s major power networks are calling for compulsory connection fees for all homes and businesses – even if they are not connected to the grid – and penalties for those […]
Electricity network companies fighting for price increases in NSW
NSW electricity rates could once again skyrocket from next July if network companies win a legal challenge to a pricing determination made by the Australian Energy Regulator. Prices for this […]
