The Western Australian government has reportedly shelved plans to introduce higher network fixed charges to recoup some of the revenue displaced by the state’s 175,000 solar households. As reported in […]
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.
Coalition and Labor to compromise on Renewable Energy Target: 33,000GWh by 2020
A compromise deal may finally have been reached on Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), according to reporting from the ABC and other sources. The Coalition government and Labor Party have […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: May 2015
With the exception of 10kW solar systems, prices for commercial-scale solar PV systems in Australia decreased slightly on average between April and May of 2015, according to data from the […]
ACT government seeks expressions of interest in development of 50MW solar-plus-storage facility
The government of the Australian Capital Territory has announced that it is seeking expressions of interest for the development of a 50-megawatt (MW) ‘next generation’ solar-plus-storage facility. The EOI process […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index: May 2015
Nationally, average solar energy system prices have risen for the second month in a row, according to data from the Solar Choice installer network database. Prices for 1.5kW, 2kW and […]
Commercial PV Price Index: April 2015
Mirroring the trend observed in residential solar systems, average commercial solar system prices increased slightly between March and April of 2015. The increases were clearest among 10kW systems and less pronounced for 30kW, […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index: April 2015
Average solar energy system prices have risen for the first time in just under a year, according to pricing data from Solar Choice’s quote comparison platform. The increases took place […]
Aussie small-scale solar stays strong even as large-scale lags due to uncertainty
Australia’s rooftop solar market is continuing to grow, despite a plunge in renewable energy investment that is driving the nation’s large-scale renewables sector into a deepening crisis. New analysis by […]
Government’s Energy White Paper focuses on coal, glosses over solar
The Abbott government has again shown its colours on renewables, using its Energy White Paper to describe interventions like the RET and solar feed-in-tariffs as “unintended disruptions” to competitive energy […]
NSW Premier axes renewable energy secretary role from government
The Australian renewable energy industry has reacted with confusion and concern to the decision of newly reelected NSW premier Mike Baird to eliminate the portfolio of parliamentary secretary for renewable […]
Solar Choice brokers 50kW ‘zero-export’ solar system for St George Hotel in Queensland
Solar Choice Commercial has managed the tender for a 50kW solar system for the St George Hotel in Saint George, Queensland. In compliance with grid-connection rules for the Ergon Energy network, […]
Solar Citizens launch nation-wide Stand Up For Solar campaign
Australian solar lobby group Solar Citizens is calling for a higher renewable energy target and a fair price for solar, through the launch of a new year-long campaign that will […]
Coalition rejects 41,000GWh ‘compromise’ on Renewable Energy Target
Federal industry minister Ian Macfarlane has rejected the offer of a compromise on the Renewable Energy Target from the Clean Energy Council, saying his government would not budge above 32,000GWh. […]
Coalition says cross-bench senators votes could help them weaken RET
The federal government will take renewable energy target negotiations to the cross-benchers in the Senate, after its “final” offer on the RET was rejected outright by Labor.In an interview with […]
NSW installs more solar than QLD in Feb – thanks to booming commercial solar market
New South Wales has outshone the Sunshine State on solar, taking the crown from its northern neighbour as Australia’s biggest monthly market for rooftop PV installations. Data from two new […]
NSW Labor releases document detailing strong renewable energy support policy for state
NSW Labor has released a renewable energy-focused environment and energy policy, promising a fair price for solar and an emphasis on decentralised generation. The policy document, released on Tuesday, outlines around 10 major […]
LGC price spikes as government comes closer to RET deal
Comments from within the Abbott government suggesting an agreement on the RET could come as soon as Easter have helped push prices of large scale renewable energy certificates (LGCs) to […]
Commercial PV Price Index – March 2015
Commercial solar system prices continued their subtle decline between February and March of 2015, according to pricing data from installers in Solar Choice’s network. All prices are net, incorporating incentives […]
NSW government contributes $50k to support potential community solar farm
The NSW government has awarded $50,000 towards an investigation into the feasibility of building what would be Australia’s largest community-owned renewables project – a 1MW solar farm in the southern […]
Rooftop solar helps Queensland avoid new peak demand record
The temperature was not the only number that soared across Queensland on Thursday 5 March: so did power demand. As WattClarity’s Paul McArdle notes, electricity demand reached a peak of […]
Alice Springs grid could handle 10MW more solar without storage: ARENA study
A new Australian study has found that Alice Springs could boost its share grid-connected solar by 26 per cent without affecting stability or necessitating energy storage. The ARENA-backed study, which […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – March 2015
Average residential solar PV system prices for Australia’s capital cities fell slightly between February and March. Systems were dearest in Canberra, while Perth was home to the lowest prices. March 2015 […]
South-east Queensland rooftop solar capacity reaches 1GW mark
South-east Queensland’s rooftop solar market is fast approaching the 1GW mark, with a total of 281,811 systems now installed on detached homes, at a total capacity of more than 937MW. […]
Two new Apple data centres to run on renewables
Apple has announced plans to build two large data storage centers in Europe: one in Ireland and the other in Denmark. The $1.9 billion (€1.7 billion) investment, Apple’s largest ever […]
Solar industry responds to Hunt’s solar safety inquiry
Federal environment minister Greg Hunt has called for an “urgent and immediate” inquiry into the safety and quality of Australia’s rooftop solar market, raising concerns among industry leaders that the […]
Extension of Renewable Energy Target could trigger large-scale solar boom in Aus
A new report has warned that Australia could miss out on the booming global solar market – a market some say will be worth more than $130 billion by 2020 […]
Next round of ACT feed-in tariff for large-scale renewables to foster solar-plus-storage projects
The ACT government is set to follow up its successful utility-scale solar and wind energy reverse auctions with another renewables bidding round – this time for large-scale solar plus storage […]
Solar Choice’s 2GW Bulli Creek Solar Farm receives planning approval from Toowoomba Regional Council
Originally published on RenewEconomy A staged plan to build what would be the largest solar PV plant in Australia – and possibly the largest yet proposed in the world – […]
Labor’s landslide in Queensland election could spell sunny future for solar
Campbell Newman’s loss in the Queensland state election on the weekend could be solar’s gain, as attention turns to the Labor party’s renewable energy policy. Queensland’s Labor Party unveiled its solar […]
Solar Citizens’ ‘Solar Scorecard’ shines light on solar-friendly politicians, could sway QLD election
Queensland burgeoning number of solar households could play a major role in the outcome of last weekend’s state election, according to research released by Solar Citizens this week. The data, compiled by […]
Commercial PV Price Index – January 2015
Echoing residential solar system price trends since the end of last year, commercial solar system prices have remained remarkably steady since November 2014 and January 2015. While there was some price […]
