Listening to the debate on renewable energy in Australia, one could be mistaken for thinking that the idea of integrating wind and solar into our existing electrical infrastructure is pure […]
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.
Solar Choice Commercial brokers 30kW solar array for OMNI Connect in Carrum Downs, VIC
The Solar Choice Commercial team has brokered a 30kW solar system for Victoria’s OMNI Connect. OMNI Connect is a telecommunications carrier and internet service provider based in Carrum Downs. The company approached […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – January 2015
Average residential solar system prices have held steady into the new year since flattening out in November of last year. Canberra is home to the most expensive systems, while Perth is […]
Australia’s great electricity price swindle: How the networks got away with billions in overinvestment
Last year, Jess Hill of the Monthly published an enlightening but damning report, called Power Corrupts, on the state of the electricity industry in Australia. Her main topic of investigation is whether the sharp […]
Solar Choice’s Mount Majura Solar Farm, edging closer to completion, will use QBotix’s sun-tracking robot technology
Solar Choice’s Mount Majura Solar Farm has again been the subject of an article by the Canberra Times‘ John Thistleton. The most recent article provides an update on the progress of […]
Solar Choice brokers 79kW of solar across five sites for Galvins Plumbing Supplies in & around Perth
The Solar Choice Commercial team has brokered a total of 79kW of solar capacity across five separate sites owned by Galvins Plumbing Supplies in and around Perth, WA. Galvins contacted […]
Climate Change Authority advises gradual reduction of small-scale solar incentives to avoid chaos for solar industry
The independent body set up by the federal government to advise on climate and clean energy policy has recommended no changes to the small-scale component of the Renewable Energy Target, […]
NT’s Bathurst Island opens tenders for ‘alternative power station’; solar and wind set to replace diesel
The Northern Territory’s Bathurst Island is set to switch from diesel fuel to solar and/or wind, with the launch of a request for tender to supply and install a renewable […]
Networks in SA, QLD looking to micro-grids & storage for remote areas
South Australia’ electricity network operator has revealed plans to trial solar plus storage-based micro-grids in regional areas as an alternative to building or replacing poles and wires. In its latest […]
Queensland continues to lead the way in another solid year for Aussie solar
Queensland continues to lead the charge to rooftop solar in Australia, with households and businesses around the country adding another 75MW of PV capacity in the month of November, taking […]
SAPN: Virtually all SA homes will have solar, half will have energy storage by 2040
South Australia‘s network operator has predicted a dramatic uptake of distributed energy resources that would see almost all households in the state with rooftop solar by 2040 and more than […]
Solar Choice brokers 70kW solar array for Downfields Engineering in Toowoomba
The Solar Choice Commercial team has managed the tender and brokered a competitive winning deal on a 70kW solar system for Downfields Engineering. Solar Choice was approached by Downfields in March […]
Australia Institute report shows 80% of Australians favour solar, wind & other renewables over coal
The majority of Australians look forward to a future fuelled by renewables, new research has found, with many naming solar and wind as their energy sources of choice. In two […]
Do the recent comments from Greg Hunts’s office mean small-scale commercial solar is safe from the government axe?
According to Climate Spectator, the government is dropping hints that it may have backed away from slashing incentives for residential and small-scale commercial solar projects. In a talk with Climate […]
Victoria’s Labor party promises to reinstate emissions reduction target if elected
The Victorian Labor Party has pledged to set up a $20 million fund to encourage investment in renewable energy resources including solar and wind, just days before the state election […]
Rooftop solar shifted peak demand to evening during Queensland heatwave
The combination of a sweltering November heatwave and rooftop solar helped shift south-east Queensland’s electricity peaks into to the evening last week. At the height of the heatwave that hit […]
Commercial PV Price Index – November 2014
Commercial solar prices continue to drop steadily month-by-month, according to data from the Solar Choice installer network. Prices in the tables below incorporate incentives available for systems up to 100kW in […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – November 2014
Average residential solar system prices have leveled out, changing little between October and November according to figures from the Solar Choice installer network database. This follows about four months of […]
Rooftop solar meeting 13% of household electricity demand in Queensland
Around 13 per cent of residential energy in south-east Queensland is now produced by rooftop solar, according to new data, with solar households generating the equivalent of more than half […]
ACT Enviro Minister Simon Corbell receives Banksia Sustainability Award for large-scale solar feed-in tariff program
The ACT government’s game-changing solar auction scheme has taken out top prize in this year’s Banksia Sustainability Awards, making it the overall winner of one of Australia’s most important environmental award ceremonies. […]
Stonewalled by Coalition, Labor abandons negotiations on RET
In a move described by the Australian Solar Council as ‘a sign of strength’, the Labor Party has walked out on negotiations over the future of the Renewable Energy Target […]
Coalition maintains position on ‘real 20%’ RET, but could small-scale solar take the hit instead?
Although it may to some degree be a matter of political posturing in order to ensure room for negotiations, the Coalition government is quite vocally holding firm on its call […]
Enphase to release modular battery storage units
Enphase have released details of their plug-and-play AC battery storage units, designed as part the Enphase ‘Energy Management System’ (EMS). They are designed to be easily installed and modular, such […]
Over 1 gigawatt of new solar was installed under small-scale RET in last 14 months: Green Energy Trading
Continued uncertainty over the future of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target has boosted the nation’s uptake of rooftop solar, according to a new report, helping to push the total amount installed […]
Renewable Energy Target state-of-play: What you need to know
Sydney Morning Herald Environment Editor Peter Hannam has provided a lucid overview of where things stand with the Renewable Energy Target (RET). The piece is worth a read for anyone who […]
Report shows path for Victoria to generate jobs, revenue through clean energy-friendly policy
Victoria could save tens of millions of dollars and generate hundreds of jobs by tweaking current policy settings on small-scale solar and energy efficiency, a new report has found. The […]
Coalition draws lines for start to negotiations on Renewable Energy Target’s future
The Coalition has come out swinging–albeit not as furiously is it might have–in negotiations over the future of the Renewable Energy Target. Key to the Government’s initial position on the […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – October 2014
With the exception of Brisbane and (in some cases) Perth, average solar PV prices have continued to drop across all of the cities included in Solar Choice’s monthly analysis, falling down […]
PM’s cabinet considering rejection of RET Review recommendations: Financial Review
The Prime Minister’s office looks set to disregard the key recommendations handed to the government by the Renewable Energy Target Review panel last month, according to the Australian Financial Review, with […]
Australian investment in large-scale renewables took a nose-dive in 2014 due to RET uncertainty
A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that Australia is on track to record its lowest level of asset financing for large-scale renewables since 2002, with just $193 million […]
Perth suburb votes to mandate on-site solar for all new-build homes & major renovations
The City of Nedlands in Western Australia will make it compulsory to install at least 1.5kW of rooftop solar or other on-site renewable energy generation capacity on all new-build, or […]
