As it stands today, most home solar systems in Australia do not have a solar battery attached. Mainly due to their high upfront cost when compared to the savings they […]
Category: Batteries & Energy Storage
Articles & advice about batteries, energy storage systems, and energy management systems for residential & commercial solar panel arrays. We can also help you compare battery storage system prices.
How is Solar Energy used? Self-consumption explained
Solar self-consumption is the key to maximising the return on your solar energy system. As feed-in tariffs continue to decrease across Australia, optimising how you use the solar energy produced […]
BYD Battery: An Independent Review by Solar Choice
Background on BYD – Company History BYD Co Ltd was founded in 1995 in Shenzen, China. They are a manufacturer of automobiles, buses, forklifts, trucks, solar panels, and rechargeable batteries […]
Kilowatts vs kilowatt-hours in solar power & battery storage: Power, energy or capacity?
If you’re shopping around for solar panels or battery storage for your home, you’re undoubtedly come across the terms ‘kilowatt’ (abbreviated as kW) and kilowatt-hour (kWh). These terms might be […]
Solar Battery Size Calculator: What size battery do I need?
What size solar panel array do you need for your home? And if you’re considering battery storage, what solar battery size would be most appropriate? This article includes tables that […]
Cooroy Hotel installs 90kW of Solar Power
The Cooroy Hotel, located 25mins west of Noosa Beach, operate a lively bar and bistro with a unique Drive Thru takeaway service. The hotel features modern Australian cuisine along […]
Baptcare Install 50kW Solar PV system with a Tesla Battery
Baptcare are a leading Aged Care service provider. They have built a new facility in Macleod, Victoria and included an impressive Solar PV and Battery system. Solar Choice was initially […]
Sun Cable submits plans for gigawatt-scale solar manufacturing plant in Darwin
The Sun Cable consortium behind $26 billion, gigawatt-scale solar export plans has lodged a development application for the first phase of a solar manufacturing and assembly facility in Darwin. The […]
Neoen’s ambitious $636m solar and battery project in NSW gets planning green light
One of Australia’s largest solar and big battery projects, the Culcairn solar farm being built by Neoen Australia north of Albury-Wodonga on the New South Wales and Victorian border, has […]
Tesla Powerwall 2: A complete 2021 Buyers Guide
The world-famous Elon Musk, CEO Tesla, announced an entry to the energy storage market in 2015 with the launch of the home battery product, the Tesla Powerwall. Perhaps more famous […]
Battery Storage Price Index – May 2020
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar PV Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Flow Batteries: Explanation and Comparison
Flow batteries are the promise to play a key role in the future as they are a more environmentally sustainable alternative to the current lead acid and lithium ion technologies. […]
Solar Panels Maitland: Compare costs & installers
Almost 20% of households in Maitland and surrounding areas have already installed solar panels, according to data sourced from the Australian Photovoltaic Institute. This article helps to explain why Maitland […]
Solar Panels Toowoomba: An expert guide on what you need to know!
According to data from APVI, over 15% of households in Toowoomba have Solar Panels already installed. This guide provides all the information you need to know (almost) about installing solar […]
Battery Storage Price Index – February 2020
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar PV Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it? (2020 Update)
Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of financial viability. Are home batteries worth the investment in 2020? We’ve crunched the number for […]
South Australia’s Tesla big battery to add 50MW/65MWh
Plans to give South Australia’s Tesla big battery a 50 per cent boost in capacity have been confirmed by renewables developer Neoen, in a bid to expand the grid services […]
Wollongong Uni develops breakthrough sodium-sulphur battery tech
A breakthrough in sodium-sulfur battery technology could see it emerge as an attractive option for large-scale energy storage, according to new research published in the journal Nature Communications. University of Wollongong […]
AEMC says electricity markets need to think more like AirBnB
The emergence of distributed digital technologies means electricity markets will have to think along the lines of digital marketplaces like Airbnb or eBay, a new report from the Australian Energy […]
NSW to benefit from 400MWh of large-scale batteries
Major Australian gen-tailer AGL Energy will join forces with renewables developer Maoneng to roll out four large-scale batteries of 50MW/100MWh each in NSW, in a deal that heralds the arrival […]
AGL suggests EVs will drive a 20 fold increase in battery storage
Major Australian energy generator and retailer AGL has signalled a new focus on the “shared economy” in electricity and transport, with the prediction that electric vehicle uptake will drive a […]
Battery Storage Price Index – November 2019
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar PV Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Home Energy Management Systems – a smart way to save?
Knowing what solar system is best for you and your home comes down to a multitude of factors, examples being; your energy consumption, when and how you consume energy, your […]
Simply Energy’s VPP offers customers up to $216 p.m.
Simply Energy’s virtual power plant in Adelaide, South Australia is offering some of the most generous terms to customers to participate in their trial. The VPP offers customers up to […]
Townesville Gigafactory Proposed to Cost $3 billion
A battery “gigafactory” proposed for the north Queensland city of Townsville is expected to cost around $3 billion to build, according to its developers Magnis Energy Technologies, and will […]
Home storage to be taken over by EV’s?
Electric vehicles will become a key asset for the Australia’s energy market operator to manage the grid, and could even make home batteries redundant in the long-term, an industry insider […]
Off grid power systems: can you go off the grid with a 10kW solar system plus battery storage?
We previously wrote an article about the feasibility of an Australian home going off-grid with a 3kW solar system – quite a small system size for such an ambitious endeavour. […]
Spectacular solar success in Europe
A new report out of Europe has confirmed that solar PV is by far the cheapest form of bulk energy in many parts of the world, even with the addition […]
Battery pricing, incentives & virtual power plants
Victoria’s home battery storage incentive came into effect from 1 July this year; South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory have also introduced incentive programs that […]
Is home solar battery storage worth it? (updated 2019)
This article has since been updated for 2019. Click here to see the updated version. Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of […]
Hybrid & ‘battery-ready’ solar systems: What’s the go?
As more and more Australian households investigate (and install) solar battery storage, the more we get questions about battery-ready or hybrid solar & battery storage systems. What is a hybrid/battery-ready […]
