After some significant additions to our battery pricing database (including some ‘recommended retail price’ (RRP) data from manufacturers), average ‘full’ battery system prices (i.e. including inverter) fell to about $1,580 […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
Trump’s solar panel tariffs: Impact may not be huge for US homes
Given the intense interest that the news of a new import tariff for solar panels in the USA recently announced by the Trump administration has received even here in Australia, […]
Tesla big battery moves from show-boating to money-making
Since its launch in December, the Tesla big battery, formally known as the Hornsdale Power Reserve, has mostly been performing a mixture of tests, trials and just a little showboating. […]
Australia on track to meet Renewable Energy Target – 3 years ahead of schedule
The Clean Energy Regulator has announced that the 2020 renewable energy target is effectively met – three years ahead of schedule – with some 6,500MW of large scale wind and […]
Solar installs through the roof, as Australians deliver record growth
Extraordinary figures continue to roll in from the year that was for renewable energy in Australia, but easily the most outstanding so far are the numbers – and “eye watering […]
Second Tesla “big battery” to power Victorian farm
French renewables developer Neoen has once again selected US battery maker Tesla to partner with it on another ground-breaking Australian project – the construction of a wind farm and battery […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for January 2018
Slight decreases in most capital cities and across most system sizes resulted in an overall average commercial solar system price of about $1.17/W – the lowest on record since Solar […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – January 2018
In this month’s Solar PV Price Index, the average price for a ‘primary’/standard solar PV system offering remains almost unchanged from December, at about $1.31 per watt ($1.31/W). The average […]
A look back at 2017: A year that smashed multiple Aussie solar records
2017 has been a year of records for Australian solar power, and the year’s not even quite finished yet. Here are some of the highlights of the 10 records that […]
Victoria to introduce variable rate solar feed-in tariff – as high as 29c/kWh during peak times
The Victorian Essential Services Commission (ESC) has proposed a variable-rate feed-in tariff for solar & battery system owners in the state. A draft decision from the ESC on the matter […]
2018: When battery storage will get a grip on the grid
A new forecast on battery storage growth in Australia has predicted an additional 800MWh of utility scale batteries installed or in construction by this time next year, and almost as […]
AEMO plans for future (clean) grid, with no mention of base-load
The Australian Energy Market Operator has effectively thrown down the gauntlet to the federal government on its climate and technology assumptions, with the first installment of its mini white paper […]
Rooftop solar: Australia’s greatest opportunity – and its greatest risk
The huge amounts of rooftop solar PV being installed on Australian homes and businesses is rapidly becoming one of the grid’s greatest assets, but they could also represent one of […]
Resisting energy transition like trying to resist internet: AEMO chief
Trying to resist the global transition to renewable energy-based grids is like trying to stop the internet, the chief of the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned. In an interview […]
Battery Storage Price Index – December 2017
Welcome to the second edition of Solar Choice’s Battery Storage Price Index – the companion to our Solar PV Price Index, which covers solar system installation prices around Australia. The […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for December 2017
This month’s Commercial Solar PV Price Index sees the introduction of 70kW solar systems for the first time (a long overdue addition). The average cost of installing a commercial solar […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – December 2017
The average price per watt ($/W) for primary offerings was $1.30 this month – down slightly from November and a new low since we began tracking prices in 2012. The […]
Australia hits new rooftop solar high as homes and businesses get smart – and go big
Australian homes and businesses installed a record monthly total of 120MW of rooftop solar in November, beating the all-time high set in June 2012 and rounding off what is now […]
ATA launches free home solar and battery sizing tool
Australian homes looking to install solar and battery storage systems can now access a free-to-use tool offering them key guidance on the system size, expected energy bill savings and payback […]
ARENA still has $700m to spend, to bring down cost of storage
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has tipped 2018 to be a big year for large-scale energy storage, as the Agency focuses its efforts and remaining funds on the integration of […]
Queensland chooses sunshine over coal, to relief of solar industry
The medium-term future of the solar industry in Australia – along with several large-scale wind and hybrid projects, and some key storage installations – is back on stable ground, for […]
100% renewables “cheaper, less risky” than building new coal: ATA
Powering Australia with 100 per cent renewable energy is not only achievable by as early as 2030, but would be a “cheaper and less risky” plan than building new coal-fired […]
Is public uncertainty holding back Australia’s home battery boom?
Australians love the idea of battery storage, in the much the same spirit with which they embraced rooftop solar – as another way to cut electricity bills, gain control over […]
Battery Storage Price Index – November 2017
We’re excited to announce that we have at long last published our first Battery Storage Price Index – a generalised view of what it costs to have a battery storage […]
Rooftop solar changes unsettle industry, raising fears worse to come
Australia’s peak solar industry body has called for written clarification from the federal government, after confusion surrounding proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Target triggered concerns that the booming commercial […]
Even IEA says coal boom is dead, hails the solar age
The International Energy Agency has called the end of the coal boom, and hailed the age of solar, in its latest annual World Energy Outlook. The report, long considered the […]
Jinko Solar breaks world efficiency record for PERC solar cells: 23.45%
Chinese solar manufacturer JinkoSolar says it has broken its own world record for P-type monocrystalline PERC solar cell efficiency, with a new benchmark of 23.45 per cent. The new record, […]
Australian solar on track for a record year following ‘massive’ October
Australian homes and businesses installed more than 100MW of new rooftop solar capacity for the month of October, up from 97MW in September, and almost guaranteeing a record 1GW-plus total […]
German battery maker sonnen to launch microgrid for NSW estate
A new Australian housing estate that will use solar and battery storage to create a kind of suburban microgrid is set to be announced by German home battery storage giant […]
National Energy Guarantee proposal raises red flags for renewables
The mainstream media may have embraced Malcolm Turnbull’s National Energy Guarantee, but analysts see red flags all over the place. Here are some reasons why people should be concerned. It […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – November 2017
We’ve introduced some major improvements to this month’s Solar PV Price Index. Namely: We’ve added 7kW solar systems to all tables We’ve included in new tables & data for ‘premium’ […]
