US company SolarReserve has unveiled plans to build six large solar tower power plants with molten salt storage in South Australia, but warns that this won’t happen unless it can […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
Close to 25% of Aussie businesses have already gone solar: Survey
Nearly one-quarter of Australian businesses claim to have already tapped rooftop solar as a measure to cut electricity costs and be more environmentally responsible, a new survey has found. The […]
Australia hits 5 gigawatts of installed solar PV
Australia has officially passed the 5 gigawatt mark on rooftop solar, according to new Clean Energy Regulator data that shows 1.58 million homes and businesses now have a total of […]
Solar Choice & Edify Energy win ARENA funding for Whitsunday Solar Farm, 70MW (DC)
Solar Choice and Edify Energy’s Whitsunday Solar Farm at Collinsville in North Queensland (70MW, DC) has been announced as one of twelve winners of federal grant funding under the Australian […]
Survey reveals Australians’ (sometimes incorrect) beliefs about rooftop solar
A survey has found that nearly one half of Australian households – both those with solar panels and those considering it – expect a pay-back on their investment within 5 […]
ARENA board proposes compromise on funding cuts to maintain critical research commitments
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency board is believed to have proposed a compromise on its funding position, in a bid to continue its support of critical research and early stage […]
New electricity market rule a mixed bag for distributed battery storage
Australia’s main energy market policy maker has okayed a rule change that could accelerate the use of battery storage for grid stability, as more renewables enter the market. The Australian […]
Enphase says orders for AC Battery up as NSW Solar Bonus Scheme closure approaches
Enphase Energy says orders for its first battery storage offering have jumped to more than 70,000 units, led by New South Wales households responding to the end of premium feed-in […]
Speed of the rise of battery storage being underestimated by market operator: Corbell
Conservative estimates on the value of battery storage from the Australian Energy Market Operator highlight the institutional barriers faced by Australia as it seeks to shift to a low-carbon grid, […]
Solar & batteries could be value-competitive with grid electricity in WA ‘within one year’
New research suggests that the cross-over point between the value of solar and storage and grid prices for Australian households may occur within one year. That is the conclusion of […]
Market regulator effectively greenlights manipulation of wholesale prices
Australia’s chief competition regulator has effectively okayed the practice of South Australia’s major energy generators exercising their market power to manipulate wholesale electricity prices in the state. “I think the […]
Solar PV prices dropped to record low in 2015: Report
Solar PV prices hit a new “all-time low” in the US in 2015, according to the latest state of the market reports from the the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence […]
After extended investment drought, Australia poised for large-scale solar farm boom
Australia is poised to experience its biggest ever boom in large-scale solar as a range of international market factors and local policy incentives take hold. A number of factors point […]
Sydney brewery goes solar through innovative community investment fund
A Sydney community solar investor fund has raised a total of $17,500 in just nine minutes over the weekend, to go towards the installation of solar at a local craft […]
AEMO mulls new rule that could make wholesale electricity market more battery-friendly
A proposed rule change that could accelerate the deployment of battery storage in Australia has been put into the slow lane, with a draft determination delayed by seven months. The […]
Battery storage already ‘profitable’ in the right circumstances: McKinsey
New research from US-based consultancy McKinsey & Company has found that battery storage is already a “profitable” investment for some customers, across a range of “certain applications”. According to the […]
GreenSync’s tech will seamlessly manage demand, batteries for community in Vic pilot project
The plans of United Energy and Melbourne smart energy start-up GreenSync to leverage community solar, battery storage and demand management technologies to address problems of network constraint on Victoria’s Mornington […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: August 2016
The average price of a commercial solar systems fell marginally between July and August to $1.28/W, according to figures from Solar Choice’s installer network database. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) […]
WA government moves to make solar PPAs more accessible
See this explanatory article on Solar PPAs The Western Australian government has announced changes to state energy market regulations that will boost the uptake of rooftop solar and make the […]
Victorian utility to deploy distributed batteries to defer network upgrade costs
Victorian utility United Energy will partner with Melbourne start-up GreenSync to deliver a community-based demand response and energy storage project on the Mornington Peninsula, to defer the need for costly […]
Three-year trial will pit 8x lithium battery products against one another
A three-year battery storage trial that will test eight leading technologies under Australian conditions was officially launched in the ACT on Wednesday, at the Canberra Institute of Technology’s Bruce Campus. […]
Millennials keen on solar, storage & the grid of the future: Survey
What do Millennials want from their energy company? That is the question a recent Accenture survey has sought to address, and the findings are a clarion call to those utilities […]
Four years of tracking residential solar system prices: What’s changed?
August 2016 marked four years since Solar Choice published our first Solar PV Price Index. What are some of the noteworthy trends we’ve seen over this period? What is the Solar […]
USA’s SolarCity reveals plans for integrated solar roof product
US solar installer and manufacturer SolarCity has revealed plans to start making building integrated solar roofing and to target Australia as a key market for cheap and efficient solar and […]
South Australia’s minimum solar feed-in tariff could be nixed under ESCOSA proposal
Rooftop solar households in South Australia face losing the 6.8c/kWh feed-in tariff after the state pricing regulator revealed it was working on a draft proposal to remove the minimum retail […]
US study shows coal jobs could be replaced with solar jobs – with implications for Australia
A new study out of the US has quantified the costs and benefits of retraining American coal workers for employment in the solar PV industry, and the results are encouraging […]
Victorian government asks for public input on approach to state renewables target
Victoria’s state government has called for input from business and the community on the design of its renewable energy auction scheme, a key plank of its renewable energy target of […]
Tesla moves to acquire SolarCity
Elon Musk’s desire to create a clean energy and transport powerhouse is one step closer after independent board members approved Tesla’s offer to acquire SolarCity last Monday. The all-stock deal […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – August 2016
This month marks a full four years of our publishing of the Solar PV Price Index. When we first started keeping track of average system prices back in 2012, it […]
Market operator says grid can accommodate more wind & solar with the right regulation
The Australian Energy Market Operator has denied claims Australia cannot accommodate any more wind and solar, and says the main challenge will be in designing the appropriate market signals and […]
SA government announces plans for clean energy auction with focus on batteries & ‘dispatchable’ renewables
The South Australian government has announced plans for a new clean energy auction, saying it intends to target battery storage and other “dispatchable” renewables to supply around one-quarter of the […]
