Employment in Australia’s renewables industry continues to decline, according to new data, bucking the global trend of jobs growth the renewable energy sector. The latest jobs data from the Australian […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
Four WA farmers go off-grid – with the help of local utility Horizon Power
Four farmers in the bushfire-affected WA town of Esperance have elected to go off-grid, using a dedicated solar and storage system that is being provided by their network operator, Horizon […]
How Australia can claim its large-scale solar birthright: Q&A with HST Solar
HST Solar – formerly a manufacturer of ground-mounted dual-axis trackers – has undergone a dramatic metamorphosis into a developer of a cloud-based solar farm project management toolbox. The company claims […]
Residential solar PV price index – March 2016
After two consecutive months of increases, average solar PV system prices have dropped slightly for the first time in the new year, currently sitting at about $1.65/W. Average solar PV […]
Redflow looking to raise money for residential flow battery marketing push
Australian battery storage developer Redflow is seeking to raise $12.9 million for marketing and fine-tuning production of its household “plug and play” battery storage product, which is set to launch […]
CEC calls on government to implement battery-friendly energy market reforms
The Clean Energy Council has called on governments and industry to work together to ready Australia’s electricity market for the rapid uptake of residential and commercial battery storage, and to […]
Whitsunday Solar Farm to be included in ARENA funding round shortlist
The Whitsunday Solar Farm has become the second project developed by Solar Choice and our partner Edify Energy to be shortlisted for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s large-scale solar funding […]
ARENA report shows potential for cost-reductions in large-scale solar
New data released on the Australian Renewable Energy Agency website has revealed some interesting information about the costs of large-scale solar projects in Australia. It suggests that solar energy could […]
Victorian government makes it easier for homes to install solar
Rooftop solar uptake in the state of Victoria is set to get a boost, with the introduction of a new bill by the Andrews Labor government that will make PV […]
Western Australia study to investigate viability of renewables-based microgrid
Western Australian will spend $300,000 on a feasibility study for the creation of the country’s biggest edge-of-grid solution – a renewables-based micro grid to cut costs and improve energy security. […]
Rooftop solar meeting 7.4% of electricity demand in SE Queensland: Energex
Rooftop solar is now accounting for around 7.4 per cent of total electricity demand in Queensland’s south-east corner, including Brisbane and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. The figure is […]
SA real estate developers increasingly interested in microgrids, says SAPN
South Australia’s electricity network operator says real estate developers are taking a growing interest in renewable energy-based micro-grids, to combat the soaring cost of establishing new networks for housing developments. […]
What could a federal incentive for home solar battery storage look like?
Strong government incentives paved the way for rooftop solar power to achieve the prominence that it has in Australia. Home battery storage is the next frontier in distributed energy, but […]
NSW retail electricity prices face a hike as networks fight to reverse recent cuts
Australia’s retail electricity rates could be on the rise again as networks push back against reductions introduced by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) last year. The cuts were a welcome […]
Rooftop solar soon to be Queensland’s largest generator
Rooftop solar on Queensland homes and businesses could soon become the state’s biggest power generator, according to energy minister Mark Bailey. “Rooftop solar is already the second largest power station […]
WA government nixes ‘solar tax’ proposal for Synergy customers
Western Australia’s Labor government has ruled out introducing what a “solar tax” – the proposed doubling of grid connection charges for the state’s more than 175,000 solar households – describing […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index: February 2016
Average prices for commercial-scale solar PV system installations have remained largely unchanged between this month and last, according to figures from Solar Choice’s installer network database. Commercial solar system prices […]
Residential solar PV price index – February 2016
Average solar PV system installation prices for Australia have risen for the 2rd month running, according to data from Solar Choice’s installer network database. The average price per watt for […]
With shortfall of electricians to change meters, NSW solar homes face crisis as feed-in tariff end-date looms
More than 150,000 NSW households face the prospect of hefty bills and unexpected losses on the value of their rooftop solar output at the end of the year when the […]
Greens propose plan for encouraging solar on government roofs
The Australian Greens have outlined a plan to cut local government energy bills by fitting council buildings with solar. The new policy announced by the Greens last Monday would allow […]
Australia’s Redback Tech partners with UQ to foster storage innovations
Australian energy storage system developer Redback Technologies has announced a partnership with the University of Queensland aiming to accelerate the commercialisation of the company’s distributed energy storage – while also […]
Tasmania government urged to consider strategy to boost wind & solar
The Tasmanian government is being urged to support the development of more rooftop solar and wind energy, as it negotiates the state’s biggest energy crisis after losing the grid connection […]
Queensland Productivity Commission report ignores benefits, emphasises costs of QRET
A new study from the Queensland Productivity Commission has estimated the state’s renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2050 will cost $10.8 billion in subsidies, and has advised […]
Total Australian solar PV capacity now at 5 gigawatts
There is now a total of five gigawatts (5GW) of solar PV capacity installed in Australia, bringing the Sunburnt Country to its next solar milestone, according to leading solar consultancy […]
SMA introduces inverter suited for Powerwall retrofits
Inverter manufacturer SMA has introduced a simple but sophisticated inverter that works with Tesla’s Powerwall and other high-voltage battery banks. The company’s new ‘Sunny Boy Storage’ is a single-phase battery […]
Redflow to launch residential flow battery next month, installations to begin in June
Brisbane-based battery storage company Redflow looks set to launch its “plug and play” home battery storage unit as next month, ahead of the first residential installations of the product in […]
Telstra to enter arena as electricity retailer offering solar + storage
Australian telecommunications giant Telstra is taking on the nation’s major power utilites, with plans to roll out solar and battery storage technologies, and offer energy management services to millions of […]
Australia’s emissions headed back up – and may not peak until 2020
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are headed for a record high after 2020 and may not peak before 2030, despite the government’s claim it has been reducing carbon pollution. New analysis […]
Queensland government will not retroactively cut solar feed-in tariff payments
A proposal to make retrospective cuts to Queensland’s Solar Bonus Scheme has been ruled out by the state government, immediately after it was recommended in a report into driving down […]
QLD Productivity Commission: Solar Bonus Scheme should be ended early
The Queensland Productivity Commission has recommended bringing an early end to the state’s solar bonus scheme, arguing that it has done its job and is too costly to be continued. […]
Solar Choice’s Gannawarra Solar Farm is 2nd largest in recent ARENA funding round announcement
Solar Choice and Edify Energy‘s Gannawarra Solar Farm is the second largest of 22 ‘high merit’ projects selected to move ahead in the most recent competitive funding round for large-scale […]
