In a sudden backflip spurred by a flood of phone calls and emails, the WA government has elected to reverse its decision to retroactively reduce the solar feed-in tariff incentive […]
Category: Solar Choice News
Solar Choice’s news service about local, national and global developments about solar photovoltaics and related technology.
Western Australia announces retroactive feed-in tariff cuts
The Western Australia state government has announced that it intends to retroactively cut the feed-in tariff rate for around 75,000 solar homes. In a budget announcement, the Barnett government said […]
AACo to receive financing through CEFC to solarise cattle facilities
Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (AACo), Australia’s biggest beef cattle producer, will install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across 15 of its sites in Queensland, with financing help from the Clean Energy […]
Solar panels (for residential, commercial & utility projects) are here to stay: SMH
Even in the absence of state-based feed-in tariff incentives, solar panel installations continue to grow in Australia. This represents a major, irreversible shift in the way that Australians look at […]
A Solar Flagship project finally cleared to launch
It has been a long time in the making, but one of the projects developed through the federal government’s Solar Flagships program has at long last secured the final leg […]
Solar, gas futures bright, while export coal may peak in 2020: Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs has predicted the eventual decline of king coal, according to an article in the Courier-Mail. Thermal coal, currently the dominant fuel source for electricity generation in the world, […]
Solar power could push coal out of the game in Australia by 2040
Solar power could be the key to reducing reliance on fossil fuels into Australia’s future, according to Professor Ken Baldwin of ANU’s Energy Change Institute. Professor Baldwin presented his case […]
Australians overwhelmingly in support of distributed energy: APVA/CSIRO Study
About 2/3 of the respondents in a study conducted by the Australian Photovoltaics Association (APVA) in conjunction with CSIRO expressed support for distributed energy solutions–solar PV panels, solar hot water, […]
Australian solar industry installed over 1GW, employed 11,000 in 2012: APVA
Australia’s solar industry had a sterling year in 2012, during which nearly half the nation’s cumulative solar panel capacity (currently about 2.6 gigawatts) was installed, according to the Australian Photovoltaic Association […]
Sunshine Coast council to invest huge solar farm
The Sunshine Coast, living up to its name, is looking into building one of Australia’s largest solar farms yet. If all goes to the council’s plan, the project will turn […]
$400m to be invested in off-grid renewables by 2018: ARENA
Australia’s clean energy investment body–the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced a $400 million fund for off-grid and ‘fringe-of-grid’ communities. The purpose of the fund–in addition to driving investment in […]
More Australian businesses turning on solar power to cut costs
As electricity prices rise, more and more Australian businesses have been turning to solar panels to cut their energy bills, with the number of 10 kilowatt (kW) solar systems installed in […]
Solar panel installations in WA: Numbers steady, even without subsidies
If installation numbers are anything to go by, solar panels are still proving to be a worthwhile investment in Western Australia. The state continues to see a steady stream of […]
Breakthrough at UNSW could make solar panels cheaper, more efficient
A research team at the University of New South Wales’ ARC Photovoltaics Center of Excellence, led by Professor Stuart Wenham, has made a major breakthrough in silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) […]
Solar energy storage market to see rapid expansion: IMS Research
Speculation that the market for storage solutions for solar photovoltaics (PV) is poised for huge growth has been given some additional credence thanks to a recent report published by IMS […]
Phase 2 of ACT large-scale feed-in tariff receives 15 applicants
The ACT is moving forward as planned with its ‘reverse auction’ feed-in tariff, or Solar Auction, for large-scale solar, with the submissions for Phase 2 of the program now in. In […]
Solar PV would be vital in a 100% renewable Australia: AEMO
The Australian Electricity Market Operator (AEMO), has released a draft version (pdf) of a study it is currently undertaking that investigates the possibility of an Australia that runs wholly on renewable […]
Japan will install the world’s largest battery bank to store solar energy
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) has announced that it will build the world’s largest battery at an electrical substation in the country’s northernmost island of Hokkaido. The […]
Clean Energy Council introduces a ‘Code of Conduct’ for solar PV system installers
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) is in the process of developing a ‘Code of Conduct’ for Australian solar photovoltaic (PV) system installers. The code, which installers will sign on to […]
NSW electricity prices to even out in 2013-2014
After 2 years of dramatic hikes, NSW electricity prices are likely to start to cool off, according to a draft report by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART). IPART […]
Supercapacitor graphene could revolutionise energy storage
It has yet to be commercialised, but graphene is a substance that promises to supercharge the field of energy storage. Graphene is a non-toxic, organic substance made purely of carbon […]
Australia hits 1 million solar homes
The number of Australian homes that have installed a solar photovoltaic (PV) system surpassed the 1 million mark in March, according to the Clean Energy Regulator. This milestone, while not […]
Renewable Energy Target review results: ‘Small-scale’ solar threshold stays at 100kW
The review of the federal government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) has come to a close, and the results are mostly good news for Australia’s solar industry. Most importantly, the 100kW […]
Price of solar panels set to rise in 2013
2013 looks to be a year of consolidation and rising solar panel prices, both in Australia and internationally. Solar photovoltaic (PV) system installation prices have fallen dramatically since only a […]
Coal fired power station in Queensland to be converted to ‘clean energy park’
Owners of an 180MW coal fired power station in Northern Queensland are looking to convert the ageing facility into a ‘clean energy park’. Using a combination of solar PV, thermal […]
IKEA opens new commercial solar PV project in Florida
Swedish furniture manufacturer, IKEA, continue to put other ‘sustainable businesses’ in the shade, after officially opening their 35th solar project in South Florida. The project itself is the largest installation in […]
Volkswagen unveils 9.4 megawatt solar park
German car manufacturer, Volkswagen (VW), has switched on its largest solar installation to date. Located next to its Tennessee plant in Chattanooga, the 33 acre site will produce around 13 […]
Solar output driving energy prices down in Europe
The increasing price of electricity and rising energy bills have become a common theme in many Australian newspapers. Although many articles point to ‘gold plating’ of the network as the source of […]
Electricity demand continues to decline
Information released by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on the National Energy Market (NEM), revealed that energy consumption has dropped for a fourth consecutive year, 2012 showing the largest annual reduction […]
Significant breakthrough made in the development of energy storage
Scientists at SLAC and Stanford University have set a world record for energy storage. The innovative design stores five times more energy than commercially available battery storage technology, additional tests show […]
Australian Solar Council unveils Solar Hall of Fame
The Australian Solar Council unveiled their Hall of Fame, honouring many of Australia’s leading solar practitioners. The inaugural inductees include some of Australia’s greatest solar scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs – representing a group […]
