Posts By Ronald Brakels, Author & Fact-Checker At SolarQuotes

Craig Kelly Is Wrong: Electric Cars Are Better For The Environment Than Petrol Ones

April 3, 2018 2024-08-06T09:15:10 by 40 Comments
Craig Kelly on electric cars

Craig Kelly Is Either Illiterate, Incompetent, or Machiavellian.  But I’m pretty sure it’s the middle one.

Toyota Prius Beats Nissan Leaf And Tesla S On CO2 Emissions In Australia

It has become clear to me there is some confusion over whether electric cars offer an environmental benefit in this country.  Craig Kelly, who is an extremely honorable Member of Parliament, has told the nation they result in more greenhouse emissions than conventional petrol cars.

If you are standing up while reading this you may want to sit down due to your shock when I tell you Craig Kelly is actually wrong on this. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage, Electric Vehicles

Does Virtual Powerline Technology Make SA-NSW Inconnector Obsolete Before It’s Built?

April 1, 2018 2018-04-01T09:29:03 by 8 Comments
bitchain tech is bitchin dude

Virtual Powerline technology is due to disrupt the poles and wires business. Image Credit: BiTchain

The cornerstone of the new South Australian Liberal government’s energy policy, a new $740 million electricity interconnector with NSW, may be rendered obsolete before construction has even begun thanks to a new blockchain based ‘virtual powerline’ being built between the two states.  The technology was developed by the US company BiTchain and has already avoided the building of billions of dollars worth of transmission capacity between the United States and Canada. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Innovations

Opal Storage Review: Beware Short Cabinet Warranty And Unrealistic Savings

March 27, 2018 2024-01-26T10:33:57 by 9 Comments
ronald and opal storage battery unit

Professor of Archaeology, expert on the occult, and how does one say it… reviewer of steel battery boxes.

Opal Solar is a brand owned by the Australian solar wholesaler Solar Juice.  Last December they launched Opal Storage, an “all-in-one” home battery system. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage

LG Solar Improves Warranties And Gives Mono X Panel The Boot

March 21, 2018 2018-03-21T07:39:43 by 13 Comments
LG NeON2 warranty

LG’s more affordable panel range, the NeON2, has gone from a 12 to 15 year product warranty.

I like high quality panels.  I really do.  If a panel is well made, reliable, and comes with a full replacement warranty that’s something I appreciate.  Seeing panels go up on roofs that have a decent chance of lasting longer than I will makes me feel positive about the future.  Obviously not my future, but the future in general.

A major provider of high quality panels in Australia is South Korea’s LG Solar.  I only have good things to say about them.

No wait, that’s not true. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels

What Does The Liberal Win Mean For Clean Energy in SA?

March 19, 2018 2018-03-20T19:58:49 by 23 Comments
marshall and weatherill - renewable energy in SA

Labor’s Jay Weatherill is out. The Liberal’s Steven Marshall is in. What does this mean for the future of renewable energy in South Australia?

The South Australian Liberals have won the election.  The results seemed clear on Saturday night and are looking very definite now on Monday morning.  They have a small but clear majority allowing them to govern in their own right.  Now that the power is theirs, will solar and wind continue to expand in South Australia or will Premier Marshall peel off his face to reveal he is Mecha-Abbott underneath and set about destroying the renewable energy industry in South Australia? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy

Tony Abbott And Craig Kelly Want Frydenberg To Fiddle With His Small-scale Knob

March 15, 2018 2021-02-24T12:54:56 by 18 Comments

Tony Abbott And Craig Kelly Want Frydenberg To Adjust The Small-scale Technology Percentage

Tony Abbott recently made a comment about the STCs that reduce the cost of rooftop solar to households and are commonly called the “solar rebate“1.  Guess what he wants to do with them?  Do you need a hint?  Tell you what, I’ll make it easy for you and put it in the form of a multiple choice question. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy

The SA Election: Energy Policies Compared

March 13, 2018 2021-02-24T12:52:30 by 9 Comments

Election 2018 South Australia - Energy Policies

On Saturday the 17th of March South Australians will head to school, church, the RSL, or where ever their local polling booth happens to be to cast their ballot in the state government election.  I’ve already received the piece of colored  paper I’m supposed to bring with me so I can vote.  It’s very different from the good old days in Queensland when the only paper you needed to make your vote count was brown and in the form of a bag full of cash. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy

Feed-In Tariffs Hurt The Economics Of Batteries

March 8, 2018 2018-03-09T07:57:01 by 101 Comments

Installing a home battery system right now will not save you money. Maybe in a year or two it will, but I have a very short time horizon so that’s almost like never to me.

As of March 2018 I know of no battery system on the market that will save money for a household that has anything approaching normal electricity consumption. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage

South Australia’s Electricity Has Always Been Expensive

March 5, 2018 2021-02-11T10:59:41 by 21 Comments

South Australian electricity prices

In South Australia we pay a lot for electricity.

If you feel the need to respond to that statement by saying, “Well, whoop-de-doo!  We pay a lot for electricity in Newcastle,” I will understand.  All Australians pay too much for household electricity.  This is true whether you look at historical prices or at countries you’d expect us to be similar to such as the United States or Canada. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Electricity Prices

Sydney Now Has The Most Affordable Electricity. Adelaide The Most Expensive

February 27, 2018 2020-05-21T14:21:10 by 4 Comments

Electricity prices in Australia

In May last year I investigated what the total cost of electricity was for a typical household in Australia’s states and territories.  I found that rather than South Australia having the most expensive electricity, as the Coalition claimed, once the effects of fixed charges and controlled loads for hot water were taken into account, it was the second cheapest state for household electricity.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Electricity Prices
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