The cost of rooftop solar continues to fall despite the fact that the Australian dollar has been falling too. It has been a while since I’ve harped on about how cost effective rooftop solar is, so I stayed up all night to make beautiful graphs of the simple solar payback time in every capital city. In other words I will show you how many years it will take the savings on your electricity bills to cover the cost of your solar power system. [Read more…]
Image: Left – Public Domain | Right – Blomst
Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr. Alan Finkel has defended electric vehicles and taken on the naysayers, saying that instead of focusing on the current challenges, we should look at the potential of EVs. [Read more…]
Should you bite the bullet and scrap your 1.5kW solar system so you can fit a bigger system on your roof?
Five to eight years ago, just as the Australian solar industry was getting underway, many people locked in high feed in tariffs for their new, cutting-edge solar power systems. For example, many people in Victoria with systems installed before 2012 are now getting 71.3 cents per kilowatt-hour of solar electricity exported into the grid. And they will continue to receive this for almost 7 more years. [Read more…]
STC prices dropping means solar prices have risen. What has that done to solar payback times?
We were warned.
We all knew this was coming.
But who among us was prepared for the recent tumble in the price of STCs that lower the cost of rooftop solar?
Well, I was. [Read more…]
If you own a good-sized solar power system, rising electricity prices are not a worry, in fact some solar owners will see their bills decrease thanks to rising feed-in-tariffs.
Australians don’t pay the highest electricity prices in the world, but we’re working on it. [Read more…]
If your house is getting too hot should you invest in heat reflective paint or solar panels?
It can get bloody hot in summer thanks to the sun blazing down on our roofs and making them hot enough to not only fry an egg, but some bacon as well.
This post is about stopping the summer sun heating your roof, turning your home into a metaphorical oven. [Read more…]
How to charge GST on solar is not obvious. Read on to discover why…
Let’s say you have just been quoted a nice round $7,000 for a brand spanking new rooftop solar system with 5 kilowatts of panels. With Australia’s 10% Goods and Services Tax, you might expect the GST portion of that quote to come to $700.
Or, if you didn’t go to school in Toowoomba like I did, you might actually think GST would be $636.36 because that would be 10% of $6,363.64 which would then add up to a nice round $7,000. (Remember kids, always pay attention in math class if you don’t want to end up as a lowly solar blogger.) [Read more…]
High end manufacturers SunPower And SMA have chosen to manufacture in China. But they aren’t exactly advertising the fact.
China produces far more solar panels, far more solar inverters, and god knows how many more batteries than any other country in existence. China has been called the workshop of the world1 and has repeatedly shown itself to be capable of producing high quality, reliable goods. [Read more…]
There are 2 subsidies for solar under 100kW: STCs (AKA the ‘solar rebate’) and the lesser known LGCs. Which one will give you the better return?
Update 23rd Feb 2018: Solar installations of 100 kilowatts or less now only receive STCs. However, applications made before March 31st 2018 for systems of 10 to 100 kilowatts may be accepted under the old rules and permitted to receive LGCs.
Many people are aware the Renewable Energy Target, or RET, lowers the cost of rooftop solar. This is often called the solar rebate, even though that term is not entirely accurate.
But what few people know is, provided their system is large enough, they have a choice in the type of assistance they receive. A household with a 10 kilowatt rooftop solar system can either accept Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) or Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs).
Almost all solar systems 100kW and smaller, currently being installed use STCs because they are all deemed immediately after the installation whereas LGCs are deemed annually over 15 years.
At the time of writing (July 2016) STCs are $38 each whereas LGCs are at a sky high $82. This has made some savvy solar installers wonder if using LGCs instead of STCs might create a better return for patient solar owners. [Read more…]
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