VIC Solar For Apartments Rebates: Round 3 Kicks Off

An apartment using solar energy

Another 5,000 rebates are available for eligible apartment, unit and townhouse residents to install solar power systems under the third round of Victoria’s $32 million Solar for Apartments program. [Read more…]

Australia’s 2035 Emissions Target: Home Electrification

Australia's 2035 emissions target plan

A 2035 emissions target range has been set for Australia and plans to achieve it unveiled. So, what’s on the cards for home electrification? [Read more…]

Sticker Overload: When Safety Theatre Kills Productivity

A battery covered in stickers.

Last month, the Government hosted a Productivity Summit. Tristan Edis summed it up in one brutal line:

“If introducing a road user charge for electric vehicles is the best we can do out of the Productivity Summit, then God help this country.”

[Read more…]

New Solar Victoria Warranty Requirement Kicking In

Solar Victoria warranty requirements

When the calendar flips over to the new month next week, there’s an added warranty requirement for solar power and hot water systems installed under Victoria’s Solar Homes Program. [Read more…]

Myth-Busting Australia’s Solar Panel Rebate

Learn how Australia’s solar panel rebate works and how to avoid heartache, headaches and hip pocket pain by recognising shonky ads. [Read more…]

Post-Election Home Electrification: Solar Batteries And Beyond

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese celebrating Labor's 2025 Federal election win

Democracy sausages have been devoured, ballots cast and (mostly) counted, and the people have spoken. Discover what’s ahead for home electrification support in Australia under another round of Labor. [Read more…]

Phase Shift: This Election, The Energy Story Was All Wrong

A voting boothAs an ex-pommie, compulsory voting still feels a bit odd to me.

Skip it and you’ll cop a $20 fine — more than it costs to fill your EV on off-peak electricity.

What’s really strange, though, isn’t the voting. It’s the energy policies on offer — and how little they match what the major parties claim to believe.

[Read more…]

Federal Election: The Coalition’s Plan For Cuts

Chris Bowen campaigns during the election in front of signs promoting solarWhile Labor banked on battery incentives, on the eve of the election the Coalition announced plans for cuts to a range of home electrification programs. Here’s what was facing the axe.

[Read more…]

How To End The CEC’s Monopoly On Solar Approvals

For many years, the Clean Energy Council (CEC) has been the gatekeeper approving which solar products can connect to the grid in Australia. As an installer, I assure you many of my boots-on-the-roof colleagues are keen to remove that responsibility from the CEC. Strap in while I explain why.
[Read more…]

How To Kill Friends And Electrocute People: Wiring Without An Electrical Licence

electrical standards

So you’d like to be an electrician? Here’s half your required reading…

Australia’s conservative electrical licencing laws mean there’s really not much a homeowner can DIY, beyond changing light globes or rewiring a ceramic fuse (if your switchboard hasn’t been upgraded since the the 1960s). Some people decry this as ‘the nanny state gone mad’, but I have to point out the law isn’t as silly as some of the wiring I’ve encountered. [Read more…]

Get the latest solar, battery and EV charger news straight to your inbox every Tuesday