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Will LGCs Pay More Than STCs on a 10-100kW solar system?

July 26, 2016 2018-02-23T18:21:05 by Leave a Comment
solar panels

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…]

Filed Under: Economics Of Solar Tagged With: , , ,

Election 2016: renewables roundup week #7 – the Brexit Edition

June 27, 2016 2017-10-25T08:23:30 by 5 Comments
brexit text on solar

Q. What does the Brexit mean for Australian Solar? A. Higher prices.

Well that was interesting wasn’t it folks? Just as the Australian election was drifting off into the sunset, we get hit by the arrival of an enormous, loud and dangerous elephant in the room. I’m talking of course of the surprise Brexit result where Brits voted to exit the European Union, a result that sent shock waves across the world.

Prime Minister Turnbull was quick to grace our screens (sans the hi-vis vest and hard hat this time) to assure us — in his most statesmanlike voice — that the vote would not affect Australia in any way. The fact that he looked like a kid hauled before the headmaster, with a trembling bottom lip and shaky “wasn’t me, wasn’t me” speech didn’t make him look that convincing though.

Next came Bouncing Billy Shorten, who will now see his chances of winning the election recede, also determined to tell us that his party’s policies are the best choice in these now choppy waters. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: , ,

How Australia Ended Up With A Renewable Energy Target

June 20, 2016 2024-07-03T11:23:12 by 30 Comments
John Howard and a ray of light

The Creator of The Renewable Energy Target. Mr John Howard.

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, or RET, was first introduced in 2001 by Liberal PM John Howard. It has been almost entirely responsible for getting Australia’s graceful collection of wind turbines erected and getting solar panels on the roofs of 19% of our homes.

However, despite all its success, not many of us know very much about the RET.

This is understandable, as on the surface the topic is fairly dry. But once you get past that desiccated surface you soon discover what lies beneath is actually about as dry as crawling through the Simpson Desert without water for three days and then eating six plain SAO biscuits off a salt flat.

But don’t worry, I’m going to save you from having to experience that yourself. I recently filled in the gaps my knowledge of the RET and I’m ready to present you with all the juicy tidbits of information I gleaned from that dry and dusty landscape.

Feel free not to read on if you are already confident in your mastery of the topic. But before you do that, just be certain you can answer in the affirmative when I ask, do you get RET yet? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: ,

Election renewables roundup Week #3

May 31, 2016 2017-10-25T08:25:07 by 2 Comments
pollution from coal power station

As the polling gap closes, climate and renewables are conspicuously absent from the mainstream debate.

Our election renewables roundup for week 3 sees the polling gap between the two major parties to be the width of a cigarette paper with Bouncing Billy Shorten closing the preferred prime minister margin.

The closeness of the campaign shows a single issue cuts across party and demographic lines, is popular amongst the majority of voters and may be the difference between winning, losing or a hung parliament. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: ,

Will the Solar Council’s campaign in Canning help bring down a prime minister?

September 1, 2015 2017-10-25T09:32:53 by 5 Comments
abbott and solar panels

Will Abbott’s war on solar hurt his party’s prospects in Canning?

The heat is really on in Western Australia with the entry of solar energy in the Canning by election campaign. The seat which was recently vacated following the untimely death of then sitting member Don Randall, has become a focus for those looking for an indication of the electorate’s opinion on the government’s performance.

The previous incumbent was a popular representative and enjoyed a healthy margin in the opinion polls. However this has been whittled away in recent times due to the federal government’s incompetence, intransigence or bad luck, depending on your political point of view. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: ,

Climate Institute poll finds Australians support renewables

August 18, 2015 2024-09-05T09:53:46 by Leave a Comment
wind turbines and solar

Renewables appear to be a vote winner. Someone may want to tell our government.

Banish any questions you may have had about whether or not Australians support renewables. If you listen to certain, unnamed cash-for-comment shock jocks, certainly in NSW anyway, you’d be of the opinion that Aussies generally find solar power and wind farms completely objectionable.

Of course nothing is further from the truth as a poll released by The Climate Institute last week to coincide with the unveiling (dare we say unravelling?) of the government’s emissions reduction target. The poll shows the extent to which Aussies prefer solar and wind energy over that of fossil fuel. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With:

Interview: Finn Peacock talks solar battery storage in Australia (and more)

July 7, 2015 2017-10-25T09:34:41 by 24 Comments
finn peacock

Finn Peacock talks shop with Rich Bowden

It’s been a big year for news on solar battery storage in Australia. With the imminent release of Tesla’s Powerwall onto the market and influential reports predicting a new way of accessing energy, the trend has not been “if” but “when” renewables will end up dominating new energy takeup in the country.

But how much of this is kosher and how much wishful thinking? Are we on the cusp of a solar battery storage revolution? Can we start tearing up our electricity bills? To find out the answers we asked Finn Peacock, SolarQuotes founder (and professional cutter through bullshit), his opinion on exactly what has made 2015 so important in solar power and what his predictions are for the near future.

His frank analysis is fascinating, sometimes controversial and may surprise some. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , , ,

Fairfax Article Beating Up The Solar Industry is Scaremongering (but Greg Hunt still fell for it)

February 24, 2015 2017-04-19T14:42:12 by Leave a Comment
article screenshot

The Fairfax article published on 22 Feb 2015

The Fairfax papers’ coverage of the solar industry is usually spot on. But I think the latest article by Political Reporter Heath Aston is way off mark.

Greg Hunt must have salivated all over his iPad as he read the article yesterday morning. I can see him dribbling with delight at the rampant tales of rorted rebates and shonky solar systems.  And surprise, surprise: within a few hours of the article going live, Hunt announced:

“The poor installation of solar PV or installation of substandard solar PV has the potential to lead to fires with risks to property and human life. I’m sure you would agree that it is absolutely imperative that all panels installed must be of high quality and pose absolutely no threat to safety.”

I would like to ask Hunt how he thinks that it is possible to mandate that a piece of electrical equipment must “pose absolutely no threat to safety”. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: , , , , ,

Are millions of solar roofs making solar farms pointless?

October 31, 2014 2023-06-22T14:29:11 by 13 Comments
solar roofs and a solar field

Are solar roofs making solar power stations uneconomic?

Utility scale solar, or solar farms, are fields of PV panels which generate electricity that is fed directly into the grid.  Currently we don’t have much of this in Australia.  Over 99% of our solar capacity is point of use which is mostly on rooftops and the juice it does produce is first used to power the household or business it is on top of and then after that the excess is generally fed into the grid. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Big Solar Tagged With: ,

Forget “real 20 percent”, what are the real benefits of going solar?

October 28, 2014 2017-10-25T09:47:11 by 2 Comments

 

God forbid that pesky wind and solar breaches 20% !

God forbid that pesky wind and solar breaches 20% !

The dust continues to swirl on one of the most divisive energy issues in recent years — the government’s attempted slashing of the RET to the so-called “real 20 percent”. We’ll discuss this but really, is this the debate we should be having in this day and age? We’re going to focus on the bigger picture, the debate we should be having: the one on the real benefits of going solar.

This week saw a political sleight-of-hand that we’ve come to expect from the seat polishers in Canberra. Under the guise of “adjusting” the Rudd government’s 20 percent of renewables by 2020, the government has put together a policy that will divide the nation. The so-called “real 20 percent” effectively slashes the RET for large-scale developers by one-third. For sure it will have “real” problems for many solar providers, with many seeing it as an underhand attempt to push through legislation that will cripple the renewable energy industry. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Economics Of Solar Tagged With: , ,
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