Search Results for: nsw

Bushfires in Australia: who’s going to talk about the elephant in the room?

bushfire

Photo Credit: flickr user bertknot

A worrying time for your correspondent this week readers as bushfires, which have claimed well over a hundred properties continue to rage in my region of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

While my town is safe for now, bushfires rage further up the Mountains and down in the Lower Mountains where over the bulk of property loss has occurred. This is not to ignore other bushfires in Australia occurring in other tinder-dry regions where unseasonably hot conditions and lack of decent rain is a major problem.

Now is not the time to pontificate as the emergency situation is still very real according to the Rural Fire Service however when the time comes for sitting down and evaluating the loss, will the subject of a changing climate be included? Controversy rages higher than any bushfire on this subject with many people saying that the jury is still out on the human cause of climate change. This is not to dismiss their point of view. [Read more…]

Solar storage breakthrough spoils nark’s party

solar power station and solar nark

Solar has gone 24/7 – and on a massive scale.

When it comes to policy backflips on alternative energy sources it’s been a nark’s world here in Australia. It would be incorrect to generalise, but I’m going to anyway; there is now a preponderance of knuckle-dragging, climate deniers in office in state and federal governments. Many of whom are looking to increase subsidies to their favourite fossil fuel energy source of choice and winding back any previous legislation that could be called remotely progressive. [Read more…]

The Truth About Your Roof And Solar Power: 3 Questions You Must Ask.

roof with panels

Is your roof good for solar?

Imagine you walk in a shoe store and the shop assistant immediately starts measuring your head with a tape measure. You’d think she was mad, wouldn’t you? And you’d be right, of course. Sometimes the basics are just self-evident.

If you need shoes, all the information you need is right there at the bottom of your legs. Same with solar power.  No reason to start anywhere but right up there on your roof.

And there are 3 questions about your roof that you have to answer right away before we move on to anything more advanced. And you’ll soon see why…

[Read more…]

Where are the visionary leaders that can make Australia (and the world) 90% renewable?

JFK at rice uni

JFK talking about the space effort at Rice University in 1962 Pic: jfklibrary.org

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy announced the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American to the moon and back before the end of the decade. No one had any idea if it was even possible. The technology needed had yet to be invented. Now that’s what I call visionary leadership.

Next month will be the 50th anniversary of JFK’s assassination.  What a stark contrast JFK is to the current crop of pollies in Australia (and most of the world for that matter).

If we are to have any hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change in our children’s lifetimes we desperately need a politician or two with JFK’s vision to take charge. [Read more…]

Are “Munchen Solar Panels” Actually German? And Are They Any Good?

A German and Chinese Dude

Are Munchen Panels German or Chinese or Both?

Recently I’ve been getting a lot of emails along the lines of:

Hey Finn, Have you ever heard of Munchen Solar Panels? Are they any good? I really want “German Engineered” Panels and these look better than any of that Chinese engineered rubbish!

Well, the short answer is this: “Munchen Solar? Never heard of them. (and btw there are some great Chinese panels out there..)”

But after the quadzillionth email asking the same thing, I thought I’d do some digging to try and discover why there is a sudden spike in interest for these I’ve-never-heard-of-them-before German sounding solar panels. [Read more…]

Revealed: The Top (and Bottom) Rated Solar Companies across Australia

Customer ratings from over 11,000 reviews revealed!

Customer ratings from over 11,000 reviews revealed!

Since I started this humble website back in 2009 (when solar panels cost $1000 each!), over 11,000 solar powered Aussies have kindly left reviews of their solar installation experience online for all to see.

At the time of writing SolarQuotes.com.au has 11,341 reviews of 875 different solar companies online.

So I thought it was about time we had some fun, and do some analysis to discover the top-rated solar companies (as rated by their customers).

 

[Read more…]

Can Solar and Mining be Best Of Frenemies?

A happy compromise or supping with the devil?

A happy compromise or supping with the devil?

Whenever we hear of the future of the battle for the future of Australian energy, the picture we get in our press and from Canberra and the state capitals is one of conflict. One of subsidies for renewables such as solar power systems — whether utility scale solar or domestic PV — versus continued monetary support for fossil fuel-powered industries such as mining.

But is there a middle path readers? One that sees a future for sectors such as mining to use solar power systems to help offset rising energy costs? An absorbing article in Australian Mining this week appears to point in this direction. [Read more…]

Solar Farms: Re-election chance sees government invest in ‘very, very large’ projects

solar farming

Clearing the land for a solar farm!

Never underestimate the power of an election to get our pollies moving on environmental issues folks. Thanks to opinion polls showing the Ruddslide bringing both major parties neck-and-neck in the latest “Most Important Election Since the War” even solar farm policy is on the move. Or so it seems. [Read more…]

Australia’s capital leads country in commercial solar

Canberra sign

Stop The Press! Something positive out of Canberra!

The feverish activity in Canberra continues. Kevin Rudd (aka The Milky Bar Kid) is PM this week apparently. But we thought we’d pop down the road to the seat of the far more interesting ACT territory government for this week’s solar news. For it is here that Australian commercial solar history is being made. (See our previous rant on the development of this solar farm).

Overshadowed by the shenanigans of their Fed cousins, the ACT government recently passed legislation which will see the country’s largest commercial solar farm built at Royalla. The facility, just outside the nation’s capital, has been the subject of bitter debate but the ACT’s Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development Simon “Solar” Corbell, in standing his ground against well-organised protests, pointed out the many benefits the farm will bring to the territory. [Read more…]

South Australia Feed In Tariff Ends In September. What you need to know.

If you’ve opened any South Australian newspapers recently you’ve probably seen adverts from solar power installers screaming about the “IMMINENT REDUCTION IN THE SOUTH AUSTRALIA FEED IN TARIFF!!!”.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m not one to bombard you with pushy sales spiel, or use impending rebate cuts to pressure anyone into buying solar.

But what I will do is calmly go through the facts about the looming SA Feed In tariff reduction, and crunch a few numbers, so you can decide if you want to get in on the SA solar action before the 30 September 2013 deadline that a lot of solar companies are getting all worked up about.

[Read more…]

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