Search Results for: nsw

Study predicts Australian PV could hit 10 gigawatts by 2017

March 18, 2013 2017-10-25T10:17:24 by 12 Comments
sunwiz operative in balaclava

Is this what Sunwiz’s Solar Intelligence Officers look like?

Sometimes the mind boggles at the sheer scale of the solar energy revolution in Australia. A recent finding by SunWiz, the respected solar industry intelligence providers, has pointed to a potential massive increase in solar power generation in the country.

Putting aside the fact that “solar industry intelligence” brings to mind balaclava-clad, ASIO-style sleuths operating behind the lines on people’s rooftops collecting solar information, the findings are great news. According to the company’s report, the Australian PV market could crack a substantial 10 gigawatts — up from our current 2.5 GW — as early as 2017. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Big Solar Tagged With:

Can Cheap Solar Panels Get Any Cheaper? Hell Yeah!

March 5, 2013 2024-09-05T09:29:26 by 8 Comments
a solar panel

Panel prices have dropped 80% in 4 years – can they get any cheaper?

If you want to buy some absolute junk you can currently buy bottom end, ultra cheap solar panels for $0.50 per Watt. But I wouldn’t recommend it.  Unless you want to risk your roof turning into a giant barbecue.

Most solar panel factories have been losing money hand over fist for at least the last couple of years. Many of the largest companies have lost many hundreds of millions. This has led many observers to believe that solar panel manufacturers will have to start raising prices in order to survive. In fact there is evidence of this starting to happen with panel prices rising slightly in the first 2 months of 2013.

So is this the end of dirt cheap solar panels? [Read more…]

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Do Sen Joyce’s troglodyte views on solar influence Coalition energy policy?

February 12, 2013 2017-10-25T10:18:33 by Leave a Comment
caveman

“Me Barnaby – Me like fire and coal. Grunt Grunt”

As the country is dragged reluctantly — like a kid from a lolly shop — into election mode following the Prime Minister’s Jan. 30 early announcement, it is instructive to see where the mainstream media turned much of its attention. To which party is best suited to handle the economy? The environment? Climate change? Energy policy? No. Much of the media’s focus has been on the significance of the PM’s new glasses.

Will the new glasses signify a new 20/20 “vision splendid” for the nation’s energy policy? A policy of engaging with renewables (particularly solar power)? Or do they signify a myopic energy policy dedicated to continuing support of fossil fuel subsidies? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy

The 5 Golden Rules For Choosing A Solar Installer

February 4, 2013 2018-06-28T08:23:23 by 7 Comments

Over the last four years, I’ve written thousands of words and made hours of videos answering the question:

“Finn – there are hundreds of solar companies out there – they all claim that “they are the best and everyone else is second rate or worse”!

How do I choose a good, honest, solar installer that will charge a fair price and look after me and my panels if anything goes wrong down the track?”

At the end of the day – if you follow these 5 golden rules you can’t really go wrong: [Read more…]

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How To Choose A Good Solar Inverter

January 12, 2013 2018-06-28T08:23:05 by 20 Comments

How do you choose a good solar inverter? It’s a really important question. If you choose a bad inverter, it may turn out to be noisy, inefficient and unreliable. If you have a look at the inverter reviews that are coming in to SQ, some inverters appear to have an awful failure rate. For example at the time of writing the Beijing Kinglong New Energy (KLNE) inverter reviews report 7 failures from 13 reviews! Ouch!

Here is my attempt to answer this important question. And I’ve provided a transcript of my rantings below the video. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Inverters Tagged With:

2013: Ending the solar uncertainty principle

January 2, 2013 2017-10-25T10:19:37 by Leave a Comment
2013

Will 2013 bring some stability to the solar industry?

What’s the one factor that most solar fans will ask from our elected representatives as we cast our eyes towards 2013? The answer of course will vary according according to circumstances. Some may ask for more focus on other forms of large scale solar power such as concentrated solar power, others may call for increased investment in solar research and development. Still more may call for an expansion of present solar programs; you know the ones that always seem to be under the threat of cutbacks. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy

Tokelau throws switch to 100 percent solar in Australia’s backyard

November 13, 2012 2017-10-25T10:20:58 by 2 Comments
tokelau

Tokelau is 100% Solar Woo-Hoo!

Solar energy in the Pacific took a giant leap forward this week when New Zealand-controlled territory Tokelau completed the switch from diesel to solar as its main fuel source. Tokelau is now nearly 100 percent reliant on the sun for its power needs and its model is showing the way for the rest of the world. [Read more…]

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Poly vs. Monocrystalline Solar Panels – Let’s put this argument to bed!

October 22, 2012 2017-04-28T15:17:07 by 13 Comments

One steaming pile of Solar BS that you hear all the time from worst sales people in this industry – who will feed you any line to get a sale – is that polycrystalline panels are better than monocrystalline solar panels, or vice versa.

In this video I finally get off my chest why you should avoid anyone spouting such drivel:

Transcript follows if you don’t like listening to angry, sweary solar geeks, and I go into great detail about the two technologies over on the main site:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: , , , ,

How Much Will You Get Paid For Your Solar Electricity?

October 11, 2012 2017-07-28T18:36:20 by 7 Comments

Hint: It’s a bit more complicated than you might think!

By my reckoning 25% of people buying solar power systems want to save the planet as a priority. The other 75% want to save their bottom line and saving the planet is a nice side-effect.

I get a lot of emails saying: “Help! My bills are [insert large number here] dolars a quarter – what size solar system do I need?”

The answer to this question is quite longwinded – but if you want to understand whether a solar system is worthwhile for you financially – you need to understand this stuff! So I made a video to help explain. If you are considering buying a solar system I strongly recommend watching this:

[Note: Since I made this video the Victorian and QLD Feed In tariffs are no longer more generous than the rest of the country – they are both 8c per kWh at time of writing!]

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: , , ,

Do you really want to go off the grid with your solar power system?

October 5, 2012 2017-04-28T15:29:03 by 31 Comments

Did you hear about the Queensland proposal a couple of weeks ago that proposed an 8c per kWh GROSS Feed In Tariff? That would mean Queenslanders would have to sell ALL their solar power to the retailers for 8c (yes – ALL of it – even the stuff that they used in their home). And then buy it back for about 30c.

Yup – that would be called institutionalised theft.

Stories like that make most people want to get off the grid altogether.

So I get quite a few quote requests these days for “Off Grid” solar power systems. However most people don’t fully realise what a big and expensive step it is to cut the wires to the grid.

So I made this video to explain what it really means to go off grid in 2012. I hope you enjoy it:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: ,
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