NSW Stands up for solar. Go Blues!
Will clean energy be the blade that slices apart the ruling Coalition party? Will the fossil-fuel-stacked renewable energy target review panel fall on its dark arts? This week saw the potential for a factional clash of almighty proportions with the NSW government announcing their full support for the renewable energy target (RET) of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020. [Read more…]
Juat add 1,000,000 solar panels!
Nice to report on a good news story in renewable energy. News this week from ABC Broken Hill of negotiations which will see up to a third of a 600 hectare station to the west of Broken Hill covered in around one million (count ‘em) photovoltaic (PV) solar panels by 2015.
Geoff Luke, the owner of the station, told the ABC the finalised project was the result of protracted negotiations with energy company AGL.
“It would be close to two years now that we’ve been chatting about it and finally it looks like it’s come to fruition,” he said.
The partnership with AGL has been made possible by the opportunities provided by the often much maligned (by solar narks) Federal Government’s Solar Flagships Program. Mr Luke confirmed that the project had been accepted into the Flagship’s program and was ready to er…sail. [Read more…]
Suntech and The UNSW team up and kick solar ass!
Aussies love awards and stellar achievements. Particularly when we’re on the receiving end. Best and fairest, most valuable player, player of the series, best supporting actor, Treasurer of the Year (hang on!) and so the list goes on. Our collective chests burst with pride when we hear of the achievements and world records of our sports and silver screen idols and this gives us a sense of playing on the world stage with the big boys/girls. [Read more…]
“More than ever solar makes sense.”
These were the words uttered by Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) boss John Grimes to reporters this week, reacting to the storm created by the NSW Auditor General’s report on the state’s disastrous solar bonus scheme. And his words were like an oasis in the desert of recriminations for the true solar believer in NSW folks.
By Rich Bowden
This week’s announcement by NSW Energy Minister Chris Hartcher that the Second NSW Solar Summit, to be held in Newcastle on July 1, will provide a “…key pathway to managing the development of the renewable energy industry in a consistent and sustainable manner,” brought a smile to my face.
The issue of solar energy, and more importantly the backflip on the Solar Bonus Scheme continues to dominate debate in the NSW Parliament “bearpit”. Heroic efforts by the Coalition to contain fallout are matched only by attempts by certain Liberals to accept credit for the turnaround.
Meanwhile injecting a new angle into the sorry NSW solar debate, NSW Greens MP Dr John Kaye has led his party’s endorsement of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal’s (IPART) recommendation that NSW electricity retailers pay the full cost of the solar power they receive. [Read more…]
By Rich Bowden
The NSW Government’s decision to reinstate the solar fund feed-in tariff to 60c per kilowatt hour has come in reaction to bitter criticism, not just from solar investors and the solar industry but all sides of politics. Opponents of the decision to reduce the compensation to 40c have emerged, not just in the wider community of NSW, but also within the ranks of the NSW Liberal party.
The NSW Government has refused to back down over its controversial decision to reduce the bonus feed-in tariff offered to households for solar power returned to the grid from 60 cents per kilowatt hour to 40 cents.
By Rich Bowden
The newly-installed NSW Liberal Government has received widespread criticism for its recent decision to retrospectively reduce the tariff paid to households under the solar bonus agreement.
As the fireworks erupted from Sydney Harbour Bridge at 12:01am January 1 2010, the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme opened for business. It means that NSW solar panel owners will be able to collect 60c for every kWh produced for at least the next 7 years.
It will be available to panel buyers until all the installed generators under this Scheme reach 50 MegaWatts.
Panel owners who are eligible are the small electricity consumers. They are those consuming up to 160 megawatt hours of electricity annually.
Generally, this includes typical households,schools, small businesses and most community organizations.
Under this scheme, people will be able to get Solar PV Systems and Wind Turbines up to 10 kiloWatts in size.
According to Energy Minister John Robertson, the industry is expecting to install around 33,000 new solar systems during the life of the program.
The government is banking on solar PV costs decreasing over the next few years. Many are expecting that within the next 3 to 7 years, solar energy’s unsubsidized cost to consumers will be near that of dirty fossil based generation.
But in the mean time, the NSW Gross Feed In Tariff is giving a head start to the NSW solar industry so they can tool up, scale up and bring costs down and ROI up for Solar PV buyers.
Let’s hope the Feds watch and learn!
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