{"id":2130,"date":"2012-12-23T14:42:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-23T04:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=2130"},"modified":"2017-10-25T10:19:48","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T23:49:48","slug":"futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/","title":{"rendered":"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2140\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/solat_thermal_spain\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2140\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2140\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2140\" title=\"solar_thermal_spain\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg\" alt=\"a thermal solar power station in Spain\" width=\"500\" height=\"522\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This solar thermal plant in spain reflects the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/tis-the-season-to-be-fergie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last week<\/a> we took a look at the rare event of Resources Minister Martin Ferguson putting his hand in his pocket to support a solar power initiative. While the sight of old \u201cFossil Fuel\u201d Ferguson supporting a renewable energy project after accusations of mismanagement and bias in favour of fossil fuel industries was immense, this week we\u2019d like to concentrate on some of the technology behind the projects.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/flinders-news\/2012\/12\/20\/flinders-joins-87-million-solar-research-network\/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=flinders-joins-87-million-solar-research-network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">20th December Flinders University press release<\/a>, nanotechnology is going to play a key role in the development of the country \u201c&#8230; into a global solar energy powerhouse\u201d. This will be done as part of an effort by the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI) \u2014 Fergie\u2019s baby \u2014 to cut the cost of concentrated solar power from 25 cents to 9-12 cents a kilowatt hour.<\/p>\n<p>If successful this would be a major breakthrough but what\u2019s all this \u201cconcentrated thermal solar\u201d business I hear you ask?<\/p>\n<p>Flinders University <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flinders.edu.au\/science_engineering\/research\/nanoscale\/\">Centre for NanoScale Science and Technology<\/a> Director, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flinders.edu.au\/people\/david.lewis\">Professor David Lewis<\/a> explains:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIn one form of concentrated solar thermal power generation, large-scale mirrors are used to concentrate the sun\u2019s energy to heat fluid inside a pipe which subsequently transfers that heat into an electrical power generator to create electricity,\u201d Professor Lewis said in the Flinders\u2019 press release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo get the most out of solar energy the facility is typically built in cloud-free regions but then maintenance costs become an issue due to having to clean dust from the surface of the mirrors, so we\u2019ll be working on new coatings to prevent the dust build-up in the first place,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll also be focusing on making low-cost, lightweight mirrors, fluids and anti-corrosion coatings that can withstand higher temperatures to improve the efficiency of the system and further reduce maintenance costs.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To listen to Mark Twidell, outgoing head of the Australian Solar Institute, concentrated solar thermal power generation (already a fixture in similar sun-blessed countries such as Spain) has an enormous future in Australia. In an interview with RenewEconomy Twidell said concentrated solar and solar PV were \u201ccomplementary technologies\u201d and should be funded accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>However up till now he believed funding for concentrated solar had been \u201cslow\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Will Fergie\u2019s early Christmas present and the Flinders University team injection start the ball rolling for concentrated solar? Is solar thermal power the future for large scale solar projects in Australia? Certainly we seem to have the necessary prerequisites: sun, space, advanced technology. Do we have the political will to continue to back the\u00a0technology\u00a0though? We\u2019d like to hear your opinion either here or over at our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes?ref=hl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook Page<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, we\u2019d also like to wish our readers a very happy and safe Christmas from all of us at SolarQuotes HQ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Last week we took a look at the rare event of Resources Minister Martin Ferguson putting his hand in his pocket to support a solar power initiative. While the sight of old \u201cFossil Fuel\u201d Ferguson supporting a renewable energy project after accusations of mismanagement and bias in favour of fossil fuel industries was immense, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-utility-scale-solar","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades - SolarQuotes Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Solar thermal plants reflect the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity. Learn more here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Solar thermal plants reflect the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity. Learn more here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-23T04:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-24T23:49:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Staff Writer\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdfada92425341cb1b48bf0bcfa1feb7\"},\"headline\":\"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-23T04:12:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-24T23:49:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":504,\"commentCount\":5,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Big Solar\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/\",\"name\":\"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades - SolarQuotes Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-23T04:12:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-24T23:49:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Solar thermal plants reflect the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity. Learn more here.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Big Solar\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/utility-scale-solar\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SolarQuotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/solarquotes\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/au.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/solarquotes\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cdfada92425341cb1b48bf0bcfa1feb7\",\"name\":\"Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b273c2864cc5105edcc07250f8fd1ad70faa064e98a5e65b34bf367aa3b06ee?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b273c2864cc5105edcc07250f8fd1ad70faa064e98a5e65b34bf367aa3b06ee?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9b273c2864cc5105edcc07250f8fd1ad70faa064e98a5e65b34bf367aa3b06ee?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/staff\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades - SolarQuotes Blog","description":"Solar thermal plants reflect the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity. Learn more here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades","og_description":"Solar thermal plants reflect the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity. Learn more here.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2012-12-23T04:12:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-10-24T23:49:48+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@solar_quotes","twitter_site":"@solar_quotes","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/"},"author":{"name":"Staff Writer","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cdfada92425341cb1b48bf0bcfa1feb7"},"headline":"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades","datePublished":"2012-12-23T04:12:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-24T23:49:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/"},"wordCount":504,"commentCount":5,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg","articleSection":["Big Solar"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/","name":"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades - SolarQuotes Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg","datePublished":"2012-12-23T04:12:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-24T23:49:48+00:00","description":"Solar thermal plants reflect the sun on to a tower to generate steam and drive huge turbines to make enormous amounts of electricity. Learn more here.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/solat_thermal_spain.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/futures-so-bright-i-gotta-wear-shades\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Big Solar","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/utility-scale-solar\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The solar thermal future\u2019s so bright I gotta wear shades"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","name":"SolarQuotes Blog","description":"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization","name":"SolarQuotes","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png","width":592,"height":600,"caption":"SolarQuotes"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/","https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cdfada92425341cb1b48bf0bcfa1feb7","name":"Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b273c2864cc5105edcc07250f8fd1ad70faa064e98a5e65b34bf367aa3b06ee?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b273c2864cc5105edcc07250f8fd1ad70faa064e98a5e65b34bf367aa3b06ee?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9b273c2864cc5105edcc07250f8fd1ad70faa064e98a5e65b34bf367aa3b06ee?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/staff\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-ym","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2111,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/tis-the-season-to-be-fergie\/","url_meta":{"origin":2130,"position":0},"title":"Tis the season to be Fergie &#8230;","author":"Staff Writer","date":"December 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Regular readers of this column may have noticed that we haven\u2019t always been that kind to Martin \u201cFossil Fuel\u201d Ferguson, our Minister for Resources. And we haven\u2019t been alone in mercilessly pointing to the Minister for Resources\u2019 predilection for fossil fuels, his apparent unwillingness to listen to new ideas and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Policy","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Martin Ferguson","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/martinf.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/martinf.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/martinf.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2916,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-storage-breakthrough-spoil-narks-party\/","url_meta":{"origin":2130,"position":1},"title":"Solar storage breakthrough spoils nark\u2019s party","author":"Staff Writer","date":"October 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When it comes to policy backflips on alternative energy sources it\u2019s been a nark\u2019s 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Big Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Big Solar","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/utility-scale-solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"solar power station and solar nark","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/solar-nark-solar-storage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/solar-nark-solar-storage.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/solar-nark-solar-storage.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2331,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/will-fergies-inglorious-exit-herald-a-new-era-for-solar-power\/","url_meta":{"origin":2130,"position":2},"title":"Will Fergie\u2019s inglorious exit herald a new era for solar power?","author":"Staff Writer","date":"March 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Well the dust has settled on the federal Labor leadership challenge that wasn\u2019t with Julia \u201cThe Ranga\u201d Gillard announced the winner after Kevin \u201cThe Piker\u201d Rudd refused to show up for battle. Actually it was less a leadership struggle than a complete shemozzle and the ructions within the Labor Party\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Policy","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"martin ferguson's office","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/martin-ferguson-office.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2006,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/independent-inquiry-to-support-solar-for-port-augusta-yes-minister\/","url_meta":{"origin":2130,"position":3},"title":"Independent inquiry to support solar for Port Augusta? Yes minister!","author":"Staff Writer","date":"October 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Recent efforts by solar activists to force the South Australian government to replace the current coal-fired station at Port Augusta with a solar thermal power station appear to have borne some fruit. Last week SA Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis announced the setting up of an inquiry into the feasibility of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Policy&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Policy","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"yes minister","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/yesminister2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2692,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australias-hot-air-capital-leads-country-in-commercial-solar\/","url_meta":{"origin":2130,"position":4},"title":"Australia&#8217;s capital leads country in commercial solar","author":"Staff Writer","date":"July 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The feverish activity in Canberra continues. Kevin Rudd (aka The Milky Bar Kid) is PM this week apparently. But we thought we\u2019d pop down the road to the seat of the far more interesting ACT territory government for this week\u2019s solar news. For it is here that Australian commercial solar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Big Solar&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Big Solar","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/utility-scale-solar\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Canberra sign","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/canberra-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/canberra-solar.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/canberra-solar.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17600,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/coal-divestment-jhu-mb0364\/","url_meta":{"origin":2130,"position":5},"title":"Johns Hopkins University To Divest From Thermal Coal","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"December 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the USA's leading research universities, Johns Hopkins, has hopped on the coal divestment bandwagon after ongoing pressure from a student group. The institution's board voted last week to direct the University to stop buying the stocks and bonds of companies that produce coal for electricity generation as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;General Solar &amp; Storage News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"General Solar &amp; Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"coal divestment","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/coal-divestment.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/coal-divestment.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/coal-divestment.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/coal-divestment.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2130"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10769,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2130\/revisions\/10769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}