{"id":75824,"date":"2023-07-05T08:28:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T21:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=75824"},"modified":"2024-04-10T11:03:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T01:33:17","slug":"queenslanders-solar-power-evs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/","title":{"rendered":"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"coal

Finally, the coal barons have discovered how to extract revenue from free fuel…<\/p><\/div>\n

Sun-Powered EVs, Coal-Priced Bills: Queensland’s Solar Irony<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dream of powering electric vehicles (EVs) from the Queensland sun has hit an unexpected roadblock. Energex and Ergon’s EV charger rules leave Queenslanders on single-phase supplies feeling utterly dismayed. Instead of tapping into their remarkable solar resource, Queenslanders are finding that they can only have a 7kW EV charger<\/a> at home if they are willing to pay coal-fired prices for electricity. It’s nuts.<\/p>\n

Legacy Thinking For Legacy Systems<\/h2>\n

When you go hunting for a reason behind the rule, it leads you to the Queensland Electricity Connection Manual and, more specifically, section 4, which talks about Balancing of Load and Limitation on Equipment, which I’ll paraphrase here :<\/p>\n

4.1 General
\nThe load of an installation… shall be so balanced… that the current in any phase does not exceed the current in any other phase by more than 20 A<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is why a single-phase customer in Queensland can’t have an EV charger connected to an “anytime” tariff unless it’s limited to 4.6kW or 20 amps. If you want the full 7.3kW, which decent, single-phase EV chargers<\/a> are capable of, Queensland insists that it must be supplied from an economy tariff limited to either 8 hours or 18 hours per day. The reason is simple: the networks realise that EV charging<\/a> could potentially overwhelm the system, and they want some control of it, even if that (ripple control) is so crude it makes the lights flicker.<\/p>\n

Why Are Queenslanders Ropeable?<\/h2>\n

Picture this: You’ve got solar panels<\/a> gleaming under the Queensland sun, yet you can’t harness that free energy to charge your EV. It is almost as if the sun is shining, but the lightbulbs in your house stubbornly refuse to light up. The power generated from your solar panels travels out to the grid, only to be immediately resold back to you at off-peak rates. Talk about money for nothing for the incumbent industry.<\/p>\n

The Frustration Fuelling Consumer Rage<\/h2>\n

This ham-fisted approach ignores the white-hot rage a badly explained rule creates with consumers who can’t use their own solar power as they please. People are already disgruntled about what they perceive as the thieving bastards who don’t pay a decent feed-in tariff, even if you can explain that daytime solar electricity is often in surplus and worthless on the spot market.<\/p>\n

The general principle that you are forced pay for the power you just generated is enough to make people spend economically irrational sums of money to “go off-grid” and disconnect from the system. (if they can afford the capital cost) I’ve seen it time and time again over the last 15 years.<\/p>\n

Electric cars and V2G will only make this more viable in the future. The technologies are already available. When the economic stars align with cheap daytime charging at work, charging your EV during the day and shipping electricity home to run the air conditioning will be feasible. When driving, your house can have a modest solar and battery to keep the fridge and lights on.<\/p>\n

Sidebar:<\/strong> I have built an off grid power system that replaced a very basic version of this idea. The bloke owned two truck batteries, one ran his camping fridge, TV and lights. The other sat on the passenger floor of his Mitsubishi Sigma with a couple of alligator clips to charge it from the car alternator while he commuted a couple hours each day. Arriving home with a full battery, he just swapped them over. It was equal parts genius and dangerous, both horribly basic and elegantly simple.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Face it, you weren’t thinking of this technological marvel when I said off grid EV battery swap were you?<\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n

What’s More Irrational Than A Jilted Customer?<\/h2>\n

Queensland network engineers appear to be ignoring the answer that’s already here.<\/p>\n

Active solar harvesting, dynamic system control, smart charging, demand response, the Internet of Things are all names for the same approach to managing and using energy efficiently. And they are already being rolled out in South Australia by SA Power Networks.<\/p>\n

Even more ludicrous is that Queensland had extensive industry consultation and went for a dumb, short-term solution for EV charging.<\/p>\n

The Alternative Is Civil Disobedience<\/h2>\n

While I could never recommend something the DNSP disapproves of, I have seen contactors installed to swap your hard-wired appliance from controlled load to anytime tariff using a ‘sunshine circuit.<\/a>‘ This can automatically add solar energy to your hot water and default back to off peak otherwise. If the authorities complain, just forgo the off peak supply altogether and use a timer that follows cheap time of use rates.<\/p>\n

How does a sunshine circuit work though? Using some smarts in your solar inverter<\/a>, or an even smarter Catch Power Relay<\/a>, you can trigger a contactor to turn things on, like a pool pump, hot water service or EV charger, when the sun is strong and the exports are high. A slightly crude way to divert electricity compared to proper variable dynamic control, but it’s cheaper energy storage than a battery.<\/p>\n

Self consumption via a sunshine circuit makes a lot of sense if you get work done on your switchboard<\/a> to accommodate some new equipment, so it’s worth considering if you have an electrician quoting for a new EV charger, because it offers some easy and simple savings.<\/p>\n

The Implications of EVs for Power Networks<\/h2>\n

Some in the media insist “consumers can install the chargers they want, and use them when they want.”<\/a> but in reality, that’s plain wrong. As I have outlined before,<\/a> building a network and generating capacity to handle all the cars all the time with all the air con and all the cooking at 6 pm will be incredibly expensive and inefficient.<\/p>\n

EVs are a big part of the answer, but your network will have to manage them better than Queensland.<\/p>\n

\"\"

SA has the right idea, already approving bi-directioonal chargers and using OCPP 1.6j to control EV charging, not dumb off peak switching.<\/p><\/div>\n

Queensland, Embrace the Future, Don\u2019t Fight It<\/h2>\n

Charging EVs with solar power should be the norm, not an uphill battle. It’s time for Queensland to ditch the dumb, easy option and invest in efficient, dynamic EV charger control technologies. Because when it comes to Australia’s energy future, the Sunshine State should be leading, not lagging.<\/p>\n

So, Queensland, how about we turn the page on this solar irony?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sun-Powered EVs, Coal-Priced Bills: Queensland’s Solar Irony<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":76073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[788],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ev-chargers","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nQueenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"EV charger power is throttled by 30% in Queensland, forcing smart solar customers to pay coal-fired prices.\" \/>\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\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"EV charger power is throttled by 30% in Queensland, forcing smart solar customers to pay coal-fired prices.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/\" \/>\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=\"2023-07-04T21:58:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-10T01:33:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anthony Bennett\" \/>\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\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Anthony Bennett\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d\"},\"headline\":\"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-04T21:58:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-10T01:33:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1115,\"commentCount\":26,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"EV Chargers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/\",\"name\":\"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-04T21:58:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-10T01:33:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"EV charger power is throttled by 30% in Queensland, forcing smart solar customers to pay coal-fired prices.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/06\\\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"coal baron stealing solar electricity\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"EV Chargers\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/ev-chargers\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs\"}]},{\"@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\\\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d\",\"name\":\"Anthony Bennett\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Anthony Bennett\"},\"description\":\"Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.solarquotes.com.au\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/anthony\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs","description":"EV charger power is throttled by 30% in Queensland, forcing smart solar customers to pay coal-fired prices.","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\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs","og_description":"EV charger power is throttled by 30% in Queensland, forcing smart solar customers to pay coal-fired prices.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/","og_site_name":"SolarQuotes Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/","article_published_time":"2023-07-04T21:58:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-10T01:33:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Anthony Bennett","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\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/"},"author":{"name":"Anthony Bennett","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d"},"headline":"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs","datePublished":"2023-07-04T21:58:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-10T01:33:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/"},"wordCount":1115,"commentCount":26,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg","articleSection":["EV Chargers"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/","name":"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg","datePublished":"2023-07-04T21:58:44+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-10T01:33:17+00:00","description":"EV charger power is throttled by 30% in Queensland, forcing smart solar customers to pay coal-fired prices.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"coal baron stealing solar electricity"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queenslanders-solar-power-evs\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"EV Chargers","item":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/ev-chargers\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Queenslanders Paying Coal-Fired Prices To Solar Power Their EVs"}]},{"@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\/eda68c24a3d87f41fa51e57c03d2ac2d","name":"Anthony Bennett","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/da02d496ba89ce6576480e42da6ad36ea79ea5c1c51d5f7ce5a07774d06a1fb7?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r","caption":"Anthony Bennett"},"description":"Anthony joined the SolarQuotes team in 2022. He\u2019s a licensed electrician, builder, roofer and solar installer who for 14 years did jobs all over SA - residential, commercial, on-grid and off-grid. A true enthusiast with a skillset the typical solar installer might not have, his blogs are typically deep dives that draw on his decades of experience in the industry to educate and entertain. Read Anthony's full bio.","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/anthony\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/constipated_coal_baron_mod.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2FF2s-jIY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":82332,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queensland-faster-ev-charging\/","url_meta":{"origin":75824,"position":0},"title":"Queensland Finally Allows Faster EV Charging With Solar","author":"Anthony Bennett","date":"March 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Ergon and Energex have rewritten their rules on EV charging in Queensland, so properties running on a single-phase supply can now charge ahead at a full 7kW capacity. Previously, EV owners were hamstrung by an archaic 20 Amp\/4.6 kW limit or controlled load tariffs, but authorities have realised the network\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EV Chargers"","block_context":{"text":"EV Chargers","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/ev-chargers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/qld-ev-charge.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/qld-ev-charge.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/qld-ev-charge.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/qld-ev-charge.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/qld-ev-charge.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39387,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queensland-renewables-coal-mb1505\/","url_meta":{"origin":75824,"position":1},"title":"Queenslanders Want More Renewables, Not Coal Power","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"April 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"A poll of more than 1,000 Queensland residents in late March indicates a strong preference for more renewables over new coal-fired power. Commissioned by Solar Citizens, the QDOS research poll found 78 per cent of respondents would be more likely to support the state government spending on renewable energy generation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Coal vs. renewables in Queensland","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/coal-renewables-queensland.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/coal-renewables-queensland.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/coal-renewables-queensland.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/coal-renewables-queensland.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/coal-renewables-queensland.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16702,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queensland-election-solar-scorecard-mb0302\/","url_meta":{"origin":75824,"position":2},"title":"Queensland Election Solar Scorecard","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"November 14, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Solar Citizens has released its Solar Scorecard for the Queensland election - and there's no surprises as to which parties lead and lag on renewables. \u201cTo give voters the facts, we\u2019ve assessed the party\u2019s policies in detail, and it\u2019s clear that this election Queenslanders have a very important choice to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Queensland election solar scorecard","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/queensland-solar-scorecard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/queensland-solar-scorecard.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/queensland-solar-scorecard.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/queensland-solar-scorecard.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77365,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/australias-v2g-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":75824,"position":3},"title":"3 Million EVs, 22.46 Gigawatts: A Sober Look at Australia’s V2G Future","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"August 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many clued-up Australians dream of their electric car not only taking them places but powering their home and even the grid. Keep reading, and you'll discover how Vehicle-to-Grid technology (V2G) could outdo Australia's entire coal fleet in terms of power delivered (kW) but not energy (kWh) and what that means\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EV Chargers"","block_context":{"text":"EV Chargers","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/ev-chargers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a v2g utopia","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/v2g-utopia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/v2g-utopia.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/v2g-utopia.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/v2g-utopia.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/v2g-utopia.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":83267,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/qld-bill-rebate-mb2912\/","url_meta":{"origin":75824,"position":4},"title":"Electricity Bill Rebate: What QLD Households Need to Know","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"May 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Queenslanders will receive a $325 - $1,372 rebate on their electricity bills from July this year.\u00a0 Discover who's getting what, and how the $2.5 billion price tag will be paid for. Announced yesterday morning by Premier Steven Miles, the rebates will be applied to bills in the first quarter of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Solar & Storage News"","block_context":{"text":"General Solar & Storage News","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-battery-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"QLD power bill rebate","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/qld-electricity-rebate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/qld-electricity-rebate.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/qld-electricity-rebate.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/qld-electricity-rebate.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/qld-electricity-rebate.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":95113,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/queensland-energy-roadmap-mb3289\/","url_meta":{"origin":75824,"position":5},"title":"Queensland Energy Plan “A Roadmap To Nowhere”","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"October 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"While coal and gas get a lot of love in the Crisafulli Government\u2019s Queensland Energy Roadmap released late last week, the same can't be said for renewables generally \u2014 including small scale solar power and battery storage. The desired outcome of the Roadmap can be summarised by the following statement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Solar Policy"","block_context":{"text":"Solar Policy","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-policy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A road to nowhere","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/queensland-energy-roadmap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/queensland-energy-roadmap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/queensland-energy-roadmap.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/queensland-energy-roadmap.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/queensland-energy-roadmap.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75824","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\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75824"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82727,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75824\/revisions\/82727"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}