“Interest free” loans for solar and storage for South Australia households
By Giles Parkinson on 23 February 2018
South Australia Labor government offers “interest free” loans to 10,000 households to install rooftop solar and battery storage
Category: Solar
Renewables hub, or coal museum? Australia’s energy debate plays out in Latrobe Valley
By Sophie Vorrath on 23 February 2018
The future of a retired brown coal power plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley paints a neat picture of the current state of Australia’s energy debate: enshrine fossil fuels, or embrace the new energy future?
Tesla ‘virtual power plant’ second best to real people power
By Hedda Ransan-Cooper Archie Chapman Paul Scott and Veryan Ana on 20 February 2018
The SA Tesla VPP may not be the most cost-effective solution to our electricity system’s needs.
Proposed solar farms could meet the RET single-handed
By Warwick Johnston on 20 February 2018
That’s great news for the Australian solar industry, but points to the RET being dramatically oversubscribed. Which raises a few questions…
Tesla battery + solar now “significantly cheaper” than grid power
By Bruce Mountain on 20 February 2018
Just 14 months ago, the writing was on the wall for grid-only electricity supply. Turns out the gap between grid only and PV+battery+grid is growing much more quickly than we imagined.
Solar Insiders Podcast February 20
By Giles Parkinson & Nigel Morris on 20 February 2018
Shared solar; EV surprise
Australia’s first large scale solar + storage plant connected to grid
By Giles Parkinson on 19 February 2018
Australia’s first large-scale solar and big battery storage installation – the Lakeland project near Cooktown in far north Queensland – officially connected to the grid.
ARENA backs app to help fast-charge EV uptake
By Sophie Vorrath on 16 February 2018
ARENA backs research that will model the influence of rooftop solar, home batteries and electricity tariffs on a decision to buy EVs.
IKEA flags selling solar panels “at cost” in Australia, industry reacts
By Sophie Vorrath on 16 February 2018
Flat-pack solar? IKEA says it wants to retail solar panels in Australia, “at cost”, as it has done in the UK and other EU countries. Is this a good thing?
New-build homes with solar and storage? “It’s going to be the norm”
By Sophie Vorrath on 16 February 2018
Including battery storage and rooftop PV in new home packages is soon “just going to be the norm”, says home builder Metricon. Already, they’re putting them in around half of the new homes they build.
Chinese solar inverter brand de-listed over safety issues
CEC says all inverters by Shenzhen Sofarsolar “de-listed” from organisation’s catalogue of compliant products, after tests turned up a potential safety issue.