Posts By Ronald Brakels, Author & Fact-Checker At SolarQuotes

Pensioners Can Save Up To $2,500 With ACT Solar For Low Income Households Program

ACT Solar For Low Income Households subsidy

This article would have a lot more detail if I could have actually spoken to someone in the ACT government about it. It wasn’t for lack of trying. I called them 4 times, was on hold for 53 minutes, to no avail.

Do you have a Pensioner Concession Card?

Do you own a home in the ACT?

Does the roof of that home lack solar panels? [Read more…]

SMA Inverters Will Meet SA’s Remote Disconnection Rules At No Extra Cost

SMA inverters and remote solar disconnect and reconnect in South Australia

If SA needs to hit the big red button and shut down rooftop solar installed after 28 September 2020, SMA inverters can comply – at no extra cost to the owner.

On Thursday I was invited to a webinar on SMA’s response to South Australia’s new solar inverter requirements.  It seems that SMA — the maker of Sunny Boy inverters — was on the ball as all their residential inverters are on SA’s approved installation list. [Read more…]

New SA Inverter Rules Add $165 To Price Of SolarEdge Systems

Yesterday in SA solar met 100% of demand for a short time. Hence the need for remote solar shutdown. SolarEdge inverters have this capability. Image: Rob Morris

Yesterday in SA, solar met 100% of demand for a short period. Hence the need for remote curtailment of new solar. SolarEdge inverters can meet this requirement. Image: Rob Morris

Update 14th December 2020:  Good news!  SolarEdge has informed me they no longer charge an additional $165 to cover the cost of meeting South Australia’s new inverter requirements.  SolarEdge instead now absorbs the cost, which is obviously good news for anyone thinking of getting a SolarEdge system in SA.

On Thursday at 3:58 pm I was invited to a SolarEdge webinar that started at 4:00 pm.  I was glad to get the invite, but the lack of notice meant I missed out on the first 5 minutes because I didn’t have time to set up my laptop/internet properly beforehand.  This was very appropriate because the webinar was about how SolarEdge had responded to new South Australian solar inverter requirements that were rushed in before the industry had time to properly prepare.  [Read more…]

Is Solar Still Worth It In Perth?

Going solar in Perth - is it worth it?

Short Answer: Yes. While the payback of solar in Perth is now longer, you can still own your Perth home faster with solar power than without — despite WA’s miserable feed-in tariff.

Longer answer: Read on… [Read more…]

Exclusive: Ronald Wakes Up With Elon Musk. Here’s What Happened Next

Elon Musk Battery Day - Tesla

It’s 5:30 am and I’m sitting in SolarQuotes office waiting for Elon Musk’s big battery day announcement.  This is pretty early for me, so it had better be good.  I don’t normally come into the office until 5:45 am.  

I have no idea what Elon’s going to say except it’ll be about batteries.  [Read more…]

Revealed: How SA’s Grid Will Accommodate The Relentless Uptake Of Rooftop Solar

SAPN plan for solar exports

The famous, termite-proof South Australian Stobie Pole that holds SA’s distribution network off the ground.

The most interesting presentation at this year’s Smart Energy virtual conference was only 9 minutes long and by Future Networks engineer, Cathryn McDonald.  [Read more…]

2020 Smart Energy Virtual Conference: A Review

2020 Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition review

I just flew back from a virtual conference and, boy, are my virtual arms tired.  I attended the 2020 Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition by sitting at my desk — a huge improvement over hauling my arse and other body components to Melbourne as I normally do. [Read more…]

Does It Make Sense To Build Electric Cars In Australia?

Building electric cars in Australia

A few weeks ago, I wrote about how ACE-EV plans to open a factory and produce tens of thousands of electric vehicles per year in Adelaide.

I’m hoping it will happen because I was impressed when I took their electric cargo van for a spin.

[Read more…]

ANU Claims Hydrogen At $2-3 A KG By 2030 — I Say Not Bloody Likely

Hydrogen vs. emission offset natural gas

Hydrogen won’t be $2-3 per kilogram by 2030. It’ll be much cheaper!

Hydrogen is the car fuel of the future.  Just not our future. 

[Read more…]

Feed-In Tariff For New Solar Slashed In Western Australia — Only 3 Cents Before 3 PM!

Western Australia solar feed in tariff

Update July 30th 2022: The 3 cent DEBs feed-in tariff was reduced to 2.5 cents on July 1st 2022.  The 10 cent rate from 3 pm to 9 pm remains the same.

From yesterday (31 August 2020), new residential solar power systems installed in Western Australia will no longer receive the REBS or ‘Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme’ solar feed-in tariff of 7.135 cents per kilowatt-hour.  Instead, it will receive the DEBS or ‘Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme’ that will instead pay: [Read more…]

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