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

Elon Musk Says Tesla’s Electric Truck Will Beat Diesels On Total Cost – He May Be Telling The Truth

Elon Musk presentation

Elon Musk with a semi.

Elon Musk’s Latest Announcement Is A Big Trucking Deal [Read more…]

Enphase Misses Targets By Miles But Stays In Business

Enphase target

Enphase have not got close to the cost reduction targets they set a couple of years ago.

Enphase is an American company that sells microinverters.  These are small, fun sized versions of the larger string inverters most solar homes use.  They work with individual panels and are either bolted beneath them or, in the case of AC panels, come already attached.  [Read more…]

Why Solar Feed-In Tariffs Are Likely To Fall Within 3 Years

Crystal ball

Ronald’s crystal ball says: “The future may bring lower feed in tariffs if wholesale electricity prices tumble.”

Increasing renewables will reduce wholesale electricity prices. Unfortunately that means feed in tariffs will probably fall too.

Solar feed-in tariffs – the payment households receive for surplus solar electricity they send into the grid – are likely to fall within the next three years along with wholesale electricity prices.

The bad news: a fall in both feed-in tariffs and grid electricity prices will reduce the returns from rooftop solar. [Read more…]

Solar Blockchain: A Revolutionary New Method Of Charging Fees

solar blockchain

Is solar blockchain going to revolutionise the way we buy energy? Or is it a load of overhyped bollocks?

Blockchain is a revolutionary new technology with the revolutionary ability to revolutionize our lives.

[Read more…]

A Fair Solar Feed-In Tariff For Australia Is Around 22 Cents

 

Solar Feed-In Tariffs Should Be Higher Than They Are — But Not As High As Some Believe

In my not at all humble opinion, Australian solar feed-in tariffs are too damn low!  People aren’t receiving a fair deal for the clean solar energy they export to the grid.  This is bad for our nation and the world because with a fairer price we would see more rooftop solar installed which would reduce the damage to our health and our environment from burning fossil fuels.

But before I am voted leader of the revolution for higher feed-in tariffs and march my armies on Canberra — or maybe somewhere that’s actually nice to go — I should point out that, unlike some people, I don’t think solar feed-in tariffs should equal the retail cost of electricity.  While feed-in tariffs  should be higher than they are now, a “fair” price is likely to still be less than what most of us are are normally charged for grid electricity.

As a result, this article will probably end up a successful attempt at making the maximum number of people possible disagree with me. [Read more…]

Hansol Technics AIO Battery System: Don’t Call It A Samsung

Samsung has decided to let their partner, Hansol Technics, take over their residential battery storage systems. However, the rebranding probably wasn’t done by someone cosplaying as Bob Ross.

There are now over 200 Samsung AIO battery systems installed in Australia, providing battery power to households both on-grid and off.  Their manufacturer, Samsung, is a giant, South Korean based, multinational conglomerate and if you’d like snag yourself a brand new AIO battery system from them, that’s terribly unfortunate, because you can’t have one.

[Read more…]

Longi Solar Arrive In Australia. Tier 1 Panels With Impressive Performance Warranty

longi solar panels

Quite Possibly The Largest Monosilicon Solar Panel Producer In The World…

Longi Solar is a Chinese company that has accumulated solar panel production capacity at a prodigious pace.

Also, they’ve grown really fast. [Read more…]

Energy Storage Echo Chamber Has Greens And Coalition Working To Increase Emissions

Greens MP and Liberal MP calling for storage subsidies

The Greens and the Libs agree on one thing at least: that storage should be subsidised. But should it?

The mainstream media has been full of news about energy storage over the last few months. [Read more…]

Is Your Electricity Retailer Ripping You Off On Solar Feed-In Tariffs?

pick pocket

I’m getting reports that some electricity retailers are refusing to honour the full feed-in-tariff. In my opinion, that is theft.

Let Me Know If Your Electricity Retailer Is Cheating You Out Of Your Solar Feed-In Tariff… [Read more…]

Clean Energy Council Sounds Warning On Solar Panel Quality

solar alarm

CEC are concerned with the reliability of solar panels entering Australia, and are taking steps to address it.

On Thursday I attended the All Energy Conference and saw a presentation by Sandy Pulsford of the Clean Energy Council on solar panel quality.  The gloomy skies above Melbourne that day well matched the bad news he gave about the quality of some solar panels in Australia. [Read more…]

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