State energy ministers can rightly claim that they have acted well in advance of the Federal Government. But there remain worrying divisions between the states that could turn into faultlines. [Read more…]

ACT Labor will offer interest-free loans for solar power, home batteries, and heat pump hot water systems to Canberra households.  But there is a catch.  This will only happen if they win the election starting on the 28th of September and ending on the 17th of October. [Read more…]

Free money & zero-interest loans to put solar panels on Victorian rental property roofs

I have good news for landlords and renters in Victoria.  The state government is handing out free money to landlords:  a $1,850 rebate on solar panels for rental properties that meet the requirements. 

In addition, $1,850 can be borrowed as a zero-interest loan, paid off over four years at $38.54 per month. If the renter wishes, half of those repayment payments can be made by them. [Read more…]

The SA government wants to unilaterally pick technology winners, write inverter standards and architect new grid control schemes. God help us!

This seems to have snuck under the radar: last week, the consultation period for proposed new South Australian smart meter and inverter rules closed and as far as we can tell, even in the renewable energy specialist media it attracted no attention. [Read more…]

More solar power on the grid has its challenges. Lots of people (and governments) are claiming the challenges can be solved with batteries and inverter control. Those solutions have a part to play, but a new study suggests there is important work to be done upgrading local networks.

While electricity distributors emphasise the importance of seeing “behind the meter” to manage the impact of renewable energy on low voltage (LV) networks, a study published by ARENA suggests network upgrades are going to be more effective in the long term. [Read more…]

If you want to sell residential solar in Victoria or batteries in SA, CEC Approved Solar Retailer membership is de-facto mandatory.

The Australian Competition And Consumer Commission — ACCC for short — is seeking submissions on whether or not the Clean Energy Council’s Approved Solar Retailer scheme should be renewed. [Read more…]

If you own a solar business, the government has announced a surprisingly generous support package for small/medium businesses. Here’s what you need to know.

On March 12th, in response to the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus and bushfires, the Australian Government announced a $17.6 billion economic stimulus.  Then, at some point in the last week, they must have spoken to someone in the Treasury who actually knows what’s going on, because they then increased it by an order of magnitude to $189 billion. [Read more…]

The UK is moving much faster than Australia towards net zero emissions. What can we learn from the Poms?

I’m often wary when I hear someone say “regulation is getting in the way of innovation”, because it’s so often led to disastrous deregulation of things that matter – public safety, building regulation, product safety and the like. [Read more…]

There’s a new solar code of conduct on the horizon, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) credit providers are not happy with it.

The ‘CEC Approved Solar Retailer’ (ASR) scheme, a code of conduct for solar companies, may soon be obsolete. I think that’s a good thing. [Read more…]

If you’re willing to overlook a couple of major climate disasters, Australia has been doing great this year.  We’re on fire! [Read more…]