Has AGL rung the death knell for Oz fossil fuels?

April 20, 2015 2017-10-25T09:37:43 by 4 Comments
opening of the Nyngan solar farm

At the opening of the largest solar farm in Australia last week: Anthony Roberts MP -NSW Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, Mark Speakman SC MP – NSW Minister for Environment, Andy Vesey – AGL CEO, Lesley Ryan – Nyngan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Ian Kay – ARENA CFO, Jack Curtis – First Solar, Regional Manager APAC, Ray Donald – Bogan Shire Mayor.

Two major stories lead the debate over solar power in Australia this week, both throwing up intriguing developments for our renewable energy future. Both asking the question: are we seeing the last of the fossil fuel industry in our country? [Read more…]

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Fossil fuel city flips to renewables

March 24, 2015 2017-10-25T09:38:39 by Leave a Comment

Texas has said “Hold ‘Em!” to the fossil fuel generators.

It’s not a surprise that the U.S. city of Georgetown has decided to go 100 percent renewable, after all solar has become an unstoppable force. What does raise eyebrows though is that Georgetown is in Texas, the state synonymous with gushing fossil fuel, the Bush family and well, more gushing fossil fuel.

Even more surprising perhaps is that the city has flipped the switch to renewables after admitting that solar and wind energy are a better financial option. [Read more…]

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India’s renewable energy sector on cusp of greatness

February 27, 2015 2017-10-25T09:39:22 by 9 Comments
indian flag and solar panels

India is embracing solar in a big way: 100 GW installed by 2022

As we in Australia struggle with a federal government attitude to renewables halfway between apathy and utter neglect, things continue apace on the sub continent. Indeed India’s renewable energy policy is now primed to make the country one of the world’s leaders in alternative energy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the development of alternative energy — such as solar power — a priority since his election in mid 2014. In the latest phase of his government’s exciting policy development, the Indian government has announced the creation of a federation of 50 solar power-rich nations with India at the head of the grouping. [Read more…]

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Coal vs Solar – Which is more space efficient?

November 19, 2014 2024-08-18T20:37:00 by 6 Comments

solar and a coal fired power station

This is a guest post by Greg Bell – which was conceived in the comments section of another post on this blog.

Take it away Greg:

——-

Some things we can say we know for sure about photovoltaics – the fuel is free, it’s quiet, and there are no moving parts. But other benefits are more controversial. Recently a claim was made to me that solar PV is actually more area efficient – that is, it generates more energy per hectare – than coal.

Specifically, the claim was

“The 1,600 megawatt brown coal Hazelwood Power Station and associated mine in Victoria covers 3,554 hectares. In a sunny location in Australia 20% efficient solar panels covering that area would produce more kilowatt-hours than Hazelwood’s average output.”

Let’s see if that’s true. [Read more…]

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Are millions of solar roofs making solar farms pointless?

October 31, 2014 2023-06-22T14:29:11 by 13 Comments
solar roofs and a solar field

Are solar roofs making solar power stations uneconomic?

Utility scale solar, or solar farms, are fields of PV panels which generate electricity that is fed directly into the grid.  Currently we don’t have much of this in Australia.  Over 99% of our solar capacity is point of use which is mostly on rooftops and the juice it does produce is first used to power the household or business it is on top of and then after that the excess is generally fed into the grid. [Read more…]

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Why Big Utilities Are Scrambling Towards Solar

October 25, 2014 2018-05-09T11:01:34 by Leave a Comment

Now that solar power has become more of a threat, big US utility companies responsible for providing electricity want to buy in. With the cultural push to become more reliant on renewable energy sources and the increase in people wanting to break free from their higher utility bills, many utility companies are opting to become more solar friendly in order to keep their business.

While overall this might be a good thing, the intentions are purely economic. Big utilities in the USA are in the discussions with local governments in order to build or install solar panels into their networks. Some states have been open to this idea but others have resisted since it appears to only kill off the only competition electric companies have.

To learn more about this development, click here.

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The Huge Companies That Rely On Commerical Solar

October 17, 2014 2017-04-20T10:46:54 by 1 Comment

Whilst commercial solar systems in Australia are steadily growing in number despite pushback from many electricity networks, the USA is forging ahead with enormous commercial systems.  America’s biggest companies, like Wal*mart, Costco and Macy’s are relying on solar power to reduce their bills. Here’s a great snapshot from the Sustainable Energy Industry Association which has some seriously impressive numbers on it.

When will Australia’s biggest companies (e.g. the miners) start installing more solar to power their operations?, Perhaps when the government stops subsidising their filthy diesel to the tune of about $8bn per year?

Anyway – all I can say is way to go USA! Here’s those amazing stats:

comercial solar infographic

Source: SEIA

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Royalla solar farm shows states, territories need to step up on renewables

September 9, 2014 2017-10-25T10:00:28 by 8 Comments
solar panel in a field

A field near Canberra, yesterday.

We had a mini solar energy revolution in Australia this week: the opening of Australia’s largest solar farm at Royalla, near Canberra.

Funded by Spanish renewable energy giant Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, the 20 megawatt solar farm is monstrous by Australian standards. Comprised of 83,000 solar panels — which will be enough to power 4,500 homes — the farm is a major step forward in the ACT government’s plan to source 90 percent (yes you read right) of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. [Read more…]

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Solar breakthroughs by the dozen but what of the future?

August 19, 2014 2017-10-25T10:01:08 by 12 Comments
idea rocket

The breakthroughs just keep on comin’

This week two news items have proved that innovation in the solar energy sector is not only alive and humming but well on the way to shaping our energy future. The first is based on nothing new. Indeed it was originally proposed in a 1941 story by science fiction author Isaac Asimov.

With climate change now threatening our very survival as a species — according to the more downbeat of scientific studies — and with a general lack of political will to do anything about it, it may take something completely from left field to save the planet. Enter solar energy and the Asimov proposal.

[Read more…]

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A common sense way to combine photovoltaics and biofuel crops

June 23, 2014 2017-10-25T10:03:08 by 2 Comments
utility scale solar

Why not plant some biofuel crops between those panels?

Every now and then we like to take a look at what’s happening in solar energy research, weigh the pros and cons and see how it will play out in our wide, brown land. This week we’ve got a beauty. We’ll look at a novel way to combine (the word is co-locate) two forms of clean energy: photovoltaics and biofuel crops. [Read more…]

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