A new $25m Solar for Apartment Residents (SoAR) scheme backing shared rooftop systems has launched, offering to cover half the cost of solar for multi-unit dwellings in NSW.
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Apartment Solar Set To SoAR With New $25m NSW Grant
Living With Low (Or Even Zero) Solar Feed-In Tariffs
Minimum solar feed-in tariff rates (such as they are) have been set for what could be the last time in Victoria. But smart solar ownership will still bring significant financial and other benefits; and this applies across Australia where rates have been reducing. [Read more…]
Gas Companies Want To Charge You To Quit Gas: How To Avoid $1000 Fees
Switching from gas to an all-electric home can save hundreds of dollars a year, but if you’re not careful you risk copping some hefty fees. There’s one big decision to make that determines how much you will be out of pocket: should you abolish your gas connection or just disconnect it?
Community Energy Upgrades Fund Recipients Announced
58 local governments across Australia have shared in $50 million in federal grants for projects improving the energy efficiency of community buildings and infrastructure through solar, batteries and electrification. [Read more…]
Australia’s Solar Freakin’ Roadway (Sort Of)
Australian construction materials firm Boral is trialling sand used in concrete that’s derived from the glass of discarded solar panels for a major transport project in Melbourne. [Read more…]
GloBird Zerohero: Finally, A VPP That Lets You Control Your Battery
Image: GloBird
Update 24th Feb 2025: I mistakenly wrote that the Globird Zerohero VPP allows a household to use up to 0.3kWh of grid electricity during the two hour Zerohero peak and still receive a $1 credit. But the actual figure GloBird gives is 0.03kWh per hour. This makes for a total of 0.06kWh over the two hour period. This figure is low and has the potential to make it difficult for battery households to claim the $1 credit because it’s normal for battery households to still draw a small amount of power from the grid even if they never exceed their battery’s continuous power output. I called GloBird but wasn’t able to talk to anyone who knew details about the VPP. I have sent them an email and, hopefully, they will respond to it. Until I get clarification from Glowbird, I can’t recommend using their Zerohero VPP as it may be difficult for households to take advantage of one of its major benefits.
Update 3rd March 2025: GloBird have responded and said, for the batteries they have tested, households are able to get through the two hour Zerohero evening peak without exceeding the 0.03kWh per hour grid electricity consumption limit, so are able to receive the $1 credit. They also sent some bill information on four households showing this. However, this information was all from summer when small amounts of solar generation during the peak period could have helped the households avoid the 0.03kWh per hour limit. Until we receive information showing homes can receive the $1 Zerohero credit outside of summer, I recommend assuming you won’t get it any time your solar system isn’t producing a small amount of energy during the second half of the Zerohero evening peak. I have placed the bill information at the end of the post.
I’ve looked into the pros and cons of a range of Virtual Power Plants, and so far, I haven’t been impressed. But GloBird Energy’s Zerohero VPP stands out as the best of a bad bunch. Rather than providing inadequately meagre payments — so long as you have a suitable battery and electricity consumption patterns — its payments have the potential to be adequately meagre.
EV Road User Charges Back In The Spotlight
The debate over road-user charges (RUC) for electric vehicles has been reignited courtesy of interpretation of comments reportedly made recently by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. [Read more…]
Kerbside EV Charging Gets A Multi-Million Dollar Boost
$2.4 million in funding has been announced for the installation of 250 public kerbside electric vehicle charging stations across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. [Read more…]
Smart Meter Upgrades: Know Your Rights
If you wish to upgrade to a smart meter, or if your electricity retailer wants to upgrade your current meter to a smart device, here’s what you need to know. [Read more…]
Introducing SolarQuotes Editor Max Opray
Hello folks,
My name is Max Opray, and I’ve just started in the new role of SolarQuotes editor. For over a decade I’ve been covering green energy as a journalist, and I’m thrilled to be enlisting with an organisation that has played such a key role in Australia’s solar revolution.
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