Search Results for: coal ash

Australia’s Already Expensive Gas To Become Even More So

April 20, 2017 2024-07-03T13:38:26 by Leave a Comment
gas exports australia

LNG/Cash Carrier – Image: Pline, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

A new report to be released today will state gas prices in Australia are set continue to increase for the foreseeable future.

The Climate Council’s “Pollution and Price: The Cost of Investing in Gas” will say a mad dash for cash in exporting Australia’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) has pushed up the price of gas power at the expense of Australian households and business. This is a result of gas prices within the country now being linked to world market prices.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: General Solar & Storage News

What Everybody Ought to Know About Solar Panels And The Environment

January 11, 2017 2017-07-18T14:31:54 by 5 Comments

I think fossil fuels are great. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar and the Environment Tagged With:

SVTC Solar Scorecard: A Great Idea Badly Executed

January 4, 2017 2018-05-09T08:30:15 by 5 Comments
svtc logo and pollution

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition should be a really useful tool for solar buyers. Unfortunately it isn’t.

The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, or SVTC to its friends, is an organisation that has been working hard for over 32 years to protect this life encrusted blob of nickel and iron spinning in space that we call Earth.

SVTC campaigns to promote both safe environmental practices and ethical behavior in high tech industries.  Each year since 2009 they have released a report called the SVTC Solar Scorecard that ranks solar panel manufacturers on both their environmental sustainability and ethical behavior. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar and the Environment Tagged With:

2016 The Good News: CO2 Emissions Level Off, Cost Of Solar Falls

December 30, 2016 2024-01-25T15:49:51 by 4 Comments

solar worker waving goodbye to 2016

It has become fashionable to refer to 2016 as a horrible year. An annus horribilis.

If your personal annus has been horribilis, then you have my condolences. But I think, for most of the world’s population, it has actually been a pretty good year. An annus prettigoodis if you will. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Energex Tries To Stop Tide Of Batteries With Bonkers Tariff 31 and 33 Rule

November 23, 2016 2024-01-25T13:39:05 by 9 Comments

king energex on a throne

Cnut from Energex1 tries to stop batteries.

Energex is the state government owned network operator for all of Queensland.  They receive electricity from the high voltage transmission lines that Powerlink manages and distribute it to the state’s homes and businesses. They also kindly distribute it things that aren’t homes or business, including my cousin’s non-profit Fight Club Community Center2. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , ,

Will Trump Take A Dump On Solar?

November 10, 2016 2017-04-18T15:12:28 by 10 Comments
usa flag in solar cells

Will Trump destroy the US clean energy industry?

Donald Trump has won the US Presidential election.  The people of the United States of America have spoken.  They haven’t spoken very well, but they have done it.  And since they will have a guy in charge who never shuts up, they’re not likely to stop now.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: , ,

Does Battery Storage Help Or Hurt The Environment?

September 1, 2016 2024-10-02T10:35:38 by 66 Comments
an eco-warrior dreaming about a powerwall

If you want to save the environment and have limited funds, then buying batteries should not be a priority.

Millions of Australians have installed rooftop solar to help the environment and save money.

Many are hoping home battery storage will soon let them do the same.

The cost of home energy storage is falling rapidly and it may not be long before it pays for itself.  But at its current price it will not save money, even under favourable circumstances, when used on-grid.  Despite this, there have been hundreds, or possibly thousands, of people who have installed home battery systems because they want to help the environment.

Have these people  made a horrible mistake? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , ,

Will LGCs Pay More Than STCs on a 10-100kW solar system?

July 26, 2016 2018-02-23T18:21:05 by Leave a Comment
solar panels

There are 2 subsidies for solar under 100kW: STCs (AKA the ‘solar rebate’) and the lesser known LGCs. Which one will give you the better return?

Update 23rd Feb 2018: Solar installations of 100 kilowatts or less now only receive STCs.  However, applications made before March 31st 2018 for systems of 10 to 100 kilowatts may be accepted under the old rules and permitted to receive LGCs.

Many people are aware the Renewable Energy Target, or RET, lowers the cost of rooftop solar.  This is often called the solar rebate, even though that term is not entirely accurate.

But what few people know is, provided their system is large enough, they have a choice in the type of assistance they receive.  A household with a 10 kilowatt rooftop solar system can either accept Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) or Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs).

Almost all solar systems 100kW and smaller, currently being installed use STCs because they are all deemed immediately after the installation whereas LGCs are deemed annually over 15 years.

At the time of writing (July 2016) STCs are $38 each whereas LGCs are at a sky high $82. This has made some savvy solar installers wonder if using LGCs instead of STCs might create a better return for patient solar owners. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Economics Of Solar Tagged With: , , ,

Election 2016: renewables roundup week #7 – the Brexit Edition

June 27, 2016 2017-10-25T08:23:30 by 5 Comments
brexit text on solar

Q. What does the Brexit mean for Australian Solar? A. Higher prices.

Well that was interesting wasn’t it folks? Just as the Australian election was drifting off into the sunset, we get hit by the arrival of an enormous, loud and dangerous elephant in the room. I’m talking of course of the surprise Brexit result where Brits voted to exit the European Union, a result that sent shock waves across the world.

Prime Minister Turnbull was quick to grace our screens (sans the hi-vis vest and hard hat this time) to assure us — in his most statesmanlike voice — that the vote would not affect Australia in any way. The fact that he looked like a kid hauled before the headmaster, with a trembling bottom lip and shaky “wasn’t me, wasn’t me” speech didn’t make him look that convincing though.

Next came Bouncing Billy Shorten, who will now see his chances of winning the election recede, also determined to tell us that his party’s policies are the best choice in these now choppy waters. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: , ,

How Australia Ended Up With A Renewable Energy Target

June 20, 2016 2024-07-03T11:23:12 by 30 Comments
John Howard and a ray of light

The Creator of The Renewable Energy Target. Mr John Howard.

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target, or RET, was first introduced in 2001 by Liberal PM John Howard. It has been almost entirely responsible for getting Australia’s graceful collection of wind turbines erected and getting solar panels on the roofs of 19% of our homes.

However, despite all its success, not many of us know very much about the RET.

This is understandable, as on the surface the topic is fairly dry. But once you get past that desiccated surface you soon discover what lies beneath is actually about as dry as crawling through the Simpson Desert without water for three days and then eating six plain SAO biscuits off a salt flat.

But don’t worry, I’m going to save you from having to experience that yourself. I recently filled in the gaps my knowledge of the RET and I’m ready to present you with all the juicy tidbits of information I gleaned from that dry and dusty landscape.

Feel free not to read on if you are already confident in your mastery of the topic. But before you do that, just be certain you can answer in the affirmative when I ask, do you get RET yet? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: ,
Get the latest solar, battery and EV charger news straight to your inbox every Tuesday