Remember ARENA? The plucky Australian Renewable Energy Agency that has helped many renewable energy ventures and research with seed funding and other support? The ongoing benefits of ARENA include not only financial support but also because their involvement has helped pave the way for research and development in partnership with the private sector. Wait. Ongoing? […]
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SA leads the way with 25 percent of households using solar: ABS
The latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show one in five households use some form of solar energy. The figures back anecdotal and other statistical evidence of a massive growth surge for solar that has occurred since the ABS first began publishing statistics on solar energy, back in 2011. Then the figures were […]
[Continue reading…]Does Sunpower + Solarbridge Microinverters = World’s Best Performing Solar System?
A lot of Aussie solar installers really dislike microinverters. In fact many refuse to install them. The main reason is a fear of inverter failure. The reasoning goes something like this:
[Continue reading…]The role of renewables in the Victorian election
Sometimes satire says it best. As one superbly entertaining online news company put it, this week saw the Victorian electorate dump “Whatisname” in favour of “Thatotherguy”. Labor’s Daniel Andrews (“Thatotherguy”) gave the federal Liberals a huge shake when he ousted the Liberal Party’s Denis Napthine, the first time since 1955 that a Victorian government has […]
[Continue reading…]Genius Or Bonkers? US solar company glueing solar to roofs to reduce installation costs.
Innovation in solar never ceases to amaze me. But I can’t decide if this particular innovation is genius or totally nuts. US solar panel manufacturer Lumeta Solar have announced a new 175W solar panel design that is super thin, with no frame, a junction box on top instead of underneath, and get this: double sided sticky tape […]
[Continue reading…]Can the world produce enough raw materials to feed the solar panel boom?
It’s now almost a given that solar energy is the answer for the world’s energy problems. As experts have noted, it is entirely conceivable (perhaps inevitable) that solar will be the world’s first choice for energy by mid-century. With regular improvements in PV technology driving cost and efficiency breakthroughs, the predictions of the amount of […]
[Continue reading…]Coal vs Solar – Which is more space efficient?
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 […]
[Continue reading…]Australian leaders lurch further out of step on renewables
A very significant week in Australian renewable energy politics with the historic agreement between China and the United States on reducing emissions at the recent APEC summit in Beijing. Significant for Australia because the ideological campaign against renewables (let’s call it for what it is) used to be heavily based around the fact that we […]
[Continue reading…]Solar will be the world’s most popular power source by 2050
When someone of the stature of Martin Green says the cost of solar PV technology will halve again by the next decade, you sit up and take notice. Even more so when he says solar will be the world’s most popular energy source by 2050. For the University of New South Wales’ Prof. Martin Green […]
[Continue reading…]Are micro inverters & battery backup compatible?
Can you use a micro inverter off grid? Or even for grid connect with batteries? With the growth in the use of micro inverters, I’m starting to get more and more emails asking: can micro inverters be used in off grid (or hybrid) solar power systems?
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Currently Raging Debates: