As the fireworks erupted from Sydney Harbour Bridge at 12:01am January 1 2010, the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme opened for business. It means that NSW solar panel owners will be able to collect 60c for every kWh produced for at least the next 7 years. It will be available to panel buyers until all the […]
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Huge Subsidies (and waiting lists) for Solar Hot Water in QLD
The Queensland Solar Hot Water program is delivering and installing $500 systems for eligible Queenslanders and $100 for pensioners. But as you might expect, there is the mother of all waiting lists. To date more than 850 customers have been allocated to suppliers to conduct inspections and install new systems. By the end of this […]
[Continue reading…]NSW Feed In Tariff Surprise: It’s Gross (in a good way!)
Yesterday the NSW Government surprised renewable energy fans by switching the new feed in tariff from a net to a gross tariff. This means that owners of solar systems in NSW will now get 60c per kwh for all the electricity they generate. Previously you were only going to get paid for the power exported […]
[Continue reading…]Solar Panel Scheme : terminated and to cost taxpayers $440 million
Since 2000, the the Solar Homes and Communities Plan started out as the Photovoltaic Rebate Program offering $4,000. The program was changed in 2007 and was receiving by then an average 153 applications per week. As part of the Rudd Government’s election commitments, the program was allocated $150 million to provide increased rebates of up […]
[Continue reading…]Pollies Agree on Something Shock! Solar Credits almost ready to go…
“Solar Credits” is the name given to the Australian government’s latest solar subsidy for homeowners, businesses and community groups. It was passed into law on 20th August 2009. Now we are just waiting for the process by which solar buyers can actually apply and receive the solar rebate to be finalised. This has been promised […]
[Continue reading…]Do you trust your electricity supplier?
Before you invest in solar power, be sure that you know exactly what your local electricity company will pay you for any exported energy. The good utilities will pay you the Feed In Tariff rate (if your state has one) PLUS the standard rate per kwh. The meanie ones will just pay you the FIT […]
[Continue reading…]Solar Power Isn’t Perfect (but it’s still worth it!)
Making solar panels requires old-fashioned coal-fired power The city of Bay City, Michigan has an interest in solar power, and in this article (http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2009/06/making_solar_panels_requires_o.html) the pros and cons of using this alternative form of clean energy are dissected and stacked against one another to determine whether solar power is really the best way forward for […]
[Continue reading…]Solar Payback Calculators Launched
How long will it take a solar power system to pay for itself? What will my next bill be with solar? How will electricity price increases affect the payback? What about the Feed In Tariffs? Is it a good idea to put the cost of the solar system on my mortgage? What about one of […]
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