Search Results for: victoria

The Billionaire’s Gambit – Why we should politely decline.

March 13, 2017 2024-01-25T13:16:39 by 31 Comments

 

Note from Finn:

This post is Ronald’s considered opinion of Elon Musk’s offer. My personal opinion (with caveats) is that we should accept the offer. I’ll publish a post later today with my reasoning.

 

Elon Musk has offered to sell South Australia large scale Tesla battery storage of 100 megawatt-hours or more.  He says it will cost $250 US dollars at the “pack level” per kilowatt-hour which is around $333 at today’s exchange rate.  What’s more, he has promised it will be installed within 100 days of the contract being signed or it’s free.

This may be the best offer that has ever been made for large scale lithium battery storage.  But despite the small chance we would get it for free, I think our reply should be a polite, “No thank you.”

South Australia doesn’t need a large amount of battery storage to solve its current electricity supply problems and so there are better alternatives to spend the money on.  If in the future it turns out it would be useful we can get it then and it should be even cheaper. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With: , , ,

Solar Panel Maintenance: How often should they be inspected?

February 20, 2017 2024-01-25T07:05:50 by 31 Comments

Some defects found when inspecting badly installed solar. If you suspect your system was shoddily installed, you should book an inspection ASAP. But how often should your system be maintained/inspected if you used a reputable installer?

Is getting your panels inspected worth the expense? In the end, it comes down to how safe you really consider your rooftop solar to be. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Installation Tagged With: , ,

Blackouts In SA While Generators Stand Idle & Politicians Bicker

February 10, 2017 2017-04-18T14:53:51 by 15 Comments
Barnaby Joyce Coal Heatwave

Joyce titters, Weatherill gets mad, Australia cooks.

Late on Wednesday afternoon, in the middle of a heatwave, electricity was cut off to roughly 90,000 Adelaide properties for around 45 minutes.

Because I have access to a working TV at the moment1 I have seen an implausible number of people shitting bricks over this incident.  So many bricks I could use them to build a Great Wall of South Australia.  I’m sure it would be effective at keeping foreigners out.  After all, who’d want to enter a state surrounded by shitty bricks?

To all the people who are acting like this is some sort of unprecedented event2, I have to ask which bloody country do you live in?  Rolling blackouts during heatwaves in Australia are not uncommon and have occurred in every mainland state, including those that are almost entirely powered by coal.

But for those who are complaining for the right reasons, your anger is bloody well justified. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Electricity Prices 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:

Unwitting Warranties: A Ticking Time Bomb For The Battery Industry

November 30, 2016 2016-12-19T16:05:13 by 13 Comments
dodgy battery sales guy

As soon as a battery manufacturer says this, your battery magically gets a 20 year warranty in Australia. No matter what the warranty document says.

The other day a salesperson give me the rundown on a home battery system he had on display.  While it wasn’t cheap, it certainly appeared to be a very impressive piece of technology.  The salesperson clearly had a lot of confidence in it because, even though its written warranty was only for 10 years, he very generously doubled that to a 20 year warranty without batting an eyelid.

Ben Affleck had his eyes batted for two hours a day in preparation for this role.

Ben Affleck would bat his eyelids for two hours a day in preparation for this role.

We weren’t related, so nepotism wasn’t the reason for his generosity.  And it wasn’t because I saved his life in Nam…bour.  (That sugar cane train could be really dangerous.)  We weren’t old schoolmates, and as hard as it may be to believe, he wasn’t taken in by my charm and good looks.

No, the reason why he gave me a 20 year warranty was simply because he didn’t realize he was giving one.  Or possibly, he did realize he was giving one and really hates his company.

He gave me a 20 year warranty when he told me the battery system had a design life of 20 years.  According to Australian Consumer Law, if a salesperson makes a statement that a reasonable person would conclude to mean that a product can be expected to last for 20 years, then that counts as a 20 year warranty.  It doesn’t matter that this warranty was given verbally or that it is twice as long as its written warranty, legally it still counts. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With:

Solar Rebate Ending?

November 29, 2016 2017-09-20T11:17:10 by 8 Comments

dont-panic

Have you heard the news?  The solar rebate is ending!  It’s all over the internet.  Or at least all over the parts of the internet that run ads from shonky solar companies.  According to them, if you don’t rush out right now to get rooftop solar installed before the first of January you’ll end up paying a fortune for it!  If you don’t buy now, the price of a typical 5 kilowatt rooftop solar system will rise by…

…just a second… let me work it out…

Around $263 which is about a 4% increase. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Panels Tagged With: ,

Australian Politicians Confuse Wind Power And Powerful Winds

September 29, 2016 2017-04-18T15:34:30 by 14 Comments
wind vs wind power

Which of our elected politicians can tell the difference? Read on to find out…

Yesterday all of South Australia was blacked out and parts of the state are still without grid power today. This occurred because a powerful storm damaged transmission lines and the entire state grid automatically shut down as a safety precaution to prevent more damage.

Restarting a grid after a complete shutdown is complex and requires several hours. And it took several hours for grid power to start to be restored.

There is no mystery to what happened. It is very simple:

1. There was a really big storm.
2. Transmission lines were damaged.
3. The grid shut down automatically as a safety precaution, like it should have.

If you don’t believe power lines were damaged by strong winds, here is a picture of high voltage, steel girder, transmission towers near Port Augusta.  The wind bent them over so their tops touch the ground.

This picture shows how unusual the situation was. Transmission towers do not normally lie down on the ground to take a rest.

In addition to gale force winds there were also so many lightning strikes they would have been countless if someone hadn’t counted them and tornadoes. As more detailed information is reported we will probably learn if it was lightning strikes, gale force winds, or a big willy willy that provided the straw that safety precautioned the camel’s back. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Solar Policy Tagged With: , ,

Does Battery Storage Help Or Hurt The Environment?

September 1, 2016 2017-04-18T17:23:21 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: , ,

Aquion Battery Review: Safe… But Limited Power & Efficiency

August 24, 2016 2018-06-12T13:42:02 by 48 Comments
DIY Salt Water Battery

You can now buy an Aquion salt water battery to power your home. Nemo not included.

UPDATE MARCH 2017: As of March 8, 2017, Aquion has filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code

UPDATE JULY 2017 : Aquion Energy is resuming operations

Keen on storing your excess solar in a big battery? Worried about having a big box of toxic and/or flammable chemicals in your home? Then you’ll want to know about the Aquion battery and its salt water technology. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Battery Storage Tagged With:

How Residential Demand Tariffs Could Add $1000’s To Your Bill

August 16, 2016 2016-08-19T08:13:47 by 17 Comments

demand tariff

Electricity companies around Australia are starting to roll out a new way to charge you for electricity. It is called a residential demand tariff.

Unsurprisingly this new tariff can result in higher bills for you, and higher profits for them.

This post is important. It will explain to you what a demand tariff is, how it works, and why many households should avoid it at all costs.

The electricity companies want to make demand tariffs the norm, so you must be armed with the knowledge to spot one when you see one, and understand the implications of signing up for one. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Electricity Prices Tagged With: , ,
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