Search Results for: nsw

Bathurst Art Gallery And Library Going Solar

Bathurst Regional Council - Solar Energy

Going green and saving bucks – Bathurst Regional Council

This month will see the installation of solar panels on Bathurst Regional Art Gallery and City Library, the latest in a series of Council solar projects.

[Read more…]

DCS Batteries Make Wild Payback Claims

DCS battery and Croc Dundee

Australian battery company DCS are making wild claims about their battery.

Power is boring.

But the struggle to obtain it?  That is interesting.

In 10 year’s time powering homes with batteries may be so commonplace it will be boring.

But at the moment it’s not so dull. [Read more…]

Australia’s Already Expensive Gas To Become Even More So

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.

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Australian-Built Solar Powered Nanosatellites Launched

University of Adelaide solar powered CubeSat

Dr Matthew Tetlow and the solar-powered CubeSat : University of Adelaide

Early this morning Australian time, the first Aussie-built satellites to be launched for 15 years left terra firma from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

One of the tiny nanosatellites, or CubeSats, was built at University of Adelaide and is being delivered along with two other locally-made devices by NASA on an Atlas V rocket bound for the International Space Station.

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Tesla Says Powerwall 2’s Return Will Be 8-15%. Really?

powerwall spruiker

Is it reasonable to expect a “8-15% return on investment” on a Powerwall 2?

Last month, Lyndon Rive, Tesla’s Vice President for Energy Products, stood up in front of a large group of people, including me, and promised the Powerwall 2 will deliver a return between 8% and 15%. [Read more…]

Scheme To Donate Solar To The Sydney Opera House Is A Boondoggle

sydney opera house

Sydney Opera House In Sustainability Scam Shocker! Photo Credit: Finn

This morning the Australian Financial Review reported on how the Sydney Opera House and Energy Australia, and apparently even the CSIRO, are teaming up to create a solar energy trading scheme that, on the face of it, is completely useless.  But, once you think it through, it clearly makes the world a worse place. [Read more…]

Will it be illegal to install a single phase Powerwall 2 from Thursday?

Unless your local electricity network provides a local variation to a new Australian Standard that becomes mandatory on Thursday, it may be illegal to install a Powerwall 2 plus solar on a single phase. [Read more…]

A Reader’s Frustrations With The Enphase Enlighten Monitoring System

enphase enlighten monitoring

Enphase panel monitoring is a great feature. But some Enphase installers flat out refuse to enable it.

There are many people in this world who enjoy monitoring the output of their rooftop solar systems.

But other people – not so much.  For example, I don’t think my parents have checked the output of their system since they got it.  My father just looks at the electricity bill every three months and grunts, “Power bill low.  Is good.” And then goes back to making stone tools.

But for those who enjoy the heady pleasures of solar system monitoring, modern technology can provide the fix you’re looking for. [Read more…]

OneSolar Review. One Word: Avoid

one solar solar panels

OneSolar make a lot a lot of claims on their website that just don’t stack up.

When it comes to choosing solar panels and inverters, we recommend sticking to well known brands.

Over the years we’ve seen lots of obscure panel brands hit Australian shores, often with slick websites, and almost always with dubious claims of being ‘engineered’ in anywhere-but-China.

Our experience is that the quality of these mysterious brands is often poor, and if they fail a few years down the line it can be very hard to find the company that originally imported or manufactured them. [Read more…]

Billionaire’s Gambit – Why we should accept Musk’s offer.

deal

Last Thursday in a trendy re-purposed Substation near Melbourne, Elon Musk’s cousin Lyndon Rive claimed he could solve SA’s energy woes in 100 days.

How?

By installing 100-300MWh of batteries.

Big Call.

A day later, via Twitter, Aussie tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes asks Musk if he’s serious about “100MW1” of batteries in 100 days. Musk wagers he’ll deliver and install them in 100 days or it’s free. [Read more…]

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