Solar power is sizzling in the state of Victoria.The state's energy and resources minister Nicholas Kotsiras recently announced that local Victorian solar inverter manufacturer Selectronic has struck a deal with KACO New Energy – one of the world's biggest solar power companies.
Selectronic is a second generation family business which develops cutting edge solar inverters. KACO New Energy is a German company and is the second biggest solar inverter company in the world.
"This deal is a ringing endorsement of Victorian manufacturing with Germany – world leader in solar – turning to us for our high-quality products," said Mr Kotsiras.
"This is a great example of how the Victorian manufacturing sector can continue to succeed and create skilled employment and investment by pursuing excellence and innovation."
This scorching solar deal involves KACO adopting Selectronic's SP Pro inverters and marketing and distributing them under their own brand internationally.
Selectronic has been supported with funding from the Victorian government under the Technology Trade and International Partnering Program. This meant that last year the company could visit and exhibit at Intersolar, the world’s biggest solar exhibition in Munich. This experience helped to make the company's current deal possible.
Hopefully this new collaboration will raise the profile of solar power in Victoria. Any households thinking about installing these solar panels, which utilise inverter technology to convert the direct current output from panels into the alternating current for households, should know about Victoria's solar feed-in tariffs.
New entrants into the solar scene can apply for a feed-in tariff of a minimum of 8 cents. This is available to households, communities and businesses, as long as their system is less than {sp.} 100 KW in size.
This means that Victorian solar panel users can receive a financial return on any excess power they feed into the grid – what's not to love?
Posted by Mike Peacock