Presented by Energy Matters team member Virginia, we take a look at some of the stories from Australia and around the world recently added to our renewable energy news section.
In this episode, Virginia covers rumours of solar power’s demise in Queensland greatly exaggerated, solar farms in the sky and a 8% increase in electricity costs in South Australia on the cards.
In this episode:
– Queensland Energy Minister Stephen Robertson recently countered rumours that the state’s solar schemes are the victims of their own success. Rumours are that the state’s solar power schemes have been stalling due to electricity infrastructure issues. Minister Robertson said that the vast majority of all PV system applications continue to be approved. The Minister said over 100,000 Queensland households are reaping the rewards of solar energy through initiatives such as the state’s feed in tariff program. Read more.
– Californian based StratoSolar has presented the concept of a utility scale PV system tethered and floating at an altitude of 20 kilometers. The Earth’s stratosphere has no cloud movement and temperatures are low, improving solar efficiency. Light from the sun at this altitude is strong and uninterrupted from dawn to dusk. The StratoSolar system is comprised of a solar panel array attached to a buoyant platform permanently positioned in the stratosphere. The company says utility scale systems of 10MW to 1GW capacity could be constructed without requiring huge chunks of land. Read more.
– The South Australian solar feed in tariff has been reduced from 44 cents to 22 cents per kilowatt hour. The rate caused a rush of homeowners to sign up for solar systems around the state last week and an 8% increase in electricity costs is now on the cards. The government had initially been concerned that this would result in low income households subsidizing wealthy homes to go solar. However an assessment revealed that it was Adelaide’s mortgage-belt suburbs, north and south of the city which were most active in embracing the solar energy. The Minister said the eight percent increase will not fall on low income earners, but will in fact be picked up by wealthier residents in South Australia. Read more.
