Besieged Victorian Premier considers expanding Solar Homes rebate program
A besieged Premier Daniel Andrews says he might consider raising the number of rebates available under Victoria’s Solar Homes Program. In the past fortnight, the Premier has faced protests by solar installers angry about the Victoria solar rebate scheme’s quota cap and poor implementation. Solar installers will hold a second rally for change tomorrow, August […]
Solar Citizens 2019 Survey
Solar Citizens have recently launched their annual solar survey: https://www.solarcitizens.org.au/survey_2019 The solar lobbying organization has been running the survey for five years now. It provides a comprehensive snapshot of Australia’s rooftop solar owners (e.g. what type of system people have, environmental and financial factors, barriers for the solar industry/consumers, campaign priorities for solar consumers).We urge […]
Regulator takes wind farms to court over 2016 South Australian blackout
The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has taken legal action against operators of wind farms whose shutdown contributed to the 2016 South Australian blackout. The “black system” occurred on September 28, 2016 following damage to transmission lines due to extreme weather. In 2017, the Australian Energy Market Operator found protection mechanisms had then disconnected some wind […]
Solar installers to drop in on Victorian Premier for Solar Homes Program protest #2
The Smart Energy Council is planning a second Melbourne protest calling on the Victorian Government to rethink its Solar Homes Program. Industry members say the scheme is damaging the state’s solar industry and sending solar operators bankrupt. This week’s rally on Thursday, August 8 will kick off at 11am in front of Premier Daniel Andrews’ parliamentary […]
Queensland customers can slash electricity bills by shopping around: QCA
Queensland customers who switch to the cheapest market offer can lower electricity bills, according to an energy watchdog. Data from the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) shows residential customers could have cut their electricity bill by 35 per cent in the June quarter if they had switched to the lowest market offer. That amounts to a […]
Booming solar power in June drives share of renewable energy above 30% of NEM
Rooftop solar power helped drive the renewably generated energy share of the electricity market above 30 per cent for most of June. Green Energy Markets’ latest update shows solar power is shining on the National Electricity Market (NEM), even in winter. Solar capacity ensured renewable energy contributed above 30 per cent of the market energy […]
Clean Energy update shows record investment in Australian renewable power
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has issued an update on Australian renewable power, while redefining its priorities for the financial year. The CEFC made new investment commitments of almost $1.5 billion in the 12 months to June 30 2019. Its investment spread across 30 transactions with a total value of $6.3 billion. The CEFC is responsible […]
Tesla’s new Megapack muscles in with 3 MWh of grid-scale renewable energy storage per unit
Move over, Powerpack – the Tesla Megapack is shaking up the renewables sector with each unit offering 3 MWh of storage. Tesla says the Megapack comes straight from the factory fully assembled, along with its own sophisticated software and machine learning platform. The California based company claims Megapack arrays can provide a zero-emissions, 250 MW/1 […]
Australia close to national battery standard following draft approval
Australia is close to implementing a national battery standard. This follows Standards Australia’s approval of a first draft of regulations covering energy storage in an announcement last week. The Clean Energy Council (CEC) applauded the move as a big step forward for the growing energy storage industry. However, some stakeholders are unhappy with the requirements. That’s […]
South Australian virtual power plant cuts energy bills as phase 3 begins
Tesla’s South Australian virtual power plant (VPP) is already saving low-income households more than 20 per cent on their electricity bills. The government reports that SA’s most disadvantaged households are pooling output from free solar panels and Tesla Powerwall 2 batteries to cut power bills. Individual solar battery systems within the VPP connect to form a large, […]
