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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Construction in the Australian utilities sector is rebounding, thanks to renewable energy infrastructure driven by the 2020 Renewable Energy Target (RET). According to a recent Macromonitor utilities report, utilities construction would be in decline without RET-driven investment in clean energy projects like solar. However, once the RET ends there is no follow up policy in […]
Energy giant AGL has confirmed it will keep producing energy at its New South Wales Liddell coal fired power station until 2023 in order to help secure the grid. AGL told the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) that only one of Liddell’s four generators will close in April 2022. This was the previous planning in […]
A new solar powered tourism attraction on Victoria’s Phillip Island is gearing up to greet thousands of visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the island’s famous fairy penguins. The nightly “penguin parade” is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Australia. The $58.2 million Penguin Parade Visitor Centre will help Phillip Island Nature Parks manage […]
Darwin has declared a Northern Territory climate emergency. Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis is calling on both the Territory and federal governments to take immediate action to address the escalating crisis. Which is all well and good. If only the city — one of the nation’s most sun-drenched — had more installed solar panels than cloudy Hobart, […]
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 […]
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 […]