Renters can reap the benefits of solar power too – here’s how

Renters choose renewables

Solar power for renters? There’s a lot of talk about Australian home prices, along with prices for house solar panels and batteries. But what about the people who rent a house or apartment? Is it worth looking into solar panels when you don’t own a property to put them on? The answer is yes. New […]

Battery storage grid link more reliable as coal-fired generators fade out: AEMC

New measures are needed to boost grid integration for renewables an AEMC report claims.

Increasing amounts of renewable energy are challenging Australia’s national grid as coal-fired generators fade out. But battery storage grid integration could provide the needed stability. A report by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) released today explores the instability caused by adding solar energy and wind power to the nation’s generator mix. The grid requires a […]

National Energy Guarantee (NEG) must adopt new solar technology: Engineers Australia

Engineering new solar technology will be crucial for Australia’s transition to renewable energy sources. That’s the warning from Engineers Australia in its submission to the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) consultation. The stakeholder consultation, which closed March 8, was conducted by the Energy Security Board (ESB). The board was established by the Federal Government last year […]

Electric raindrops? New solar cell design harvests energy from rain

Solar-cell-rain-to-energy

Critics of solar energy like to point out a fundamental flaw in photovoltaic technology: it doesn’t work in the rain. But now a team of Chinese researchers have created a solar cell that harvests energy from raindrops. The hybrid device works by collecting spare electrons from falling droplets of water so it derives solar energy […]

CEFC and Mirvac help buyers slash power bills with solar included homes

Australia's potential solar output exceeds electricity consumed in NEM.

A new solar energy program will help Mirvac home buyers save up to 90 per cent of their power bills using built-in solar and battery storage in solar included homes. Solar panel and battery storage systems are part of a range of power-saving applications featured in the joint Mirvac-Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) venture. In […]

Carnegie Clean Energy gets green light for new solar energy park in WA

Solar powers remote communities with a battery facility.

Carnegie Clean Energy has announced its intention to build a giant solar energy park near Bunbury in Western Australia. The solar plant will consist of 10 megawatts (MW) of solar panels and up to 10 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage batteries. The location of the facility will be in the south-west of the state […]

Rooftop solar array installed by Sydney Markets is largest private one in Southern Hemisphere

Solar energy - New South Wales

Sydney Markets in Flemington has just installed the largest ever rooftop solar array for a private company in the Southern Hemisphere, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Market management expects to save millions of dollars each year in electricity costs through the rooftop solar panel installation. Sydney Markets is strongly committed to recycling and reducing waste and […]

Queensland creates home solar battery database

Clean energy projects bid for CleanCo contracts in Queensland.

The Queensland government is creating a solar battery database as part of its register of home solar installations. State electricity companies are offering a one-off $50 payment to encourage home solar battery owners to register their batteries on the database. The news comes as the AEMC is developing its own proposal for a national database of home storage […]

City of Sydney teams with Ausgrid to lower emissions and install solar on buildings

City of Sydney joining Ausgrid in scheme to promote apartment solar uptake and cheaper renewable energy.

The City of Sydney is supporting a $2.25 million Ausgrid program which could boost apartment solar uptake in the area. The City is contributing $750,000 to the initiative aimed at reducing electricity demand and carbon emissions in the Sydney region. Ausgrid has the second lowest rate of solar uptake in Australia due to its large number […]