Residential PV

WA’s publicly owned grid operator will equip some of its staff with the skills required to install and maintain standalone power systems on the South West Interconnected Network (SWIN). The move reflects the move away from traditional poles-and-wires electricity supply, particularly to regional parts of the state’s Southwest. 

As Australians seek to control rising energy costs and tackle the damaging impacts of climate change, rooftop solar has boomed. To manage the variability of rooftop solar – broadly, the “no power at night” problem – we will also see a rapid increase in battery storage.

With Australia amongst the world leaders in solar uptake, a new study finds the nation is currently using less than 5% of the potential capacity for rooftop solar.

On the back of a successful trial in South Australia, AGL is expanding its virtual power plant to other states. Under the program, customers will be able to save up to $280 a year on their electricity bills and be offered an upfront payment of $1,000 towards the cost of their battery.

In the next financial year, solar households in regional Queensland will receive over 16% less for the power they export into the grid.

The race is on to process applications for central payments across the world’s biggest solar market, particularly as qualifying projects must reportedly be grid connected this year. The final electricity price will be a major competitive factor considered by the Beijing authorities.

With clean energy being generated at lower and lower prices around the world, solar power is playing a leading role in bringing the curtain down on coal, and will help the decarbonization of transport and space heating too.

Rebates and zero-interest loans for solar panels, solar hot water systems and batteries account for one of the major spends in Victoria’s 2019/20 budget and come at a cost of $1.3 billion.

There’s nothing high tech about resistance heating in the form of an immersion hot water element. But when added to rooftop solar PV, it can be a powerful way to maximise self consumption – when coupled with a smart control system. 

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has estimated the effect on the payback period of PV systems when adding EVs and storage in Germany and Britain. In both cases, system owners are likely to reduce their payback period by significant margins as increased self-consumption can offset the incremental phase out of government incentives.