The Sunshine Coast, Queensland, is a great place to install a solar PV power system. Queensland residents who install an eligible solar PV systems were once eligible for a generous solar feed-in tariff, but these days lots of homes are still going solar even after this incentive has been cut back.
Why is the Sunshine Coast a good place for solar power?
Lots of sunshine means lots of potential for Sunshine Coast homes to harness solar power
The Sunshine Coast receives an an average of around 6.2 hours of full sun per day, making it one Australia’s sunnier cities, as well as one of the best places to install solar PV. Reasonably assuming that you have a 5kW solar system that is 80% efficient, this means you could produce around (6.2kWh x 0.8=) 5kWh of electricity per day (more in the summer, less in the winter). Household demand varies by the size of family and the appliances used and how frequently, but let’s say that an average 3-person home uses 20kWh per day, averaged over the course of a year.
This is a decision that ordinarily depends on the amount of capital that a household has at its disposal for making an investment in solar power. At the moment, solar PV systems offer attractive returns on investment, thanks to high retail electricity prices and low system installation prices.
More sunshine means more up-front Federal Government Solar Rebates
The amount of the Solar Rebate depends on a number of factors. Under the Federal Government’s Solar Credit Scheme, households are awarded a greater or smaller number of Renwable Energy Certificates (RECs, also known as Small-scale Technology Certificates), depending on their location (the discount is higher in sunnier areas), the size of the system that they install, and the going REC price. This discount is automatically applied to the cost of installing your system – you can read about how much this discount is typically worth in our monthly Solar PV Price Index articles.
Selling your solar electricity into the grid vs ‘self-consumption’
The reduction of Queensland’s 44c per kilowatt-hour Solar Bonus Scheme feed-in tariff rate to 8c/kWh has left many a Queensland resident asking themselves if solar panels are still worth the investment. Fortunately, the changing economic dynamics of solar power (mainly that system installation prices are down while electricity rates are up) mean that they are indeed still worth it–for the right homes and businesses.
Which homes and businesses are those? Those which can utilise the solar power as their systems produce it–i.e. during the daytime. By using the solar power themselves, Sunshine Coast solar system owners avoid having to purchase expensive power from the grid. Electricity from solar systems automatically flows into the home/businesses where it is located first, and any excess is exported to the grid. While a system owner might save upwards of 25c/kWh by using their solar power, export will net them only 8c/kWh- so the key to getting the most out of a system is maximising ‘self-consumption’ of solar power.
How can I find the best deal on Solar Power in the Sunshine Coast?
Solar Choice, as Australia’s free Solar Energy Brokering and advice service, connects solar PV customers with installers who service their area. We provide comprehensive quote comparisons of solar power installations throughout the country–including in the Sunshine Coast. With a bird’s eye view of the solar power market, Solar Choice is uniquely poised to identify the best deals on offer and facilitate our customers to find the solar system that best suits their needs and budget. Request a Solar Quote Comparison today by filling out the form to the right of this page, or call us on 1300 78 72 73.
(Top image via Wikipedia)
He is now the communications manager for energy technology startup SwitchDin, but remains an occasional contributor to the Solar Choice blog.
James lives in Newcastle in a house with a weird solar system.
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For Nambour QLD, what tilt angle do you recommend for evacuated tube SHW to optimise the maximum number of days with sufficient solar gain in Winter and, at the same time, to reduce overheating problems in Summer?
Hi Pauline,
We’d recommend contacting a SHW specialist with your question – we deal in solar PV and cannot advise with confidence. Best of luck!