From the category archives:

Commercial-scale solar

The Economics of Solar Farms in Queensland

May 8, 2012
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A growing number of residents of rural Queensland residents are considering adding commercial-scale solar power farming to their portfolio of revenue streams. The primary benefit that solar farms afford their owners is an income source or money-saving facility that does not require continuing annual inputs, as other farming activities may. Blog this! Digg this post [...]

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The economics of commercial-scale solar power farming in NSW 10kW, 50kW and beyond

April 30, 2012
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A growing number of residents of rural NSW residents are considering adding commercial-scale solar power farming to their portfolio of revenue streams. The primary benefit that solar farms afford their owners is an income source or money-saving facility that does not require continuing annual inputs, as other farming activities may. Blog this! Digg this post [...]

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Solar panel installation begins on WA’s Greenough River Solar Farm

April 17, 2012
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With above-ground electrical work complete and solar panel installation now underway, a major milestone has been reached in the construction process for Western Australia’s Greenough River Solar Farm, outside Geralton. Once completed, the farm, at 10 megawatts (MW), will be Australia’s largest solar PV installation. Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on [...]

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49 solar project bids for ACT large-scale Feed-in Tariff

April 16, 2012
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Well on track to fulfill its goal of becoming Australia’s solar capital, the ACT government has accepted a wide range of solar project proposals for its large-scale feed-in tariff, which will support at least 2 projects of a cumulative total of 40 megawatts of electricity. Of the 49 bids received by the ACT government, 27 [...]

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Concentrating Solar Power Alliance formed in US

March 8, 2012
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Three companies have come together to form an organisation to promote the acceptance, adoption, and implementation of concentrating solar power (CSP) in the USA. The new industry peak body is known as the Concentrating Solar Power Alliance (CSPA), and is composed of the CSP project development firms Abergoa, Brightsource Energy, and Torresol Energy. Blog this! Digg [...]

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Desertec: Solar Power from the Sahara to Germany

February 24, 2012
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A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald analyses German’s plans to pipe solar power from the Sahara Desert across the Mediterranean, and into its electricity grid. The project, known as Desertec, is on the concept level simple, but on the technical, economic, and political levels, fraught with potential risks. Desertec is an interesting foil [...]

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100% Renewable Energy: Campaigning for large-scale solar power in 2012

February 22, 2012
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Since 2010, 100% Renewable Energy has been working to build up grassroots capacity to effectively campaign for a complete transition to clean energy in Australia. Galvanised into action by the lack of leadership in the upper levels of government, founder Lindsay Soutar started the organisation with the intention of educating and empowering local communities to effect [...]

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Construction on Silex Solar Systems concentrating PV demo plant underway, PV production resumes

February 22, 2012
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Australia’s Silex Systems has announced both that construction on its Mildura, Victoria concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) demonstration plant, and also that subsidiary SilexSolar will resume production of solar panels at its Sydney plant. The first stage of the demo plant’s construction will be completed by the end of 2012 with an installed capacity of 2 megawatts [...]

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What the Solar Flagships trouble means for large-scale solar

February 14, 2012
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The Solar Flagships program has been receiving a lot of media attention recently for the failure of the program’s two winning applicants to meet the deadline for funding requirements. The 250MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Chinchilla, Queensland has managed to have this deadline extended, while the Moree Solar Farm, a 150MW solar PV [...]

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Solar Choice Kununurra, WA Solar Community

January 24, 2012
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Solar Choice is running a Solar Community around Kununurra, in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. In addition to Kununurra, the community also encompasses Lake Argyle and Wyndham, WA. Residents of the region are encouraged to take advantage of a special bulk discount rate on solar power systems by putting forward the local community’s collective bargaining [...]

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NSW’s Renewable Energy Precincts project

December 9, 2011
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The New South Wales government is undertaking a project to explore avenues to strategically encourage the uptake of sources of renewable energy in order to meet the state’s 2020 deadline of 20% energy sourced from renewables under its Renewable Energy Plan. One such project is its Renewable Energy Precincts project, which has established 6 zones [...]

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Solar Farms in New South Wales

November 23, 2011
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With the cost of solar systems at an all-time low and the price of electricity rising, a growing number of rural NSW residents are looking at large-scale solar power as a way to offset their electricity costs. Solar Choice has assisted thousands of people in New South Wales in finding the solar PV system best [...]

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Construction begins on Australia’s largest solar farm

November 22, 2011

Construction began on Australia’s first and largest solar farm in Western Australia on 4 November. The Greenough River Solar Farm is a utility-scale generation plant, meaning that it produces enough electricity to feed into the electricity grid and contribute to base-load power. Unlike the more numerous medium- to large-scale rooftop solar PV installations already in [...]

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Solar Choice announces new Commercial Solar PV Finance Package

November 2, 2011

Solar Choice Commercial has announced an innovative and unique financing package for customers looking to develop large-scale commercial solar PV projects across Australia. The Commercial Solar Finance package will be a strong stimulus for the Australian commercial market, and is available to Australia’s solar PV industry at large, for projects sourced directly by installers/manufacturers as well [...]

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‘Solar Energy Zones’ announced for US desert regions

October 31, 2011
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In a proactive policy move, the US government’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released maps of areas that have already passed most or all requisite environmental and cultural conditions for development of large-scale, commercial solar power installations. Once the policy is in place, it will streamline the process of finding a location for commercial [...]

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SunPower Solar Panels: The world-leader in efficiency

October 6, 2011
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The world record for solar panel efficiency goes to SunPower‘s solar panels: 24% cell efficiency (sunlight  –> usable electricity in laboratory conditions) and 19.6% conversion efficiency (sunlight –> usable electricity in real-life conditions) with the SunPower E19 / 320W solar modules. SunPower prides itself in its hard-earned reputation for world-leading technology and excellent customer service. [...]

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Solar Choice Commercial Tenders Manager Iain McGregor Swims English Channel

August 22, 2011
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Word has just come in that Commercial Solar Tenders Manager Iain McGregor successfully crossed the English Channel on 20 August 2011–propelled only by his own arms and legs. In the end, the swim took 15 hours and 14 minutes, falling within the 12-16 hour time range that was initially anticipated. “All I can say is that [...]

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Solyndra Solar Tubes: Installations growing in Australia

August 12, 2011
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Solyndra solar tube technology has been widely praised as one of the most innovative approaches to solar electricity generation in the world. Solyndra modules utilise ordinarily lower-efficiency (compared to mono- and poly-crystalline silicon) thin-film CIGS photovoltaics technology in an ingenious configuration that enables higher module efficiencies, and simplifies and reduces the cost of array installation. [...]

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ACT Solar Feed in Tariff Reopened to Small-scale systems

July 4, 2011
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Australian Capital Territory households and small businesses have been given another chance to tap into the territory government’s ACT Solar Feed-in Tariff scheme. The ACT small-scale (‘micro-generator’) Feed-in Tariff scheme, for systems 30kW or smaller, closed at the beginning of June 2011 after it hit its 15-megawatt cap.  However, small-scale systems will now be eligible for a 30.16c/kWh Feed-in [...]

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Solar Flagship Program Winners: Moree Solar Farm, Chinchilla CSP plant

June 22, 2011
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The Federal Government has announced the recipients for funding from Round 1 of the Solar Flagships Program. Moree Solar Farm in NSW’s Central Tablelands is a 150MW photovoltaic installation, and the Solar Dawn consortium is planning to build a 250MW hybrid gas/concentrating solar power plant in Chinchilla, Queensland. Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on [...]

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80kW commercial-scale solar roof in WA

June 8, 2011
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    A massive rooftop solar power project developed and managed by Solar Choice has recently been completed in Derby, Western Australia. The owner of the shed is a WA businessman who recognised the long-term investment value of a this commercial-scale solar project, especially in the face of expected rising electricity prices nation-wide. Blog this! Digg this [...]

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