The Swiss-engineered Solar Impulse is set to make its first international flight on 2 May 2011 (yesterday in Australia as of the time of this writing, but today in Switzerland!) […]
Oversizing your solar PV system’s inverter for future array expansion
Some households and businesses, when considering whether to install a solar power system, are tempted to oversize their inverter with the idea of later expanding their solar panel array to […]
Photovoltaic and Solarthermal hybrid technology: MIT and Boston College
Researchers at Boston College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have produced a single technology that accomplishes what is currently only accomplished with two separate units: thermoelectric and photovoltaic […]
Solar Power comes to a Broome resort: Bali Hai
Bali Hai is a luxury resort in Broome, WA for whom Solar Choice recently tendered an agreement for a 55kW solar photovoltaic array installation. […]
Performance-based RECs
The photovoltaics industry in Australia has recently been subject to two notably destabilising policy issues: on the federal level, falling REC prices, and on the NSW state level, the axing […]
Solar Panels and trees: both share an affinity for the sun…
The Solar Choice blog is full of good advice. We have written about how to orient your solar panels, how to determine what size system you’ll need, how much you […]
NSW Government suspends Solar Bonus (feed-in tariff) Scheme
Energy Minister Chris Hartcher announced this afternoon that the NSW government, facing a budget deficit, has put the Solar Bonus Scheme on ice as of midnight 28 April 2011 due to fears […]
Solar power in USA: the current state of play
People often wonder why the United States, the largest economy in the world and a nation world-renowned as a technology and research powerhouse, is not the global front-runner in the […]
West Australia’s first 100% renewable-powered mine: Wind and Solar
Lithium producer Galaxy Resources is planning to be operating West Australia’s first mine powered by 100% renewable energy within 3 years. The mine is already partially powered by solar panels […]
Solar 2: New York City’s solar-powered education centre
New York city will soon have its first-ever net-zero energy, carbon-neutral building, to replace its current environmental education centre, Solar 1. The new building is to be rather cleverly named […]
RECs, STCs: The need for price stability (SMH)
The solar power industry is looking to the Federal government to provide some assurance over the price of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), known as Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) for smaller, […]
3kW solar power system donated to Melbourne Citymission for Clean Energy Week
The Clean Energy Council National Conference has combined with the annual ATRAA (Appropriate Technology Retailers of Australia) conference for the first ever ‘Clean Energy Week’, a conference for Australia’s clean […]
MIT produces glass-like solar photovoltaic cells
A potentially major breakthrough for the future of solar photovoltaic power has been achieved at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): organic solar cells that are transparent for visible light, […]
Best solar power system deals Dubbo & Central West NSW
Central West NSW is one of the most sunshine-blessed regions of Australia and the world, and is an excellent place to for homes and businesses to install solar panels to […]
NSW electricity prices to rise by up to 18.1% by July 2011–IPART
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has recommended that the price of electricity in NSW increase by between 16.4% and 18.1%. Changes will come into effect from 1 July, […]
Major commercial solar power project planned for Queensland
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced plans for a massive commercial-scale solar power for Australia’s Sunshine State. 44MW of supplementary solar power will be added on to a preexisting coal-fired Kogan […]
Flexible Thin-film Solar photovoltaics
In a previous Solar Choice blog entry, Prateek Chourdia wrote about some emerging trends in the future of photovoltaic solar technology, including thin-film solar power. This entry will summarise some […]
How to install a solar panel mounting system on your roof
For most people who decide to mount solar panels on their roof, a mounting system is necessary. This short entry explains the basics of what needs to be taken into […]
What is grid parity and what does it mean for solar power?
Grid parity is often described as the holy grail for solar photovoltaics (solar PV or solar power) and other forms of renewable power generation. What is it, exactly? Grid parity […]
Solar-powered carports
The number of small, simple ways to put solar power to use in daily life seems virtually endless, and opportunities present themselves at every corner. Solar carports are one innovative […]
ACT Solar Feed-in Tariff to remain unchanged at $0.457/kWh
ACT residents who install solar power systems for the 2011-2012 financial year can expect the same generous feed-in tariff rate for systems classified as ‘small’ (read: residential) that was offered […]
BIPV: Building-integrated Photovoltaics, the future of PV
Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) is exactly what the name indicates: solar power generation modules that are integrated directly into a building in the place of ordinary building materials. BIPV differs in […]
Renewable Energy: Charging Electric Vehicles
How will the transportation of the future reduce its reliance on fossil fuels? Despite all its advantages, one of the biggest disadvantages of photovoltaics (PV or solar power), and most […]
Purchasing Green Energy vs Feed-in Tariffs for Solar Power
If you are environmentally-minded, you may have asked yourself at some point whether it is a better idea to install solar power on your roof (referred to as ‘micro-generation’) or […]
Stand-alone solar power to be set-up in Japan refugee centres
As part of the relief effort for the 11 March 2011 Northeastern Japan earthquake and tsunami, Sharp and Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery are planning to assemble and provide 250 solar power […]
Troubleshooting your grid-connected solar power system
On our blog we often receive comments from people who have installed solar power systems but, for some reason or other, are not seeing the optimal or anticipated performance from […]
Ever-improving PV technology dilemma: Should I wait to buy my solar array?
You are thinking about getting a solar PV system for your home, and in your research have come to understand what the major considerations are: your electricity demand and how […]
Ground-screws for ground-mounted solar power systems
Ground-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are ideal for those who have space to spare on their property. The are becoming increasingly common. In fact, there is a movement to recruit […]
Solar Credit (REC) Multiplier to reduce from 5x to 4x from 1 July 2011
(Update: The information in this article is now out of date: according to an announcement by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, the REC multiplier is set to […]
How will a carbon price affect the solar power market?
As you may have heard, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has recently proclaimed her government’s intention to put a price on carbon dioxide pollution by July 2012. Although at this point […]
Asbestos in my roof! Can I install solar panels?
You are now mentally and financially prepared and willing to go ahead with a solar panel (photovoltaic) installation on the roof of your home. The only problem is, after having […]
