Plans for a 100MW solar and battery project in South Australia’s Clare Valley have been submitted for development approval by FRV Services Australia. The proposed Chaff Mill Solar Farm would […]
Rooftop Solar contributes 64% of SA’s demand at intraday peak
The Australian Energy Market Operator says South Australia’s push towards “net 100 per cent renewables” is accelerating rather than slowing down, with the 2018/19 contribution of wind and solar providing […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – December 2019
Average residential solar system prices have slightly increased to $1.08 per watt ($/W) this month on the back of several factors, including changes to the composition of the Solar Choice […]
UK Solar Farm’s assets help balance grid at night in innovative trial
Renewable energy developer Lightsource BP has found a way to put its solar assets work when the sun isn’t shining, in a trial with with Britain’s electricity network operator. The […]
Macquarie joins other major banks with RE100 pledge
Australian investment bank Macquarie Group has become the latest company to officially join the global RE100 initiative, with a pledge to procure all of its electricity from renewable sources by […]
S.A. Hotel Booyoolee Brew installs 20kW Solar System
The Booyoolee Brew is a café and hotel located at 5 Port St in Gladstone, SA. The new owners of the hotel have made some improvements to the pub and […]
Commercial Solar PV Price Index for November 2019
With heavy activity in Victoria and shifts in solar technology to half cut solar modules, price updates from several companies have resulted in a slight downwards shift in average dollar […]
South Australia’s Tesla big battery to add 50MW/65MWh
Plans to give South Australia’s Tesla big battery a 50 per cent boost in capacity have been confirmed by renewables developer Neoen, in a bid to expand the grid services […]
Wollongong Uni develops breakthrough sodium-sulphur battery tech
A breakthrough in sodium-sulfur battery technology could see it emerge as an attractive option for large-scale energy storage, according to new research published in the journal Nature Communications. University of Wollongong […]
Residential Solar PV Price Index – November 2019
Average residential solar system prices have slightly increased to $1.06 per watt ($/W) this month on the back of several factors, including changes to the composition of the Solar Choice […]
Sizing residential solar & battery systems: A quick guide
What size solar panel array do you need for your home? And if you’re considering battery storage, what size battery bank would be most appropriate? This article includes tables that […]
Renewables sector slams AEMC’s network pricing submission
The renewable energy industry has called on the Australian Energy Market Commission to ‘Do Something” about getting crucial new grid investment built, rather than relying on complex market theory and […]
AEMC says electricity markets need to think more like AirBnB
The emergence of distributed digital technologies means electricity markets will have to think along the lines of digital marketplaces like Airbnb or eBay, a new report from the Australian Energy […]
Renewables driven S.A. records lowest power prices on NEM
Australian Energy Market Operator data has shown that the renewable energy-rich state of South Australia recorded the lowest wholesale power prices in Australia’s main grid in October, a month when […]
Environmental Upgrade Finance – Sustainable Australia Fund – Explained
Established in 2002 and initially called the Sustainable Melbourne Fund, the City of Melbourne developed the fund to finance sustainable initiatives undertaken by buildings in the council district. Expanding to […]
Tailem Bend Solar Farm turned off 18 days last month with negative pricing
While Australia reached an important renewable energy milestone on Wednesday of providing 50 per cent of the main grid’s demand for the first time, not all large-scale solar power generators are enjoying […]
Commercial solar finance: Cash, loan, PPA or operating lease?
Commercial Solar Financing options It’s a common misconception that a commercial solar system comes with a large upfront cost. For an attractive solar project the loan repayments will be lower than […]
Australia’s main grid reaches 50% renewables… already!
Wednesday 6th of November will be remembered as a landmark day in Australia’s energy history as 50.2% of the electrons flowing on the main grid for a measured 10 minute […]
NSW to benefit from 400MWh of large-scale batteries
Major Australian gen-tailer AGL Energy will join forces with renewables developer Maoneng to roll out four large-scale batteries of 50MW/100MWh each in NSW, in a deal that heralds the arrival […]
AGL suggests EVs will drive a 20 fold increase in battery storage
Major Australian energy generator and retailer AGL has signalled a new focus on the “shared economy” in electricity and transport, with the prediction that electric vehicle uptake will drive a […]
Battery Storage Price Index – November 2019
Solar Choice has previously been publishing average solar PV system prices on a monthly basis since August 2012 in our Solar PV Price Index, which focused on household solar prices […]
Home Energy Management Systems – a smart way to save?
Knowing what solar system is best for you and your home comes down to a multitude of factors, examples being; your energy consumption, when and how you consume energy, your […]
Simply Energy’s VPP offers customers up to $216 p.m.
Simply Energy’s virtual power plant in Adelaide, South Australia is offering some of the most generous terms to customers to participate in their trial. The VPP offers customers up to […]
Trina’s new technology focused at Solar Farm market
Trina Solar, one of the leading solar panel suppliers of Australia’s booming residential PV market, is shifting its focus to big solar, with a new integrated utility-scale solution called […]
Smelter closure could cause Vic energy price spike
US aluminium giant Alcoa has flagged asset sales of around $1 billion, fanning fears that its huge smelter in Portland in Victoria may close, a victim of the global […]
100kW solar PV systems: Compare prices and installer options
100kW solar systems are among the most popular commercial solar system sizes in Australia, as this size is the cutoff point for up-front incentives through the federal government (larger systems […]
Western Power to take customers Off Grid
What does the “distributed” and “democratised” future of electricity look like? And how will the transition unfold given the huge sums of money already invested in the status quo? […]
National Parks Association slams Snowy Hydro 2.0
A new report has prompted calls to scrap the Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project, after revealing that both financial costs and environmental impacts have been vastly under-estimated in the […]
Solar power in Darwin, NT – Compare prices & installers
Darwin is one of Australia’s northernmost cities, and its location in the sunny tropics makes it one of the best places in Australia to install a solar PV system. The 1-for-1 […]
Queensland celebrates milestone – 4GW of solar
Queensland’s Labor government says it is on track to meet its 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030, thanks largely to a booming solar market that last week celebrated […]
Townesville Gigafactory Proposed to Cost $3 billion
A battery “gigafactory” proposed for the north Queensland city of Townsville is expected to cost around $3 billion to build, according to its developers Magnis Energy Technologies, and will […]
