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NSW

NSW solar feed-in tariff rates to drop from 1 July 2018: What does it all mean?

May 9, 2018

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NSW’s regulator IPART has released its draft report for its recommendations for the state’s benchmark solar feed-in tariff range, to come into effect from 1 July 2018. The recommended ‘flat’ or ‘anytime’ feed-in rate will drop significantly from the current 11-15c/kWh down to 7.5c/kWh. Meanwhile, loosely following suit with Victoria, IPART has also made recommendations […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for May 2018

May 3, 2018

Commercial solar system prices continue their (very) gradual decline, according to pricing data from Solar Choice’s network of installers. The average indexed price continues to sit at around $1.16/W – down from about $1.23/W a year ago. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) All prices in the tables below include incentives available through the federal Renewable […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – May 2018

May 3, 2018

Average residential solar system prices continue to sit at about $1.35 per watt ($/W) for the second month in a row, despite a number of pricing updates from installers in the network across the country. A basic 5kW solar system – one of the most popular sizes – costs just under $5,700 on average, while ‘premium’ and […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for April 2018

April 23, 2018

Average commercial solar system prices continue to sit at about $1.17/W for the second month in a row, according to data from the Solar Choice installer network database. 100kW and 70kW system prices come in at around $1.10/W nationally, while 10kW & 30kW are between $1.20-$1.30/W. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) All prices in the […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – April 2018

April 12, 2018

Average solar system prices again fell slightly between March and April, down to about $1.35 per watt, the lowest we’ve seen since the beginning of the year, but not as low as the record of $1.30/W set in December of 2017. For April 2018, 5kW systems are coming in at about $5,700 out-of-pocket on average for […]

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Regulator to suggest reductions to NSW feed-in tariff

March 22, 2018

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Solar households in New South Wales look set to be penalised for the lower electricity prices their rooftop PV has helped to deliver, with the state’s pricing regulator proposing a cut to the feed-in tariff by around 3c/kWh. In an issues paper published this week, NSW’s Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal flagged plans to cut […]

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15kW solar systems: A great size for homes & businesses (if you can fit one on your roof)

March 20, 2018

15kW solar systems are a great system size for homes with high levels of energy consumption or businesses with small to middling energy needs – provided that they have sufficient roof space to install one. This article takes you through (almost) everything you might want to know about 15kW solar systems, including how much space […]

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Our presentation to Ku-ring-gai Council

March 19, 2018

On Wednesday 14 March, James gave a presentation to about 60 residents of Ku-ring-gai Council in Sydney. Anyone who is interested can view the slides from the presentation here. Ku-ring-gai Council has a progressive and ambitious environmental agenda, with an ‘environment levy’ that allows the council to undertake a range of sustainability-focussed projects – including […]

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Powershop to pay battery owners under new Grid Impact plan. What’s the go?

March 15, 2018

Electricity retailer Powershop and battery control technology developer Reposit Power have come together to offer a first-of-kind product to battery storage system owners in Australia. Anyone with a (Reposit-equipped) battery storage system living in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland can sign up for the program (called Grid Impact) to become part of a massive, […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – March 2018

March 14, 2018

Average solar system prices dipped slightly between February and March 2018 – coming in at about $1.38 per watt as opposed to $1.40/W last month – according to the most recent data from Solar Choice’s installer network database. While average prices decreased for most capital cities, Sydney and Canberra saw slight increases, due in part to changes […]

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Payback periods for commercial-scale solar PV systems: State by state

February 20, 2018

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There has never been a better time for Australian businesses to invest in commercial solar power. Last year Solar Choice analysed electricity bills & meter data to generate free indicative solar business cases for nearly 300 businesses, ranging from schools to farms to shopping centres to car dealerships to strata units to doctors’ surgeries (to […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for February 2018

February 19, 2018

Average commercial solar system prices continue to hover at around $1.17 per watt ($1.17/W) for systems between 10kW and 100kW that we track in our monthly index. Please note that we will soon be publishing general information about pricing for systems above this threshold (i.e. LGC projects greater than 100kW) in the near future. Commercial […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – February 2018

February 14, 2018

Average solar system prices (on ‘primary’ offerings) have slipped slightly upwards since the beginning of the year, coming in at around $1.40/W – as opposed to about $1.30/W in December – due primarily to increased prices in Hobart & Melbourne. Average pricing for ‘premium’ and ‘microinverter’ systems, meanwhile, has dropped to $1.49/W and $1.80/W, respectively. Average solar […]

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Solar power in Sydney, NSW: Compare prices & installers

February 12, 2018

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Sydney is a great place for solar power, and roughly 10-15% of Sydney area homes have solar panels installed on their roofs. This article is 5-point guide to everything you need to know if you’re considering solar power for your Sydney home – including how Solar Choice can help you compare quotes. This article is mostly about […]

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Solar battery storage in Sydney: Know your options

January 30, 2018

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Solar battery storage is becoming an increasingly attractive and viable option for homes in Sydney, NSW. This article examines the different situations in which someone living in Sydney may consider installing home solar batteries, and give a detailed list of options for each of these situations. Getting educated about battery storage in Sydney Solar Choice has […]

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What are the best cities for home solar battery storage? (January 2018 update)

January 24, 2018

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Having just published an article on the state of Australia’s battery storage market at the beginning of 2018 (recently updated), we decided we would endeavour to shed a bit more light on payback period differences between each capital city. Which cities have the best conditions for home solar battery storage? We’ve ranked them below (with an […]

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Is home solar battery storage worth it? (Jan 2018 update)

January 18, 2018

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Since 2015 Australians have been talking about home battery storage being on the cusp of financial viability. Are home batteries worth the investment in 2018? We’ve crunched the number for all of Australia’s capital cities to find out. This article was originally published in February 2017. We then had an August 2017 update, followed by […]

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Is home solar power still worth it in Australia in 2018?

January 11, 2018

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Rooftop solar on its own is already affordable enough to be a smart choice for virtually any Australian home with an unshaded roof and some daytime electricity usage. This is true even in the absence of generous, state-backed solar feed-in tariffs and the (slight) reduction of the up-front incentive for solar available through the federal Renewable […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for January 2018

January 10, 2018

Slight decreases in most capital cities and across most system sizes resulted in an overall average commercial solar system price of about $1.17/W – the lowest on record since Solar Choice began keeping track of commercial solar system prices in May 2014. Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) All prices in the tables below include incentives […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for December 2017

December 12, 2017

This month’s Commercial Solar PV Price Index sees the introduction of 70kW solar systems for the first time (a long overdue addition). The average cost of installing a commercial solar system in Australia currently sits at around $1.19 per watt ($1.19/W) – nominally less than last month‘s figure of $1.20/W and a modest improvement over […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – December 2017

December 12, 2017

The average price per watt ($/W) for primary offerings was $1.30 this month – down slightly from November and a new low since we began tracking prices in 2012. The average for a premium system was $1.54/W, while the average for a microinverter system was $1.86/W. December marks the second month using our new Solar […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for November 2017

November 29, 2017

Average commercial solar system prices remain at about $1.20 per watt (after STC incentive and GST are applied) for the month of November, according to data from the Solar Choice network. While the larger system sizes (30kW, 50kW, 100kW) remained mostly unchanged, average prices for 10kW systems dropped slightly – from $1.34/W last month to $1.30/W this […]

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Inaugural Manly Solar Beach Hub Drinks

November 22, 2017

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On Thursday 16 November Solar Choice held its inaugural Manly Solar Beach Hub Drinks on our ‘board room’ balcony overlooking Manly Wharf and Harbour. The get together was an enjoyable gathering of northern beaches based industry characters and businesses, with over fifty attendees during the evening to celebrate Manly’s ever-expanding solar energy precinct – and […]

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Solar power in Lismore, NSW: Compare prices & installers

November 20, 2017

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If you haven’t already realised it, Lismore NSW is a great spot for solar power. As with the rest of the state, solar power is affordable and electricity prices are high, making solar panels a ‘no brainer’ investment for anyone who has the budget and some unshaded roof space. This article covers the main things […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – November 2017

November 7, 2017

We’ve introduced some major improvements to this month’s Solar PV Price Index. Namely: We’ve added 7kW solar systems to all tables We’ve included in new tables & data for ‘premium’ and ‘microinverter’ system offerings We’ve drawn clearer distinctions between ‘primary’, ‘premium’ and ‘microinverter’ pricing We’ve dropped 1.5kW systems from our data tracking (because so few […]

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How much money can you save on power bills with a Tesla Powerwall 2?

October 26, 2017

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Previously we’ve looked at the question of payback periods for home battery systems such as Tesla’s Powerwall 2, LG Chem’s RESU and Alpha ESS’s Storion Eco. These articles focused primarily on the investment case for installing a battery bank (usually with a 5kW solar system) and looked at meaningful numbers like ‘payback period’ and ‘internal […]

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Commercial Solar PV Price Index for October 2017

October 26, 2017

Average commercial solar system prices stay steady at about $1.20 per watt for the month of October. The average price of a 100kW system comes in at about $1.10 per watt – or about $110,000 for a fully installed system (after STC incentive and GST are applied). Commercial solar system prices (10kW-100kW) All prices in […]

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Residential Solar PV Price Index – October 2017

October 17, 2017

Average solar system prices hold stable for the third month in a row, with the average price per watt ($/W) for an residential solar system installation coming in at about $1.44/W. The most popular and best value solar system size is still 5kW, costing about $1.14/W or $5,700 for a fully installed system. (Due to […]

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What if you sent all of your solar into the grid? Is it worth it?

September 29, 2017

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If you’ve got solar, the way to maximise your electricity bill savings these days is to use your solar energy directly within your home (or business). From an investment point of view, the conventional wisdom is that the worst thing you could do with the solar energy that your roof produces is to send it […]

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Our presentation to Ryde City Council (NSW) about solar & batteries

September 21, 2017

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A couple of months ago I was invited by the local council of Ryde, NSW to give a presentation about the state of the market for solar & batteries in Australia. Ryde City Council has some great sustainability initiatives, including a free Home Waste & Sustainability Advisory Service, which includes a home audit for people […]

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Australia now has over 6 gigawatts (!) of small-scale solar after record August

September 14, 2017

Without googling the answer, do you know what the capacity of the largest conventional power plant in Australia is? I couldn’t, so I did google it – and now I can tell you that the answer is 3.25 gigawatts (GW). Unsurprisingly, it’s a coal plant: The Loy Yang Power Station in southeastern Victoria. Loy Yang […]

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