Group items tagged

"This is a new installation of almost three-quarters of a million (749,088 to be exact) solar panels, which was completed just last week in San Luis Obispo County at the California Valley Solar Ranch. The massive solar panel project is a 250 megawatt facility, which is the equivalent of around 50,000 home solar systems."

"Okay, sure, not literally every 4 minutes. However, solar systems are now being installed at the rate of 360 solar systems per day, according to GTM Research. That's 1 every 4 minutes if you average it out over a 24 hour day. Really, it's more than that because, I assume, most solar systems aren't being installed outside of normal working hours."

"Australia's solar landmark Australian solar is celebrating a major milestone, with one million households now equipped with solar PV systems. By the end of 2008 we had less than 20,000 systems installed, illustrating the rapid proliferation of solar across the country. Since then the number of systems installed by year has surged ahead, with 63,378 installations in 2009, 196,308 in 2010, 335,067 in 2011 and 322,447 last year."

"The "sunburnt country" of Australia has now passed the milestone of having a substantial 3 gigawatts of solar power installed, RenewEconomy has reported. That amounts to over 1.1 million (1,157,000) solar systems installed nationwide, on 14% of all dwellings. In the state of South Australia, 25% of households have solar installed. In the very sunny northern state of Queensland, solar has reached the 1 gigawatt mark, which amounts to 22% of dwellings."

"Australia's largest concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power plant was officially opened today, with the Victorian energy minister joining executives from the plant's developer, Solar Systems, to cut the ribbon on the 1.5MW demonstration facility in Mildura. The demonstration of the "dense array" solar technology of parent company Silex Systems is a fore-runner for what is expected to be a 100MW power plant, with construction slated to begin in 2014. Another 1MW demonstration plant is being built in Saudi Arabia, with hopes of further development as that country pushes into the start of a $100 billion solar spending program"

"New figures from the Clean Energy Regulator show Hoppers Crossing, followed by Werribee and Cranbourne, are the top three suburbs by solar kilowatt capacity installed. The latest data debunks the widely circulating myth that solar power is a feel-good hobby for wealthy environmentalists. Advertisement And a new report by Roy Morgan Research shows that home solar is continuing to grow in popularity, despite cuts to incentives such as the feed-in tariff for selling solar-generated electricity back to the grid."

"Protect the rights of millions of Australians with solar to cut bills, create clean power and take energy generation back into our own hands."

Solar Citizens is a new community project to bring together existing and future solar owners to ensure the rights of solar owners are protected and to help see Australia put a panel on every rooftop.

"A team of researchers at Michigan State University has developed a new type of solar concentrator that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing people to actually see through the window. It is called a transparent luminescent solar concentrator and can be used on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a clear surface. And, according to Richard Lunt of MSU's College of Engineering, the key word is "transparent.""

"The City of Sydney is embarking on the construction of Australia's largest rooftop solar installation, following an announcement of a plan to install a 1,250KWp (kilowatt peak) solar photovoltaic system across 30 rooftop sites within the Sydney city boundary."

"If you think solar power is a good investment, you're hardly alone. Solar panels will generate close to 10 per cent of the nation's daytime electricity this summer. In South Australia, it will reach 30 per cent. In all, 1.15 million Australian homes and businesses have installed solar electricity systems and demand is growing."

"Here's a bright idea: what if, instead of paying for solar panels to keep your electricity bills down, you asked a solar company to put them on your roof for free, then paid them back with excess energy that you didn't need? Well, it's already happening. Solar panel installation with no upfront payments, paid off over several years from the money saved out of your power bills, began in Australia almost two years ago. In a few years, it is likely that companies will be competing with each other to pay you for the privilege of using your roof to generate electricity for your home."

ARENA is pleased today to highlight a new solar map website, which tracks the contribution of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Australia's energy mix and provides a guide to the location and capacity of PV installations across the country.

"Earlier this year, the 1 millionth Australian household - about one in nine across the country - installed solar photovoltaic panels. There are half a million with solar hot water services too. The process doesn't always go as expected, for reasons both practical and political: rebates and feed-in tariffs have been in flux in every state. But now there are so many systems on roofs, solar homeowners are gaining a stronger public voice."

"Now you can skip the long wait for solar to pay for itself and leapfrog straight to lower electricity bills from day 1, and all without any up-front investment. Sungevity Australia is an innovative solar provider that's making clean energy simple and affordable for homeowners across Australia. There's never been a better time to join the Rooftop Revolution."

"Traditionally known for their low cost furniture and sustainable ethos, Swedish furniture giant IKEA has introduced thin-film solar panels to their UK stores in partnership with Hanergy Holding Group Limited."

"Solar is not like other energy sources. Photovoltaic cells are a transformative technology, Alexis Madrigal, The Atlantic's senior technology editor, argues in the short video above. The faster the price of solar energy falls, the more viable it becomes as a source of clean power -- and the sooner we'll see it on roofs across America. Animated by Lindsey Testolin, this clip is part of a six-part video series in The User's Guide to Energy special report. "

"German architect André Broessel of Rawlemon currently living in Barcelona is responsible for the creation of this quite frankly ingenious invention, that reinvigorates and enhances the world of solar technology as we know it."

"Financial services firm Morgan Stanley predicts that up to a million Australian households could adopt home battery storage in the next four years. And, according to the Alternative Technology Association's (ATA) 2015 Household Battery Analysis, grid-connected solar and battery storage systems are likely to become economically attractive for most households by 2020. But there are some situations which may make it a good option before then. We've talked to the experts and combed the research to help you navigate your way into the energy revolution."

"In the US, utilities are now seeking to protect their business models by pushing hard against net metering and seeking to influence the pace and manner of deployment of other technologies and new energy market concept that don't fit the decades old model. In Australia, much the same has been happening. RenewEconomy reported on the concerns of utilities in this article last month. Feed-in-tariffs have been wound back, as they were supposed to have been as technology costs fell, but now the pendulum is swinging the other way, and utilities - with the apparent complicity of state-based pricing regulators - are now trying to extract as much revenue from solar customers as they can."

"How much would you pay to avoid another $250 a year hike in your electricity bill? Does $15 a year sound like too much to reduce that risk?"