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"Rooftop solar winners and losers, Published 9:35 AM, 6 May 2011 * Tags Australia, photovoltaics, rooftop solar, solar credits, solar PV, SRECs, Smart Energy - Giles Parkinson"

"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."

"The fundamental transformation of energy markets brought about by the growing incursions of renewables such as wind and solar has been underlined in a new report by the European energy analysts at Macquarie Group, who have concluded that the plunge in costs for rooftop solar PV has fallen to such an extent that its continued rapid deployment may be unstoppable."

"By Giles Parkinson on 20 April 2012 California-based Sungevity is set to become the first solar company in Australia to offer zero-cost rooftop solar, teaming up with local company Nickel Energy to offer pay-as-you-go leasing deals that have proved enormously popular in the US."

"By Giles Parkinson on 14 August 2012 Demand management has finally entered the political lexicon, as politicians to the left and the right realise that a 20-lane wide power grid has been built to service our energy demands, when one half that size might just as easily fit the bill."

"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."

"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.

"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?"

"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."

"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."

""Solar-powered households face higher fees to use grid" read this weeks headline in The Australian. "Australia's one million households with rooftop solar photovoltaic panels face the prospect of higher charges to use the poles and wires that distribute electricity" it went on. The AEMC will be making recommendations to our Federal and State Governments. But we know what can move these governments - the voice of the people. Together, we can tell our governments to get behind solar - not penalise it. Show that you won't stand for a tax on the sun by signing our petition below."

"These maps are based on data from the Clean Energy Regulator, the Australian Government agency tasked with the administration of the Renewable Energy Target. For each postcode and local government area, the map shows the estimated percentage of dwellings that have a PV system and the total photovoltaic capacity installed. Most of the PV systems in Australia are small-scale rooftop installations; however there are a number of larger-scale PV power stations with a capacity of more than 100 kW. These power stations are indicated by individual markers. Live performance data is available for systems in the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs, and at the University of Queensland."

"A    DANDENONG South steel manufacturer's rooftop is attracting international attention. Hilton Manufacturing ­recently switched on the largest array of sun-tracking solar panels on a factory roof in the southern hemisphere. This month the site will host delegations from Taiwan and India, keen to learn more about the technology. Project manager Jacques Esper said the business would draw about 25 per cent of its power from the 340 solar panels arranged on top of the 15,000sq m factory, which had become a showpiece."