Australia passes carbon tax seeking to promote shift to renewables
Solar Power News Sydney – November 8, 2011 The federal parliament of Australia has passed historic carbon tax legislation, including a package of compensation measures for households to assist with the transition to a low carbon economy, such as by employing energy efficiency, wind, and solar power. Speaking on the passing of the legislation, the Gillard Labor government declared a principled victory for a “historic economic reform” today after the upper house of the national parliament -the Senate – eventually voted...
read moreEnergy Efficiency: How nature shows us the way forward
Many of the things we’re doing now, nature has been doing for years. Like solar power – the first solar panels in Sydney were the leaves of trees millions of years ago. Learning from nature is called biomimicry. Now, we’re learning from the behaviour of bees in the wild (so-called independent swarm logic) to control air-conditioning ‘switch-on’ times. Left to their own devices, air-conditioning units, headers and blowers will turn on according to thermostat control – that is, a lot of units will turn on...
read moreEnergy Saving Tip for the Office
Looking to save energy in a Sydney based office? Whilst we’re a solar panel installation company, you can still do a lot that doesn’t cost a cent. We love to provide free tips to the community on saving energy. One such tip is to locate ‘hot items’ such as photocopiers and servers away from thermostats or temperature sensors. These items are common in multi-storey office blocks, and tell the air con system how hot the space is. You’ll recognise these as small boxes on the wall with labels like...
read moreCarbon subsidies: NSW’s great big coal subsidy scandal
The article below discusses the massive (but not entirely obvious) subsidies given to coal energy on the generation side. Giles Parkinson cites figures that show the level of support given to coal far exceeds the cost of the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target(later just Renewable Energy Target (RET)). We’ve kept a mirror copy below, but feel free to follow the link to read it as it originally appears. From Climate Spectator http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/nsws-great-big-coal-subsidy-scandal By Giles Parkinson If there is a...
read more‘Power Station’ Size Solar System in Alice Springs
October 26, 2011 – According to the Australian Photovoltaics Association (APVA), the Alice Springs Solar City project is a working example of how solar can complement an existing utility grid. Now, on sunny winter days the solar installations in Alice Springs are contributing as much as 8% of the electricity needs in the township. Solar Energy continues to build scale across Australia In addition to the large installations at Alice Springs, the following are planned or in action: Moree Solar farm (in process) Liddell Power Station Pre...
read moreSolar Challenge – Winners announced!
Team Tokai from Japan brought some welcome good news home to their countrymen, winning the famous World Solar Challenge yesterday at 1.07pm Darwin time. One of the most celebrated solar vehicle races in the world, the race has previously featured winners from Australia, the US, Canada, and teams from companies such as Honda and GM. The victorious team completed the course in 32 hours and 45 minutes with their car, Tokai Challenger2, smashing through just over 3021 kilometres averaging a speed of 91.54 km/h. Just as many innovations have flowed...
read moreLED light bulb replacement
Greenforce Energy doesn’t yet sell LED lamps but we have been evaluating them – because whilst it is great to use Solar PV, the best solar installers are also efficient users of energy. We’ve been trialling LED downlights and LED compact lamp replacements – because LED lamps have the possibility of saving you half your lighting energy costs whilst helping the planet. The look is very similar to a standard compact fluorescent energy efficient light (12W-15W), and uses half the power (6 watts). The light is more appealing...
read moreVictorian Solar Energy PFIT Reduced
Victoria has reduced the level of its feedin tariff for solar energy to 25c / kilowatt-hour (units of energy). This change is a reasonable measure, in view of the improved economics of solar power. The exchange rate, increasing numbers of panels suppliers, and improved economies of scale have all contributed to the reduced cost base of modern solar systems. Solar still makes great sense in Victoria. Had a system for some time ? Consider a solar system...
read moreConergy finishes UK’s biggest PV park
Conergy has completed a massive five megawatt (MW) PV Solar farm in Hawton, Nottinghamshire. The Hawton solar project is owned and has been developed by Lightsource Renewable Energy Ltd with funding from Octopus Investments. With planning approval received only on May 24, the project was installed in in a record time of just six weeks, owing to a feed-in tariff deadline. The park features Conergy’s flagship German manufactured PowerPlus modules, renowned for quality and performance as result of the highly automated manufacturing...
read moreNSW Solar Rally – Last Chance
The NSW government plans some nasty retrospective changes to the 60c tariff for existing completed projects. A rally is proposed that seeks to highlight the concerns of the 110,000 families affected. Show your support for Solar!NSW Solar Last Chance Rally11:30am Wednesday 18 May, 2011Barnet Long Room: Customs House31 Alfred StreetCircular Quay, Sydney
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