Self Sufficient Homes

$2,476 Solar PV offer with Bonus 2 kW inverter

Mark — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:35:34 +0000

Right now you can get a guaranteed install before the end of June and secure your slice of the current Government Incentives. Offer open until the 15th May 2012.

IPART summary by Self Sufficient Homes

Mark — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 01:25:31 +0000

The IPART report set about determining a ‘fair and reasonable’ value for a feed-in tariff for customers who are not in the Solar Bonus Scheme, However, It stipulated that: a new feed in tariff should not result in an increase in electricity prices in NSW and should not involve funding from the NSW Government budget. In other words, any future feed-in tariff for these customers must be subsidy-free. IPART's draft recommendation was that the fair and reasonable value for electricity generated by small-scale solar PV units be based on the financial gain to retailers. In other words, the profit that energy retailers make on selling power is the rate at which households who produce Solar Power are remunerated at. The problem is determining what that profit is? "Many stakeholders have called for a feed-in tariff to be set equal to the retail price of electricity (currently 20 to 30 c/kWh). They believe that retailers ‘sell’ PV exports to other customers for this price, and so should pay the same price to the customers that generate it (a ‘1-for-1‘scheme). However, this is not the case. Retailers do make a gain from their customers’ PV, but they only gain around 8.3 to 10.3 c/kWh for this electricity from regulated customers. This is because they still incur other costs including network costs, and the costs of meeting their obligations under government green schemes (including the Renewable Energy Target scheme) on this electricity. Both these costs are based on the total electricity a retailer supplies to its customers, which includes PV exports” IPART FACTSHEET, 14th March 2012. This is true, we cannot expect Energy Retailers to pay 20-30c for solar power, but we can rightfully claim back the profit that they would make by selling this power that we exported into their grid. The question is: is the profit truly between 8c and 10c per kW? IPART contracted Frontier Economics to determine what the true cost of producing wholesale power is. I can tell you that it is complicated, very complicated! The bottom line is that energy retailers make varying amounts of profit at different times of the day. It all has to do with the spot price of electricity. If the spot electricity prices tend to be high during the day, then the market value for Solar Power will be high, if the spot price is low, then the market value for solar power will be low. The final recommendation by the IPART report is that a fair and reasonable value for a feed-in tariff is in the range of 5.2 to 10.3 cents per kilowatt hour (c/kWh) set for the 2011/12 financial year. They have stated that this rate should increase when the new Carbon Pricing mechanism is introduced on July 1st 2012. The report also recommends publishing an annual benchmark range for a fair and reasonable feed-in tariff. "This will guide retailers in designing their feed-in tariff offers and will guide customers in assessing these offers. Setting a range that covers different customer characteristics, including location and types, will allow retailers to tailor their feed-in tariffs to suit their customers". This I believe is imperative. Generally, regional NSW pays more for power than our metropolitan neighbours. We therefore need to have feed in tariff rates that reflect our added power costs. In conclusion, the report found that it is currently very difficult for customers to access clear and concise information on feed-in tariffs. I agree with this 100%. I am not going to name energy providers, but there are 1000's of Coffs Coast Residents being told different energy rates (and Feed-in-Rates) from multiple operators within the SAME energy companies. The report states; "We are therefore recommending improvements in information disclosure by retailers, particularly through their call centers and door-to-door marketers" In my view, this is not good enough. You cannot recommend improvements. They must be enforced. It has to a be a breach of fair trading and false advertising to have people representing an energy retailer trying to solicit business by offering rates or feed in tariffs not recognised or endorsed by the parent company. We have evidence of customers being offered feed in tariffs that don’t exist! In my opinion, a 10c feed in tariff is manageable and fair if that is the true "profit" of energy companies. Consumers need to realise that Solar Power is heavily discounted at the moment by the Federal Governments' Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme and through its Solar Credits scheme which offers bonus energy certificates as a reward for consumers investing into Solar Power. These Energy certificates have a high monetary value and solar companies will buy these off you and offer you a point of sale discount against your solar system. The result? - Solar Power is VERY affordable at the moment and consumers can save an enormous amount of money off their power bill by simply making sure that they consume ALL the power they create. Don’t look at exporting ANY power into the grid. Don't give the energy companies an opportunity to "resell" your power to your neighbours. Use it all yourself, or make sure that your solar system is the right size for your needs so you don't overproduce.

Global Investment in Clean Energy Hits Record Levels

Mark — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 05:30:28 +0000

David Wroe, Canberra January 14, 2012 – Sydney Morning Herald DESPITE the turbulence in the global economy, the world invested a record $251 billion in clean energy last year, with the US streaking ahead of China in green spending and boosting confidence among climate action advocates. New figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance showed the US spent $54 billion on clean energy, retaking the No. 1 spot it lost to China in 2009 and defying assumptions that the world's largest economy is flagging on greenhouse gas reductions. Australia also hit a record, spending $4.7 billion on clean energy in 2011, a jump of 11 per cent on the previous year, mostly from increases in rooftop solar. ''Despite financial crisis, and even though carbon pricing schemes haven't developed quite the way they were expected to … investment keeps growing, which reflects the world view of many major economists that clean energy is going to be the major industrial driver of economic growth this century,'' said Kobad Bhavnagri, Bloomberg New Energy Finance's lead clean energy analyst in Australia. He said Australia's investment was on track to rise to $6.8 billion next year and $45 billion by 2020, meeting the target of renewable sources such as solar, wind and geothermal making up 20 per cent of energy supply. The indications of a rise in global investment in clean energy follows the pact by major greenhouse-emitting countries in Durban last month on a road map that would lead to a global climate change deal by 2015. Erwin Jackson, deputy CEO of the Climate Institute, said: ''There are all these myths of the world not acting on climate change. All you have to do is follow the money.'' A spokeswoman for Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the government's clean energy package was meant to ensure Australia ''does not miss out on the benefits of clean energy investments''. ''US President Barack Obama has committed to a Clean Energy Standard, which will double the share of clean energy sources in the electricity supply mix to 80 per cent by 2035, and individual states across the US are also taking action … US investment in renewable energy grew 33 per cent to $55.9 billion in 2011. This level of investment is likely to grow as California introduces its own emissions trading scheme.'' Coalition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt said Australia would reach its target of 20 per cent renewable energy even without the carbon tax. ''With the carbon tax, we will still only achieve 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020 but, along the way, the ALP will impose over $100 billion of additional taxes on electricity, gas and groceries.'' Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/global-investment-in-clean-energy-hits-record-levels-20120113-1pzfk.html#ixzz1kAKyLJsP

National Feed-in-Tariff on the way?

Mark — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:14:31 +0000

Draft energy White Paper targets domestic feed-in tariffs

The Federal Government will pressure state and territory governments to moderate schemes and payments for roof-top solar panel generated electricity so strongly embraced by many seniors. The Productivity Commission previously found that costs associated with the administration of feed-in tariffs unfairly penalised electricity consumers who could not afford solar panels. The high cost associated with the panels far exceeded the cost of other carbon dioxide abatement methods. The costs of delivering feed-in tariffs and other jurisdictional schemes is 6 per cent. With regard to feed-in tariffs, the White Paper said : The introduction of a range of policies – such as the bipartisan expanded Renewable Energy Target, state-based feed-in tariffs and white certificate or similar energy efficiency schemes – are impacting Australia’s energy markets and (by design) affecting decisions about investment in new generation capacity. Australian Government will work to accelerate clean energy outcomes by working with other jurisdictions to identify opportunities to harmonise micro-generation feed-in tariffs, so that they do not impose an unjustifiable burden on electricity consumers, either through cross-subsidy mechanisms or their impact on the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme The Australian Government believes that the design fundamentals of the national electricity and gas markets are sound and that these markets have delivered well against their stated objectives. That said, there have been a range of significant developments since the last market review (by the Energy Reform Implementation Group in 2007) that are introducing fresh challenges and opportunities for market operation. These include additional clean energy interventions in the form of the expanded Renewable Energy Target, carbon pricing and feed-in tariffs These developments are at various stages – some are well advanced and some have yet to mature. Yet they are all changing the dynamics in electricity and gas markets. A range of state and territory based feed-in-tariff schemes support deployment of small-scale solar photovoltaic and certain small-scale distributed generation. Recent analyses by the Productivity Commission and the New South Wales Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal have noted that these schemes represent very high cost abatement relative to the carbon pricing mechanism and are introducing additional and inefficient costs for electricity consumers. The Australian Government will work with state and territory governments to ensure that such measures are consistent with the agreed Council of Australian Governments principles for complementarity of climate change mitigation measures and do not impose an unjustifiable burden on consumers either through cross-subsidy mechanisms or their impact on the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Uncertainty in other components of the policy framework can also affect investment decisions in clean energy generation, including existing arrangements such as the Renewable Energy Target and funding programs. Unexpected policy changes undermine investor confidence by creating uncertainty about the economics of projects. It is important that the design and application of policies and measures consider their economic or social sustainability. For example, some measures such as feed-in tariffs (which place open-ended and increasing cross-subsidies on a range of consumers who do not receive the material benefit of the subsidy) are less likely to prove durable than other more efficient and equitable approaches. Posted online by www.senior.com.au on the 13th December 2011 The Australian today produced an article on the subject titled Crackdown over roof-top solar scheme blowouts.

Massive Uptake in Solar Power in NSW

Mark — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 07:46:31 +0000

Sydney Morning Herald

Ben Cubby, David Wroe

December 6, 2011 MORE than a million Australians now live in houses powered by solar panels and the nation is on track to generate one-fifth of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, a report released overnight at the United Nations climate change talks in South Africa shows. The Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet, announced work had begun on linking Australia's emissions trading scheme, which starts in July with a fixed carbon price, with similar schemes in Europe and New Zealand. Australia needs to link its carbon scheme to international markets to stop the price of carbon permits soaring. Mr Combet said allowing heavy-polluting companies in Australia to buy and sell carbon permits abroad was the best way to keep permit prices down because competition would promote the cheapest way to cut emissions. Mr Combet announced Australian officials would work with European and New Zealand counterparts ''to promote deep, liquid and integrated carbon markets''. One effect of Australia's carbon price is to make renewable energy cheaper when compared with fossil fuels and the annual Clean Energy Australia report showed strong growth in the past year. About 9.6 per cent of Australia's energy was produced from renewable sources in the 12 months until September, up from 8.7 per cent the year before. Hydroelectricity made up the biggest proportion of renewable energy mix but wind and solar power were growing quickly. Driven by state feed-in tariffs, rooftop solar panel installation grew exponentially, with just over 500,000 households and an estimated 1.2 million people now meeting at least part of their daily energy needs from the sun. The number of panels has grown 35 times over since 2008, the Clean Energy Council's report shows, based on data from the electricity grid broken down into the different postcodes, though the breakneck growth is expected to slow as tariffs are reduced. ''There will be a slowdown in the short term but the medium and long-term outlook is for very strong growth for household solar systems,'' the director of the Clean Energy Council, Kane Thornton, said. Solar power has already reached ''grid parity'' - where a household pays the same price per kilowatt of energy for either solar or coal-fired energy - in some parts of NSW and Queensland. Full grid parity across most of Australia is expected to be a year or two away. In Durban, Mr Combet was set to meet overnight with New Zealand's Minister for International Climate Change Negotiations, Tim Groser, as well his US and Japanese counterparts. The European Union's emissions trading scheme, covers about 40 per cent of the 27-member bloc's greenhouse gas emissions. The European Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard said: ''We look forward to working with Australia on international action to develop carbon markets.'' The opposition spokesman on climate change, Greg Hunt, said the plan to link with overseas carbon trading schemes had ''been re-announced in various ways at various times''. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/energy-smart/solar-panel-users-climb-through-roof-20111205-1ofjx.html#ixzz1gP10ddjd

Solar BRIGHT natural skylights

Mark — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:13:12 +0000

Have you got a dark area that needs you to switch a light on in the middle of the day?

Considered Natural Lighting?

Its now more affordable than ever before.

250mm SOLAR-BRIGHT (DL) day-lighting system - just $572.00 with FREE installation
350mm SOLAR-BRIGHT (DL) day-lighting system - just $825.00 with FREE installation

All DL systems come with a MASSIVE 15 years warranty !

USA investigates dumping of Chinese made Solar Modules in America

Mark — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:54:41 +0000

The U.S. International Trade Commission voted Friday to investigate a complaint by seven U.S. solar companies that Chinese competitors are selling solar products on global markets at unfairly low prices. The vote does not impose any penalties but says there is reason to believe that Chinese imports harm or threaten to harm the U.S. solar panel industry.

China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement late Saturday that the decision was made without sufficient evidence showing the U.S. industry had been harmed and did not take into account Chinese companies' arguments or opposition from U.S. industries and other affected groups. "China is deeply concerned about the decision, which does not tally with facts and highlights theUnited States' strong tendency for trade protectionism," it said on its website. The statement said China hopes the U.S. will objectively analyze why some U.S. solar panel companies lack competitiveness. "The United States should avoid abusing trade remedies which will affect bilateral trade and mutually beneficial cooperation between China and U.S. enterprises in the new energy sector," it said. The companies that filed the October complaint said massive subsidies by the Chinese government enable Chinese producers to drive out U.S. competition, and asked for tough trade penalties on Chinese solar imports. The case has caused a split in the solar industry, with some U.S. companies saying imports of Chinese solar panels have lowered prices, helping consumers and promoting rapid growth of the industry. Solar and other renewable energy technology has emerged as an irritant in U.S.-Chinese trade. The two governments have pledged to cooperate in development but accuse each other of violating free-trade pledges by subsidizing their own manufacturers

Carbon tax passes Senate

Mark — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:49:30 +0000

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hailed the passage of the controversial clean energy bills through their final vote in the Senate as “a win for Australia’s children”. The legislation passed the Senate 36-32 and will become law from July 1 next year.

At that time polluting industries will pay $23 per tonne of carbon emissions and households will be compensated for extra costs through tax cuts and increased benefits. ”It’s a win for those who would seek their fortunes and make their way by having jobs in our clean energy sector,” Ms Gillard said at a press conference. ”Today we have made history. After all those years of debate and division, our nation has got the job done.” Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan heaped praise on Ms Gillard, saying the reason the legislation passed is because “the PM is as tough as nails”. ”Putting in place long-term reform, tough reform in this country is always hard. And this has been hard, a really tough debate,” Mr Swan said.

“This has been a victory for the optimists and a defeat for the naysayers.”

Earlier, directly following the vote, there was glee from the Government and Greens and dismay by the Opposition who were first out of the Senate doors to voice their protests. Nationals Senator Ron Boswell called independent MP Tony Windsor’s support for the bill as “the greatest sell-out since Judas Iscariot took 30 pieces of silver”. Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion said democracy had “faltered”. They were followed closely by the Greens, when leader Bob Brown prefaced his remarks “from the grim to the grinning”.

Senator Brown says today is “a green letter day” that will “echo down through the ages”.

“The great debate on this legislation is over,” he said, vowing the legislation will never be rescinded despite threats by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to do so. ”People 50 years, or 500 years, from now will thank us for doing this. ”This is a vote for Australian householders, economic planners and ecologically sound business, as well as the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo, the Murray-Darling Basin and 700,000 property owners on our coastal margins.” Environmental crusader former US vice-president Al Gore said on his website “the voice of the people of Australia has rung out loud and clear”. He praised the efforts of Ms Gillard in shepherding the legislation through, saying “as the world’s leading coal exporter, there’s no doubt that opposition to this legislation was fierce”.

Mr Abbott, who is overseas and missed the historic vote, said Ms Gillard had no mandate to impose the carbon price and the Australian people had been betrayed. ”Today Julia Gillard and the Labor Party have confirmed in law their betrayal of the Australian people,” Mr Abbott said in a statement. Three million households will be worse off under the tax, he said. ”The longer this tax is in place, the worse the consequences for the economy, jobs and families,” he said. ”It will drive up the cost of living, threaten jobs and do nothing for the environment.” Mr Abbott repeated his promise to scrap the policy. ”At the next election I will seek a mandate from the Australian people to repeal this tax.”

But the suggestion was ridiculed by Ms Gillard, who said statements such as Mr Abbott’s “signature in blood” to repeal the legislation was just “huffing and puffing”. ”All of that is just to disguise the fact they’ve got their fingers firmly crossed behind their backs. They’ve got no intention of repealing this,” Ms Gillard said. ”Every living Liberal leader, including the current Leader of the Opposition, is on the record as supporting a price on carbon.” And Mr Swan said Mr Abbott had gone overseas “with his tail between his legs after all of the tough-guy talk”. ”What a spineless retreat,” Mr Swan said.

Independent MP Rob Oakeshott, whose support was vital to the bill in the Lower House, said the time had come for politicians to get out of the way and let “the market do its job”. ”There is a lot of investment money waiting to come into the domestic market alongside what is already happening in international carbon trading,” Mr Oakeshott said in a statement. ”I am excited by the enthusiasm of many people in business who are ready to hit the go button.” Mr Gore said the world “has turned a pivotal corner in the collective effort to solve the climate crisis”.

Coalition support for renewable energy welcome

Mark — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:30:10 +0000

02 Nov 2011

The renewable energy industry has welcomed Coalition support for a key government renewable energy initiative this week.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Matthew Warren said the decision to support the formation of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) showed the Coalition was committed to streamlining government programs and increasing efficiency.

“Bringing a diverse set of clean energy support programs worth more than $3 billion under the one umbrella makes a lot of sense,” Mr Warren said.

“It will reduce the amount of bureaucracy required to administer these initiatives and ultimately make them more cost effective for taxpayers.

“The industry sees ARENA as part of a gradual shift towards policy certainty, which will be crucial in unlocking billions of dollars in investment,” he said.

Mr Warren said the Coalition had repeatedly demonstrated its support for the renewable energy industry over many years and remained an important partner for renewable energy companies.

“The Howard Government introduced the first Mandatory Renewable Energy Target in 2001. The Coalition supported the Labor Government’s expansion of the target to 20 per cent by 2020 in 2007, as well as amendments to the legislation two years later.

“Opposition Leader Tony Abbott recently re-stated the Coalition’s strong support for the 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target and we obviously welcome that.

“Ours is a true industry of the future which already provides thousands of Australian jobs, many of which are in regional areas. These numbers are expected to swell to tens of thousands over the decades to come and we look forward to working with the major political parties to deliver these benefits for all Australians,” he said.

Titan Panel

Mark — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:52:16 +0000

Introducing the Titan Series collector – designed especially for high performance in cooler climates. Edwards has taken advantage of the latest advances in heat-transfer technology to build superior solar collectors to gather as much of the sun’s energy as possible. The Titan Series collector uses an advanced titanium coated copper solar absorber plate combining first grade copper with titanium, to show superior solar performance when compared with other solar collectors available.

ABSORBER PLATE

Titanium is the ultimate high-grade solar material; it has greater solar performance and efficiency characteristics than other selective surfaces.

A typical flat plate solar collector would produce the following yearly energy yields:

Titanium = 546 kWh/m2

Black Chrome = 456 kWh/m2

The absorptance and emittance co-efficients also outperform other materials.

Absorptance = 0.96

Emittance = 0.05

CASING

Constructed from 0.4mm ColorBonD® Steel and extruded aluminium to provide good corrosion resistance properties and light handling capabilities.

INSULATION

Glass Wool batts are used to insulate the base of the collector to minimise heat loss. It is 38mm thick and has a thermal conductivity of 0.044 W/(m.K)

CONNECTIONS

M33 brass compression fittings are used which conform to Australian and International Standards. Each fitting accepts a 25mm copper tube and ensures the prevention of water ingress through the casing.

RISERS

Designed for either water or propylene glycol, the copper tubes conform to Australian Standard AS1432 and other applicable international standards. The 25mm diameter headers and 10mm risers are of Type C copper and the 7 risers are spaced at 133mm. The risers are soldered to the absorber plate.

GLAZING

Tempered, low iron Matt-Matt glass is used to maximise the solar radiation available. It is extremely strong 3.2mm tempered glass that is hail resistant. It is specifically designed for solar applications and has a minimum energy transmittance of 0.89 and a low iron oxide content of only 0.04% or less.