Solar Mann

08/04/2021

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BATHED IN SUNSHINE

An 800kW solar system installed on the industrial rooftop of a window furnishing company in Sydney will soon be supplying power to their employees.

Hunter Douglas is offering up unused PV generated power to workers’ households on the weekends.

Believed to be an Australian first, the solar sharing scheme is a collaboration between the window furnishings supplier, energy software company Enosi and retailer Simply Energy.

Enosi’s Powertracer platform essentially allows consumers to choose the provenance of their renewable electricity supply by enabling the direct traceability of half-hourly energy settlements, including their source and settlement price.

The only catch for Hunter Douglas employees to participate is, they must have a smart meter and be willing to change retailers to Simply Energy.

Read the full article from One Step Off The Grid: https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/sydney-factory-to-share-rooftop-generated-solar-power-with-employees/

An 800kW solar system installed on the industrial rooftop of a window furnishing company in Sydney will soon supply power to its employees, too.

16/03/2021

Largest community-owned solar farm opens in Canberra

The nation's largest community-owned solar farm was officially switched on in Canberra on Thursday. It will generate one megawatt of electricity, enough to power around 250 homes.

The solar farm is owned by more than 550 Canberra investors, who chipped in more than $2.4 million, receiving an annual dividend based on their share with an expected yield of 5%.

The SolarShare farm will also receive feed-in-tariff subsidies from the ACT government for the next 20 years.

SolarShare and investors are hoping to set an example around Australia.

We reckon it's a great idea!

Read the full story via the Canberra Times here
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7163567/largest-community-owned-solar-farm-now-a-sun-deal/

The one megawatt solar farm in Sutton, entirely owned by Canberra investors, will power more than 200 homes.

13/01/2021

Australia’s rooftop solar market has defied a challenging 2020 to set a number of new installation records.

The market grew by a massive 39% year-on-year, according to consultancy SunWiz.

While the pandemic panic slowed installation rates in the first few months of the year, installations quickly normalised then surged in the second half of the year, seeing almost 3,000MW of new small scale installations throughout 2020.

Virtually every Australian state and territory recorded the highest level in December.

The capacity in the sub-100kW market fell a whisker short of 3GW, at 2.97GW. However, including the commercial rooftop market, well over 3GW of rooftop capacity was installed in 2020.

New South Wales became the first state to register more than 100MW of new rooftop solar installations in a single month in December.

The trend towards larger rooftop solar installations also continued throughout 2020 as prices continue to fall, seeing the average system size approach 9kW.

To read the full article, head over to Renew Economy

https://reneweconomy.com.au/rooftop-solar-market-ends-tricky-2020-by-smashing-records-surpassing-13gw-total-capacity/

Australia’s rooftop solar market ends a challenging 2020 stronger than ever, ending the year with a new installation record.

13/11/2020

Been thinking about powering your home or business by the sun this summer? ☀️

You may not be aware that every year, the Government rebate for solar (STCs) reduces.

This means as of January 1, it will be a little bit dearer to get solar.

So ask Santa for solar this Christmas and book a quote with Solar Mann (that’s me 👇🏻).

We’ll get you installed before the end of the year with good gear and a quality lifetime workmanship warranty.

No contractors. No outsourcing. No crappy panels or equipment. No worries. Just smashing that power bill.

🤜🏻💥🤛🏻

Contact me today for a detailed, no-pressure quote in SEQ and NNSW.

21/08/2020

How good is this?

Australian Parents for Climate Action (AP4CA) are calling on the Federal government to fund solar panels and batteries for every school and early childhood centre in Australia!

Why this is a great idea:
It's the perfect COVID-19 recovery economic stimulus project
Creates clean local jobs Australia-wide
Supports small business
Slashes school electricity costs, and
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions!

It’s estimated that at least 42% of schools in Australia don’t currently have solar. This project would:

Create at least 6,870 jobs
Save 1.4 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions per year
Save $114,000 in annual energy bills per large school and $12,700 in small schools.

AP4CA are pushing for the government to make this a reality!

As we recover from COVID-19, Australia should focus on the clean industries of the future and leave polluting industries, like coal and gas, behind.

How you can get involved:

1. Sign ap4ca’s open letter to the prime minister

2. Share the letter with your friends, family, followers

3. Download the poster to share it in your school, early learning centre or community notice board

4. Write a letter to your local politician seeking support for the campaign

Head over to www.ap4ca.org and let's get Solar on Every School in Australia!

Australian Parents for Climate Action

15/07/2020

There’s still plenty of innovation left in solar.

Potato chip (and frozen food) producer McCain Foods has started installing 17,000 solar panels on the ground and on the roof of the carpark at its main Australian production plant in Ballarat, Victoria.

It’s part of what is thought to be the country's largest "behind the meter" renewable energy system.

The system will include a heat and power plant fuelled by biogas produced from potato skins and juice that will complement the solar generation by acting as a sort of battery, powering down during sunlit hours but able to crank into gear overnight.

Hows that for circular resourcing?

Read the full story via AFR https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/mccain-chips-in-with-renewables-at-ballarat-plant-20200713-p55bgz

The 8.2-megawatt system will cut usage of power from the grid by 39 per cent and reduce carbon emissions by more than a third.

01/07/2020

The surprising way renewables can help farmers cope...

It turns out that with solar panels, even the grass is greener during a drought.

That's the experience of Dubbo grazier Tom Warren, who says condensation dripping off the panels arrayed across 55 hectares of his farm provided a moisture source that was the envy of neighbours.

“It’s tremendous,” Mr Warren said of the potential for renewable energy’s growth. “This can drive the decentralisation of industry — this to me is the future of regional Australia.”

Read more on this SMH story here

It turns out that even the grass is greener during a drought with solar panels, or so one farmer near Dubbo found.

23/06/2020

Have you been working from home a bit more than usual, for some reason? Not mentioning any pandemics...

It’s likely working from home will see an increase in popularity now all those stuffy old-fashioned bosses have seen it can be done.

There’s so many benefits: less polluting cars on the road, less dead time spent travelling, better work/life balance. Plus, you can work in your PJs!

But - it also means you’re using more power during the day. Which means, you will see an increase in your power bills ☹️

So if this is you, there is never a better time to get solar! Talk to your accountant... There may even be tax benefits! Plus government rebates still apply.

Solar Mann - Grant - will assess your home, roof space, energy use, budget and needs to provide you with the best advice and custom system for your purposes!

Hit the message button to enquire about residential, commercial or upgrading your solar today. Installed by Clean Energy Council Accredited 4Shore Solar, with over 10 years in the business.

You have nothing to lose - except a big power bill! 😊

15/06/2020

It’s taken just a little over two years for the Tesla big battery, officially known as the Hornsdale Power Reserve, to re-coup in revenue the cost of construction of what remains the world’s biggest lithium ion battery.

At the same time, the Hornsdale battery is estimated to have delivered savings of at least $150 million to consumers by keeping electricity and system costs below where they would have been in its absence, when the market was totally controlled by the state’s existing gas operators.

The Hornsdale big battery is now being expanded.

Read the full story on Renew Economy

Tesla big battery at Hornsdale lifts revenue five-fold after playing crucial role in keeping lights on, and has already earned more than the cost of the battery.

26/01/2020

South Australia, already with more than 50% wind and solar, is on track to 100% renewables within a decade!

This will help provide renewable power to NSW to offset the closure of its coal plants after the Australian Energy Regulator green-lighted the business case for a major new transmission line linking the two states.

The SA government described the interconnector as “the foundation piece” of its stunning net-100% renewable plans.

The Clean Energy Council was also keen to show its support of the new link, which passes through multiple renewable energy zones.

This will allow new renewable energy projects to connect to the National Electricity Market, provide a more diversified supply, increase reliability and ultimately result in lower energy prices for customers.

Read the full article from Renew Economy

Regulator approval for new transmission line boosts South Australia’s push towards 100 per cent renewables, and unlocks up to 5,000MW of wind and solar.

01/11/2019

The renewable energy state of South Australia recorded the lowest prices in Australia’s main grid in October, a month when it sourced well over half of its its electricity supply from wind and solar.

SA’s switch to wind and solar is starting to deliver tangible benefits, as other states have to deal with the rising costs of coal and gas generation.

So much so that even the state Liberal government has set an aspirational target of “net 100 per cent renewables”, within a decade.

Wind provided the bulk of the renewables supply, followed by rooftop solar and then large scale solar. The state has two batteries in operation, the Tesla big battery at Hornsdale and the Dalrymple North battery.

AEMO data shows that the daily price averaged below zero for a whole 24-hour period in South Australia on four days in October.

Read the full article on Renew Economy

South Australia had lowest average spot prices for electricity in Australia’s main grid in October as wind and solar provide bulk of state’s demand over the month.