Household solar

Climate Spectator: Solar's hot, even when the sun is not

Posted on 07 Feb 2012
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Matthew Wright

On the cloudiest day in the gloomiest weather, when I check my solar system I find it is still generating and exporting clean renewable energy into the grid. My solar system, like all rooftop solar systems, generates even when it's cloudy. That's because solar technology is able to produce electricity under diffuse light conditions.

Generally speaking, in the darkest, cloudiest hour on the gloomiest day, your solar system will be generating as much as 25 per cent of a normal clear day output. On a day with light cloud cover, your system could be achieving as much as 50 per cent of a normal clear-day's hour of production.

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smh: Creating electricity at home: the cleanest and most sensible option under the sun

Posted on 23 Jan 2012
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Solar energy benefits the state by providing electricity at much cheaper rates than those of traditional sources, writes Matthew Wright.

It may appear counter-intuitive, but getting millions of solar panels onto rooftops saves more money than it costs. Feed-in tariffs enacted by state governments have enabled ordinary Australians using their savings to build a solar power station at home benefiting the community.

When those solar households who had saved to get their panels installed under the solar feed-in tariff programs export their solar production to the grid, which occurs mostly during higher demand daytime periods, they are given a slightly higher than average retail rate for the electricity they are selling. The prices they have been paid are relatively meagre when compared with the ridiculously high rates paid to big coal or gas power plants.

At the same time that little solar households who have invested their money in a rooftop power station are being paid between 44¢ and 60¢ per kilowatt hour, the old power companies with their dirty belching coal and gas plants are receiving as much as $12.50.

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Solar programs pay for themselves and reduce the cost of electricity

Posted on 17 Jan 2012
in

This is an updated version of what was published in the Sydney Morning Herald today.

Solar energy benefits the state by providing electricity at much cheaper rates than those of traditional sources, writes Matthew Wright.

It may appear counter-intuitive, but getting millions of solar panels onto rooftops saves more money than it costs. Feed-in tariffs enacted by state governments have enabled ordinary Australians using their savings to build a solar power station at home benefiting the community.

When those solar households who had saved to get their panels installed under the solar feed-in tariff programs export their solar production to the grid, which occurs mostly during higher demand daytime periods, they are given a slightly higher than average retail rate for the electricity they are selling. The prices they have been paid are relatively meagre when compared with the ridiculously high rates paid to big coal or gas power plants.

At the same time that little solar households who have invested their money in a rooftop power station are being paid between 44¢ and 60¢ per kilowatt hour, the old power companies with their dirty belching coal and gas plants are receiving as much as $12.50.

In other words, the coal and gas guys are being paid as much as $11.90 more than a home solar generator for just one unit of electricity, or 20 times the solar price.

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Warwick Johnston of Sunwiz reviews the year in the Australian solar PV industry

Posted on 03 Jan 2012
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Beyond Zero's Matthew Wright speaks to Warwick Johnston, Managing Director of SunWiz Consulting. Sunwiz is an innovative solar energy consulting company with a mission to support the development of the Australian solar power industry. Warwick is also one of the key authors of the International Energy Agency's (IEA) solar PV status report for Australia.

http://www.sunwiz.com.au

Warwick Johnston interview

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Detlef Gerdts talks abot the unprecedented Greens election win in Germany March 2011, nuclear power closures and SUN-AREA solar mapping project

Posted on 05 Apr 2011
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Beyond Zero Emissions' Matthew Wright speaks to Detlef Gerdts, Head of the Department of Environmental Protection at the City of Osnabrueck, about the Sun Area Project and decarbonising economies such as Australia's and Germany's.

BZE speaks to Detlef Gerdts

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Beyond Zero talks to Dr Fred Morse of Abengoa Solar and CSP division SEIA

Posted on 17 May 2010
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Dr Fred Morse is a veteran of the solar industry.  He started out in solar assessing the viability of the resource for Nixon, helped save the industry when a report by the NRC at the time was trying to close down the US Department of Energy Solar programs and he now is pushing forward with Abengoa's Solana plant and the industry in general as head of the CSP division Solar Energy Industries Association.  Dr Morse speaks to Matthew

Beyond Zero talks to Dr Fred Morse head of the CSP division Solar Energy Industries Association

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Beyond Zero talks to Professor Martin Green of UNSW

Posted on 05 Feb 2010
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Martin GreenThe University of New South Wales (UNSW) has dominated the development of standard photovoltaics cells since the mid 1980s and Professor Martin Green has been at the head of the UNSW efforts since the late 1970s. From BP buying into the UNSW's photovoltaic technology in the 80s to the UNSW's recent relationship with Suntech, the UNSW has been at the forefront of photovoltaic development and commecialisation globally.

Beyond Zero talks to Professor Martin Green of UNSW

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Scheffler Dish for cooking and power in developing countries

Posted on 04 Nov 2009
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Invented by Wolfgang over 25 years ago 1000s of Scheffler dishes are now installed at 100s of locations around the world. Wolfgang Scheffler has made his dish designs and associated intellectual property available for free to create a solar world.


Originally Broadcast on the 5th of April, 2009


Visit Heike and Wolfgang at  Solar Brueke for more information.

Beyond Zero interviews Wolfgang Scheffler

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Graham Ford, CEO of Heliodynamics, maker of Combined Heat and Power for urban and industrial environments

Posted on 18 Jun 2009
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Heliodynamics is a pioneer in the field of medium to large scale concentrating solar. Graham Ford talks with us about opportunities to cover our disused roof spaces with Heliodynamics world leading concentrating solar technology. There product range includes an aesthetic linear fresnel solution with visual appeal for architects that’s suitable for public buildings, hotels and other places that require a good integration into the urban built environment.

Graham Ford podcast

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Peter Le Lievre from Chromasun discusses solar powered air-conditioning

Posted on 24 Apr 2009
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Using concentrating fresnel technology in combination with photovoltaic solar cells, Chromasun's solar modules harvest the sun's energy in the form of both heat and light for air-conditioning, power, process heat, and lighting. Primarily for commercial installations, a product launch of these roof mounted units is due sometime in 2010.

Chromasun CEO, Peter Le Lievre discusses the details with Beyond Zero's Matthew Wright and Scott Bilby.

Peter Le Lievre from Chromasun discusses solar powered air-conditioning

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