Solar Matters #3: The first solar installations under MASH2 will start this week. Following approval from Powercor, local Castlemaine-based installer, Universal Power and Light, will do at least two instals under contract with SunEdison. This follows a rash of home inspections requested by those who have signed up for MASH in the last few weeks. So far, 120 households have registered interest in going solar with MASH 2 and nearly all have already had a ‘phone interview.
Catch up Kyneton!
Data from the Clean Energy Regulator shows that towns in Mount Alexander are well ahead of their sister towns in adjoining Shires. For example, whilst 28% of Harcourt houses and 22% of Castlemaine houses have solar on the roof, only 17% of houses in the Kyneton 3444 postcode have it. The reason? The MASH2 project is the 5th solar bulk buy that’s been organized in and around Castlemaine in the past decade. To my knowledge Kyneton has missed out on bulk buy offers. But all this is about to change. Watch this space.
How much will solar save you?
It all depends on how much of your solar power generation you actually use in the house. If you use only 25% of the solar power your system generates, then the saving on a standard 12 panel system is $440 per year. If you use 75% of the solar generation, then it’s $820. To maximize the savings you need to have as many appliances in use during the day (rather than night and early morning) as you can. But whatever your savings, it’s virtually certain to give a better rate of return than any other safe investment you can imagine.
And finally…
For a witty, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, view of Tony Abbott’s view of renewable energy see: liberaltimes.com.au
More solar news next week. In the meantime if you wish to register an interest in MASH2, go to: mash.org.au or phone 0455 589 065
