Bob and Helen Long of Castlemaine became the first family to have solar installed under MASH2. According to Bob: ‘The installation went very smoothly, it looks great and we’re rapt that we’ve finally managed to go solar. We’re now looking forward to seeing the savings on the bills and the cut in our CO2 emissions”.
Also, there was standing room only at the info session held at the Kangaroo Hotel in Maldon and the total number of people registering for solar in this round passed 180.
Shading issues
The Longs’ roof is partly shaded for a few hours each day by a huge heritage tree. So how are shading issues managed in MASH2? If a standard inverter had been used, then shading of just one panel would have resulted in all the panels failing to work during the time of the shading. The solution was to put a micro-inverter on each panel. Although they’re a little more expensive, they allow most of the panels to work most of the time and good $ savings to be earned.
Home visits appreciated
When the average non-MASH punter arranges for a solar installation over the phone – after speaking to a person from New Delhi or Bombay – the placement of the panels and inverter will be decided remotely by looking at a satellite picture of your house. No-one will visit your house to check. In contrast, the MASH2 price includes the cost of an expert carrying out a site inspection and discussing any questions with you. Our experience is that people really value this opportunity to get things right.
Windpower in the news
Two years ago I carried out a study of the situation at Waubra near Ballarat where 150 huge turbines surround the town of 500 people. 18 visits to the area, seven overnight stays and many hours of interviewing resulted in a series of DVDs. If you’re interested, the 12 minute summary can be viewed at vicwind.org.au/waubra-videos.
