This is the second ‘Solar Matters’ column in a 10 part series by Neil Barrett, chair of the Hub Foundation which is organising stage 2 of the MASH community solar bulk-buy project.
Info Sessions in full swing
Well-attended MASH2 info sessions were held in Castlemaine and Campbells Creek last week. The topics which generated most interest were the range of payment options MASH is now offering , including outright purchase, taking out a solar loan and leasing.
Solar and the RET
The federal government’s lamentable decision to cut back the Renewable Energy Target means that there is now only 5,500MW of renewable energy to be built between now and 2020 instead of 8,500MW. This is probably bad news for big solar and good news for wind projects, simply because there are more wind than solar projects which are `shovel ready’ and can be completed by 2020.
Meanwhile in Cloudy Germany…
Germany started the solar revolution over a decade ago. In 2014, 7% of its electricity came from solar and 31% from all renewable sources. The country is now well on the way to achieving its goal of 35% renewable energy by 2020. In Australia we’re still languishing at around 13% despite our excellent resources of both solar and wind.
Correction
In my column last week, I mistakenly wrote that our supplier’s performance guarantee for MASH participants is for 15 years. It’s in fact for six years. However manufacturer warranties are for longer periods, including 25 years on panel output.
And finally, it’s people like you who can make a difference…
By 2040, more than half of Australia’s electricity is forecast to come from rooftop solar and solar battery storage, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. It’s clear that Australian households are taking matters into their own hands by putting solar on their roofs – and this is making a HUGE difference. We say congratulations to all Solar Australians!
Read this article in the Midland Express.
