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Solar Is The New Sexy

July 30, 2008 @ 15:00 By Gavin Webber 5 Comments

Call me crazy, but I think that solar panels are a thing of beauty. That is especially on a brilliant sunny winters day like today.


I often stand and stare at the 16 panels that are mounted on my carport roof (the above photo was taken about a week after the installation by my daughter), and admire the technological brilliance and the manufacturing effort that went into making them. My solar installer, Energy Matters, imported them from Japan, as they were made by Sharp and not made in China like a lot of panels these days (it said made in Japan on the boxes they came in). The panels must have been made in a massive factory, hopefully powered by the very same modules that they manufacture, but do you think I could find a video of how they are made in said factory. The answer, alas, is no. However, I did find this cute little video on youtube that demonstrates how a small factory in the US makes solar panels from imported solar cells.

Six panels a day, can you believe it. I suppose when these things sell between $1200-$2000 each for the high wattage type, they would make enough profit to be viable.


Which leads me to another twist on the subject. I was contacted by the Alternate Technology Association the other day, of which I am a member, and was asked if I would like to participate in a survey. I jumped at the chance to share my experience.

A nice gent called Bob Johnstone gave me a call on Saturday morning, and we when through the list of questions. Here standard questions direct from the initial email. My responses are in blue.

The case studies will look into:

– motivation for installing solar system

Purely environmental, I wanted to make my house carbon neutral or as close as we could.

– the obstacles to installation (cost, information, location)

The information was all out there on the Internet, you just had to look for it. The $8000 PV rebate from the government helped, but I had planned the installation before the rebate was doubled in the May 2007 budget. I secured a loan at a slightly reduced rate for the installation.

– how household electricity consumption has changed since installation

Well, we have now generated 3.6 Megawatts of power since installation in September 2007. I believe that we export between 80-90% of the energy to the grid each day. We draw back from the grid during the night and are signed up with Origin Energy 100% GreenPower.

– how the feed-in tariff legislation affected plans to install

Firstly it made me angry because my system is rated at 2.8kW and the tariff in Victoria is capped at 2kW, so basically I won’t see a cent from the legislation. Once again it was not my motivation whatsoever for the installation.

– how the tariff impacted solar homes who installed systems before the introduction of the legislation

Don’t think Bob asked this question?

– what govt. incentive homeowners need to install more solar

I believe that the legislation needs to be changed from a net metering scheme to a gross feed in scheme, and remove the cap. That would drive installations through the roof, very similar to schemes in Germany, Spain and some US states. I also believe that the State Government needs to stop kowtowing to the Coal industry and Power companies.

– future plans for solar installation, in light of tariff (additional panels, disconnection, saving for future)

I have been told by my installer that I have room for 6 more panels on my system and that my grid-connect inverter could handle the extra wattage, so further down the track I may add extra to the system. However, I have found that as my kids begin to leave home, the energy consumption in our home reduces, so by the time the adult kids leave home, we might not need any extra wattage. We had a quick discussion on how to encourage adult children to leave home, and had a laugh about it!

– future plans for solar installation irrespective of tariff

None as yet, but I have hear on the grapevine that people are actually thinking about reducing their systems Kilowatt rating so that they come under the tariff cap. The state government are supposed to be promoting renewable energy, but obviously have their heads so far up the power and coal companies bums that they are scared to be bold and have the courage to make Victoria a world leader in renewable energy. I have been keeping an eye on a simple stand alone wind energy system, and am hoping that they will come down in price. That way I will have some power if I loose connection to the grid. Or I could simply modify my existing system but don’t have the funds for either at the moment.

Bob then thanked me for my participation, and I thanked him for allowing me to participate and have my say, and hoped that the information was useful.

I felt pretty good after the interview, which inspired me to write this post. Hope you enjoyed it.

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Related

Filed Under: ATA, brown coal, Photovoltaic, renewable energy

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About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Kate says

    July 30, 2008 at 22:06

    At least someone is asking, Gavin. We have 100% green energy and no solar panels but we have solar hot water wich saves a huge amount of energy in our sunny South Australian climate.
    Thanks for your birthday wishes today too!

    Reply
  2. Dagny says

    July 31, 2008 at 04:30

    I think if you can afford it, solar is the only way to go. Congrats for installing it. I agree with the beauty and can’t believe some HOA don’t allow solar panels because they aren’t aesthetically pleasing.

    Dagny
    http://www.onnotextiles.com
    bamboo and organic clothing

    Reply
  3. wombat064 says

    July 31, 2008 at 07:46

    I have found some info on a splar tower that is going to be built in NSW. Check this out its huge.
    http://www.enviromission.com.au

    Reply
  4. Sharon J says

    August 1, 2008 at 00:29

    I can’t have solar panels where I live but I have switched to green energy which helps. Mind you, my other half detests the windmills that are dotted around the coast and would rather have nuclear energy. It’s just as well we don’t actually live together or we’d never agree on much 😉

    Reply
  5. Gavin says

    August 1, 2008 at 14:11

    Thanks for the comments everyone.

    @Kate, well done because 100% accredited GreenPower is the next best option. Solar hot water is a fantastic investment, because it pays for itself in on 2-3 years, especially if you used to use electricity to heat water! Hope you enjoyed your birthday, and are excited about you forthcoming trip!

    @Dagny, Thanks, I think that in this day and age all of those laws about aesthetic issues should all be throw out the window and common sense put in its place. Did you know that in some European country’s it is against the law to build a structure that will block the sunlight from hitting an existing solar PV installation. Now that is common sense!

    @Wombat064 (Phil)That is a pretty cool link. I hope it gets off the ground because they have been working on the plan since 2001. Seems like a long time in the planning stage to me. I wouldn’t buy their shares. They talk a lot about purchasing rights for land, but not much about actually doing anything!

    @Sharon, I agree that Solar is not for everyone because some places just don’t get a lot of sunlight. I think that wind farms in your part of the world are fantastic offshore, but, hey, that is my opinion. Most Australians are vehemently against Nuclear power stations in this country, but quite happy to dig uranium out of the ground and sell it to the world! You would think the two policies would be diametrically opposed, wouldn’t you?

    Reply

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About Gavin Webber

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An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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