The Greening of Gavin

TGoG 123 – Solar Talk with Emma Sutcliffe

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Recently, I was interviewed by Emma Sutcliffe about my small solar power system that I built myself.  You can read about it in this post titled To Grid or Go Off Grid. Why Not Do Both?  We conducted the interview just before a delicious lunch that Kim prepared, so you will hear her in the background of the recording Emma took.  It was an energetic solar talk!

During this episode we focus more on grid-connect solar PV and talk about my system, what I think about the future of residential solar PV is, and how batteries and hybrid systems will change everything due to a rapidly falling price and a very low feed-in tariff.

Solar Talk with Emma Sutcliffe

View from our gate

At about the 17 minute mark, when I am talking about our visit to the Waubra wind farm, Kim drops her clanger about a few of the people she would like to strap to the blades of a turbine.  A truly laugh-out-loud moment.

So if you would like to learn a little more about residential solar photovoltaic systems then this is the episode for you!

If you want to check out more of Emma’s work, visit her personal blog, theoffgridsolarhouse.com.  She is also a contributing author to the One Step Off The Grid blog.

Emma Sutcliffe Solar Talk

Emma Sutcliffe Solar Selfie!

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Until next episode, keep it green!

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Three Hundred And Fifty

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Yes readers, 350 is the magic number so the majority of climatologists say.  That’s 350 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 equivalent that is the level we need to get back to so to have a chance to limit warming to just two degrees Celsius.

Do we have much of a change seeing that in parts of the globe we are already at 400ppm?  Well I hope so, or we better start thinking of climate adaptation and not climate change mitigation which is the less expensive of the two choices we have in front of us.

Personally, I don’t think all is lost.  Things have changed, at least in a few countries, but the overwhelming majority of the top polluting countries do not have any major plans to mitigate climate change and begin any meaningful action.

Can we make a difference?  Well, once again I hope so, but sometimes I just don’t know.  I would like to think that we are not complete idiots and will begin to lower global emissions, but looking around at the crazy political policies that even our own governments are making, I still think it is business as usual.

Let me highlight two extremely short-sighted political decisions that were made in the last few weeks.  In Victoria, our state government has reduced the state’s net solar feed-in tariff to 8 cents a kWh.  As the majority of residential properties are paying between 23 and 25 cents a kWh for every one they import, essentially they are getting ripped off royally.  It lets the electricity retailers buy it at 8 cents and lets them sell it instantly to your neighbour at the higher 25 cents, pocketing a profit of 17 cents a kWh for not even lifting a finger.  It makes justifying the capital outlay of solar PV difficult for the average bloke, and it certainly does not encourage the rapid uptake of renewable energy.  No sense of a fair go in this State.  I think other states in Australia have the same issue now as well.

The other crazy decision is the federal government’s back down from the negotiating table after their promise to buy and decommission a few large, heavy polluting coal fired power stations, and ramp up large scale renewables.  It was cowardice at the upper most level as far as I am concerned.  Reports are that they didn’t even put an offer on the table, just walked away.

Both decisions designed to line the pockets of the fossil fuel industry and keep things just as they are.  This stupidity does not give me much hope, and just makes me angry that our decision makers are so short sighted.

The founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben has it right you know.  He says we have a fight on our hands, and it is against the most profitable entities in the world which are the oil, gas and coal companies and their lackeys in the political system. (acknowledgement goes to Dawn for the link)


What do you think?  I do have lots of hope and believe that people will turn it around back to 350ppm, but my confidence often gets chipped away at. time and time again.  It is discouraging to say the least.

Feed-in Tariff Follies

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The never-ending saga of attempting to receive the Victorian Premium feed-in tariff continues.

On Friday, we receive the second electricity bill since having the co-gen smart meter installed.  The meter was installed on the 21st of January and I wrote about it in this post titled “I Have The Power… At Last“.  Looking back, I was a bit ambitious to think that it was all over and that it was smooth sailing ahead.

The previous bill that was issued in April had a feed-in tariff of 23.5 cents in lieu of the 66 cents per Kwh that was expected.  After all, I signed the agreement in December 2009 when the new Premium Feed-in Tariff was legislated. We were short a $250 credit!  Kim called up our electricity retailer who blamed the wholesaler and expected it to be rectified in the next bill with the appropriate feed-in tariff applied with a credit.  We let it slide for that quarter thinking that things would be fixed up for us.  How wrong was I.

As I mentioned above, the bill for this quarter (April-June) arrived Friday past, and the was still listed at 23.5 cents.  I nearly lost the plot!  Straight on the phone to the retailer who instantly pointed the finger at the wholesaler, but admitted that the new tariff of 66 cents should have been applied to the bill from the 6th of April.  I gave them a blast and asked for the bill to be reissued, which they agreed. 

However, when I challenged the cut-over date of 6th April, because I was led to believe that the new feed-in tariff would be applied two weeks from the installation date of the meter, fingers were pointed back at the wholesaler.  I asked for their phone number to sort things out.  I am beginning to believe that the retailer, Origin Energy, did not want to pay me the Premium tariff, or wanted to make it difficult for someone to actually apply and receive it!

Anyway, I called up my wholesaler, Powercor.  They confirmed that the meter was installed on the 21st of January, which I already knew because I was present at the installation, and that we should have received the new tariff about two weeks after installation.  They told me to ask Origin to raise a Service Order to investigate further.  All I wanted was the money that I believe that I am entitled to, which is about 6 weeks worth of feed-in tariff at the 66 cent rate.

So, I call back Origin, ask them to raise the Service Order to investigate, and let them know that if I do not get prompt resolution, I will take the matter up with the Energy Ombudsman as I have done so in the past.  Shaking in their boots, they asked me to wait for the 10 days that Powercor have to reply, and they should be able to resolve my issue.  I hope so, because quite frankly, is am pissed off with the whole affair.  Being an advocate of renewable energy, I try and promote it where ever I can, however the electricity companies just make it so difficult.  It should be bloody easy, and simple enough so that there is huge growth away from coal fired electricity generation.  But who am I kidding?  Both companies make swags of money burning coal, so why would they want to help the average Joe put renewables on their roof and become less dependent on their dirty electricity.  Just not enough incentive for them if you ask me. 

I will let you know how this folly pan out.