WILL SOLAR PANELS SOON GENERATE ENERGY AT NIGHT?

If you thought that solar panels were only good for powering homes and businesses, a new report from Spain might change those ideas. The Endesa energy company has set up a solar farm in the Spanish town of Carmona, but producing solar energy isn’t the only thing happening in these fields. Known as a Solar Apiary, the land of around 200 hectares is a perfect example of agrivoltaics. That is the combined utilisation of land for solar power and agriculture. Here’s what it’s all about. The Solar Apiary Spanning 200 hectares, the land in Carmona, Spain is revolutionising the idea of operating solar production farms and traditional agricultural farms together. The entire project features 250,000 solar modules which produce a peak capacity of 100MW. That’s enough to power 30,000 homes and prevent millions of tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. That sounds impressive enough, but there’s more. Around 3 hectares of the land is used for growing aromatic plants such as sage, rosemary, oregan...

Vulnerable Australians, including pensioners and carers, are being pressured into signing up for overpriced  solar systems . Some are paying almost double the amount they should be. A salesman from a company called Grand Group visited Murrurundi resident Jon Russell at his home last year. Mr Russell is the full-time carer for his friend Lisa Smit, who cannot work and who lives with several medical conditions. The friends installed a small solar system on their property in 2016, but the salesman told them they’d save more money by upgrading. Ms Smit needs 24-hour air-conditioning, which means high bills, so the friends decided to invest in extra panels. They agreed to an additional 3.3kW system last year, but the paperwork he received from the company didn’t detail how much the system would cost in the long run. The friends are paying $103 each fortnight and will have to do so for four years. Mr Russell said if they’d known how much the system would cost that they wouldn’t have sign...

One of the world’s biggest green hydrogen projects is being planned for the Pilbara region, and sources suggest that global oil giant BP is set to make a substantial investment. The 26GW Asia Renewable Hub (AREH) is currently in the planning stages and already has ownership from other mega-companies such as Intercontinental Energy, CWP Global, Vestas and Macquarie Group. What’s the new project all about? AREH is huge, but it’s just one of many winds and  solar projects  being developed in Australia for green hydrogen or green ammonia. There is also potential for direct export to Asia via undersea cables, however, attention seems to have shifted back to green ammonia. Regardless, the project is a huge undertaking, comprising 14GW of hydrogen electrolysers which are powered by 16GW of wind turbines and 10GW of large-scale solar. Needless to say, it represents Australia’s, and indeed the world’s, shift towards renewable energy sources. Despite the good intentions of the project, ...

Bear with us. This is not something out of a science-fiction movie. An eight-storey building in Melbourne’s west is set to be the first building in Australia to harness a solar design by German company Avancis, which effectively covers the walls with solar panels. What is a solar skin? Developed by Avancis, the system known as Skala consists of a thin-film PV module that sits over a network that delivers solar energy into the building’s main  power supply . While it sounds incredible, it hasn’t been without challenges. The building’s architect, Pete Kennon has stated that getting building approval was quite a process. “Australia has one of the most, if not the most, strict building codes in the world,” he said. “And given all the recent history with flammable facades, it’s a – pardon the pun – very hot topic, so there’s a huge amount of due diligence that needs to go into proposing a product like this.” How will the building work? The building, located at 550-558 Spencer Street, is...

With energy prices rising across the country, the time has come for people who have been sitting on the fence about solar energy to make the switch. But is it worth the investment? What savings can you get from solar? Most people can slash their energy bills by 50%-80% depending on their standard consumption. So, For an average home that spends around $3,200 per year on energy, you could reduce that down to as little as $600 per year. The savings really do vary depending on how much power you use, and how smart you are about how you use solar energy. How long until a solar installation pays for itself? With most residential solar systems costing between $5,500 – $8,000, it really depends on your typical gas and electricity costs. However, the general guide is that solar systems pay for themselves in 3-4 years. After that, the savings are all yours. What about battery storage? Battery storage is a great way to break free from energy companies for good. With battery storage, all your exc...