Photo
Popularity Rate down 0wattwatters who think this pulse is not really interesting Rate up 0wattwatters who think this pulse is interesting

Australian Government incentives on solar power in homes

Jonathan Buck on September 3, 2008 | 2315 Views | 3 Comments

First admission: I work for the IEC, the organization that supports wattwatt.

Second admission: I work in communications. 

But I couldn't help sharing this from Australia thanks to my colleague Pierre de Ruvo who works for one of IEC's certification schemes. He pointed out an initiative from the  Australian Governement where residents can claim grants and receive rebates for investments in solar power in their homes.

To quote the publication: "The Solar Homes and Communities Plan encourages the long-term use of photovoltaic technology to generate electricity from sunlight and to increase the use of renewable energy in Australia.
The key objectives of the program are to:
• reduce greenhouse emissions;
• assist in the development of the Australian photovoltaic industry; and
• increase public awareness of renewable energy.
The program provides rebates to homeowners who install photovoltaic power systems on their principal place of residence, and grants to community organisations that install photovoltaic power systems for educational purposes."

Oh, and did I mention that they use IEC Standards (IEC 61215 or IEC 61646) and certification to judge eligibility? Well now I have.  I will post a wikiwatt to keep the links. 

3 Comments

Photo #1 by Jack Sheldon on September 29, 2008 at 6:53 p.m.

Well I have to question objective number 1 of the Australian Government, which apparently has failed to do its homework. The use of photovoltaic technology will more than likely increase greenhouse emissions over conventional power generation. The manufacture of photovoltaic devices generates more greenhouse emissions than will ever be saved during the lifetime of the technology.

For the other two objectives, why not, they're one way of spending taxpayers' money.

Photo #2 by Jonathan Buck on October 7, 2008 at 10:56 a.m.

Just read this interesting post on GIGS technology - may be Jack's comment is becoming outdated? I would appreciate any input to this important discussion.

 

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10/thin-film-solar.html

 

Photo #3 by Jonathan Buck on October 27, 2008 at 9:07 a.m.

Jack - Please see the following two studies (one from the US Department of Energy) which show the calculated payback for PV. I think the technology has moved on and now offers a good return:

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/37322.pdf

http://www.ongrid.net/papers/PVvsInputEnergySWCph.pdf

 

Thanks to Pip Robbins at http://www.carbonfreetechnology.com

 

 

Related pulses

Kick a ball... and generate electricity!

Yvonne Flavin on February 13, 2010 | 288 Views
  I came across this concept quite by chance, thanks to  PRI's The World: Technology Podcast Facebook page. Four female engineering students from America's Havard University worked on a ...

2010 - year of the electric car and a little food for thought

Philippa Martin-King on January 12, 2010 | 520 Views
The 2010 Detroit and LA motor shows have a concentration of electric cars. These are either hybrid, where they are differentiated into two categories of "mild" and "full" - with the ...

Cleantech - Top ten green universities in US and top 10 countries

Philippa Martin-King on January 6, 2010 | 626 Views
A long while back, I mentioned the LED lighting in the city of Ann Arbour in one of my pulses. It's no surprise then to find that Ann Arbour ...

First pedal-powered electricity generator on Swiss football pitch

Philippa Martin-King on October 22, 2009 | 1042 Views
A group of teenagers from a local youth club in the City of Lausanne have just installed a pedal-driven lighting system on their football pitch that allows them to play ...

Chinese city of Rizhao is first to pledge to become carbon neutral

Philippa Martin-King on October 19, 2009 | 781 Views
The name of the Chinese city, Rizhao, literally means “first to get sunshine”, of which they have plenty. Rizhao is close to the city of Qingdao, famous for its Tsingtao ...

World's largest offshore windfarm is Danish

Philippa Martin-King on September 29, 2009 | 990 Views
Last week Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark officially switched on the Horns Rev 2 offshore wind farm, which will be the world’s largest until Greater Gabbard comes online off ...

Red or white? Green please!

Yvonne Flavin on September 21, 2009 | 992 Views
I've been working through my summer podcast backlog and this item from the BBC World Service's Digital Planet (programme of 25 August 2009) caught my ear, so to ...

Tidal energy project for Scottish island

Yvonne Flavin on August 26, 2009 | 1213 Views
While browsing this morning's headlines, this article in the Guardian caught my eye. Islay, one of the islands off the west coast of Scotland, famous for its whisky, is ...

Fuel cell research budget to be scrapped by DOE in the US?

Philippa Martin-King on August 18, 2009 | 1064 Views
It seems unbelievable that the US Department of Energy should be proposing in its 2010 budget  to cut $100 million from the hydrogen-fuel cell federal research programme. Apparently, politics and ...

Using solar power to recharge your gadgets

Yvonne Flavin on August 5, 2009 | 1357 Views
Last year on a flight, I bought a solar phone charger, solarmonkey . It consisted of a robust folding solar panel, about the size of a pack of cards, bundled with ...

Recharge your mobile phone with pedal power

Yvonne Flavin on July 27, 2009 | 1111 Views
I love this concept. If (when?) these chargers become available here, I definitely want one! Think back to those dynamo bike-lamps we used to have. Well, two Kenyan engineering students ...

Harwich International Port flies to turbine heights

Philippa Martin-King on April 29, 2009 | 1909 Views
Believe it or not, this futuristic impression of turbines growing in the sea is a picture taken on 28 April from the office of the General Manager Real Estate Development ...

Solar Startups Power through Recession

Taylen Peterson on April 8, 2009 | 1544 Views
The last year has seen a crash in the global economy, fueled by an overly-derived housing market and the poor banking that accompanied it. Still the sun keeps on shining ...

Energy Consulting Niche Forms in Stimulus' Wake

Dean Dowd on April 8, 2009 | 1270 Views
The nearly $800 billion stimulus package has lit a fire under the renewable energy industry. The solar industry specifically is beaming after a relatively rough year in investing and an ...

Entretien avec Baba Wamé, "l'électricité: c'est la vie!"

Philippa Martin-King on March 26, 2009 | 1308 Views
Baba Wamé, est sociologue et professeur universitaire à Yaoundé 2, Cameroun. Dans cet entretien, il me parle des coupures d'électricité supportées par toute la population. Elles empêchent les ...