Solar

When one house installed solar panels in the Queensland suburb of Carina, households around it soon followed suit.

New projects in Queensland illustrate the perfect fit of Australia's rapidly expanding aged care industry, and commercial solar.

Columnist and cartoonist Jill Redwood had to start over after the Ash Wednesday bush fires in 1983. She explains how she lives off grid with just a very small solar system of 1kW and battery storage.

IPART says beware of retailers offering high solar tariffs - some customers might be better off going with retailer that offers no tariff because of other not-so-hidden charges.

Leigh Adamson recently bought the house next door to create a rare half acre block in suburbia. He now has an alternative retirement income and is readying both homes for the oncoming energy storage revolution with small grid-connect solar systems.

W.A. energy minister Mike Nahan has done an about-face and predicted that solar will dominate the future. But the state owned utilities require solar households to sign contracts promising not to install battery storage or purchase electric vehicles.

A large scale farming irrigation system using renewable energy is providing significant fuel savings over traditional diesel or grid-powered pumps.

Some argue that even if everyone on Earth lived in an ecovillage we would still be using too many resources. I am more optimistic — some ecovillages provide a much better blueprint than others.

A new electricity retailer that will focus on smart meters, rooftop solar and battery storage is about to emerge in Australia as the shift to decentralized energy models accelerates across the country.

Brisbane indigenous company to launch 10kWh home battery storage system that it says will be cheaper than its closest competitors.

New community-owned retailer Enova releases its prospectus, championing local ownership and a 100% renewable energy target in a market dominated by big players, out-of-area projects and fossil fuel interests.

Essential Services Commission confirms plan to cut Victoria solar FiT to 5c/kWh, one week after state govt promised to fight for rooftop solar rights.

Port Macquarie Hotel that is 100% carbon neutral uses strata fees to generate 16% return on rooftop solar panels on its roof - rather than sitting in a bank - and even hosts a Tesla charging station.

Photon Energy Australia installs 99kW raised solar system on office building in Macquarie Park, Sydney, as part of a major renovation.

Alternative off grid energy systems work, are empowering, challenging and highly enjoyable, and the freedom and independence from erratic government policy interference and corporate dominance cannot be overstated.

Only one big corporate in Australia has vowed to go 100 per cent renewable energy. And IKEA, which appears to be more than half way there, says it is saving money doing so.