Daniel Andrews solar panels initiative

Wont the solar rebate just drive STC rebates down? Won't it lower the FIT providers are offering? I actually just got a quote on a 6kw system a few weeks ago so this is great timing but I'm not sure this is a great policy, seems a bit of the haves and have nots.

overhang said:

but I'm not sure this is a great policy, seems a bit of the haves and have nots.

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Like negative gearing.

overhang said:

We had solar hot water with our house to achieve the 5 star rating, this consisted of 2 collector panels on the roof. Come home to water gushing out of the frost valve, made a warranty claim and they replaced the valve, well this happened 2 more times but the 3rd time it was out of warranty. The company told me the hoses were faulty and they could replace them for about $800 by memory. Rang a plumber and got him to disconnect the whole system, he told me you wouldn't believe how many of these they have disconnected for the same issue. Didn't even notice a significant increase in the gas bill after they were disconnected.

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Let's just say the volume of crap work done and rubbish products sold to the public makes me angry.

Solar can, however, be done properly.

sptrawler said:

It is hard to appreciate the issues, unless someone has worked in the power industry, or has an electrical background.

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Which I haven't got - so thanks for sharing

I do remember reading about similar issues in the past about using US (60hz) gear here (50hz).

sptrawler said:

I think rebates on solar hot water systems, is a good move, as long as it doesn't just put up the price of the systems by a corresponding amount.

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That is my next move to get a new solar hot water system but I

moXJO said:

I think it was a mistake privatizing the energy industry. Some things should be in the governments ha

Can I ask what the price of the system was?
Did the house need much rewiring done?

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Basically no rewiring to the existing solar system . Been out in the bush I previousally had a isolation switch so I plug a large generator into the house to run the house when the power went down. Bit of fart arsing around bypassing this and keeping things safe otherwise my battery was only a metre or so from my switchboard metre. Of course if the battery is located a distance away more cabling etc would be required but as such no rewiring of the house etc . The gateway is what controls the battery and allows distribution between the solar, house, battery and grid . It also tricks the solar into thinking the grid is still active (when a blackout occurs ) so your solar keeps working as long as there is sun of course.
Illl look at some invoices to get you pricing. The powerwall 2 may have even come down alittle since then. There are other battery options out there but I went with Tesla basically as the unit has a higher operating temperature , is rated for outdoor mounting without and additional cover etc , has good storage capacity , can be stacked , has good apps to monitor usage and to my knowledge is the only system to date that can mimic the grid to allow solar function in a power out (important in a bushfire area that I live in)

The price of STC's (Small scale Technology Certificates - that's a government mandated market based way of subsidising solar) have dropped from about $35.50 each down toward $34 so there's already an impact on the market from the Victorian government's scheme.

Bearing in mind that solar tends to be done on fairly small margins, not all but a lot of customers are highly price conscious, someone's going to be getting squeezed financially.

For those not in Vic, assuming the trend continues it'll increase the cost of putting solar on your roof. FWIW that makes it a loss for me personally since I'm planning to put a few* panels on the roof of the new place but need to do some other work first.

*Few - well yeah, alright, Smurf will be putting a small power station on the roof actually but that's another story. Somewhere in in the 10 - 13 kW range most likely.

Smurf1976 said:

*Few - well yeah, alright, Smurf will be putting a small power station on the roof actually but that's another story. Somewhere in in the 10 - 13 kW range most likely.

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Just what S.A need smurph, more solar.

Smurf1976 said:

The price of STC's (Small scale Technology Certificates - that's a government mandated market based way of subsidising solar) have dropped from about $35.50 each down toward $34 so there's already an impact on the market from the Victorian government's scheme.

Bearing in mind that solar tends to be done on fairly small margins, not all but a lot of customers are highly price conscious, someone's going to be getting squeezed financially.

For those not in Vic, assuming the trend continues it'll increase the cost of putting solar on your roof. FWIW that makes it a loss for me personally since I'm planning to put a few* panels on the roof of the new place but need to do some other work first.

*Few - well yeah, alright, Smurf will be putting a small power station on the roof actually but that's another story. Somewhere in in the 10 - 13 kW range most likely.

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BIG Deal.. Does that suggest you are intending to have some sort of battery and also run an electric car ?

As a homeowner in Melbourne who can't quite justify splashing out for panels, I'm very happy with this policy and will be jumping on it in July 2019.

Having said that, we all know every time a Government announces a big project, there will inevitably be a whole raft of problems and dramas, cost blowouts, rorts etc. etc.

basilio said:

BIG Deal.. Does that suggest you are intending to have some sort of battery and also run an electric car ?

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At a purely personal level and in relation to my new (old) house:

Existing energy arrangements are oil-fired heating, off-peak electric hot water, electric cooking, no solar. There's also no insulation anywhere so far as I'm aware. So basically I've bought some land with a house on it, the latter being effectively a give away, and the intent is to bring it all back up to very good condition.

Short term I'll be using it all "as is" as the house is worked on but making the place more energy efficient is part of the plan.

Reason for the solar system capacity is partly due to the site being less than optimal in terms of roof layout and orientation plus there's trees which will cause some shading. So the capacity is a workaround to poorer efficiency, the alternative being to turn the trees into firewood or woodchips.

The solar will be done fairly soon once I get a few other things sorted (like repairing the roof).

Battery - well that depends on battery prices and what happens with some proposed new electricity pricing arrangements but at this stage the intent is to install one in 2020.

No specific plans for electric cars at this stage although I've long been keen on the idea. First drove an adapted one back in the 1990's and have been convinced ever since that it's the way forward. It's not on the agenda short term though.

I was actually getting solar quotes before this announcement so this makes the decision a no brainier now. However I don't agree with the policy, in 2017 there were 41000 new solar installations in Victoria which was up from 33000 in 2016. The policy plan is to rebate 650k homes over 10 year. So assuming 41000 are going to continue the trend of installing solar each year then we are paying $124 million to install solar to an additional 24k homes each year.

I'm also cynical that this won't just increase energy prices for everyone else. In Victoria if you shop around a few energy providers are offering about 11 c/KWh FIT. Would current energy produces be able to produce energy for under 11 c/KWh? At the end of the day if they're paying more for energy via FIT than they can produce it for then they will have to increase their prices (or lower the FIT) to maintain margins.