Australia is one of the sunniest countries; one of the prerequisite reasons for solar energy to grow exponentially. Australia feeds on coal and gas-fired power stations, renewable energy sources like large-scale hydropower capacity & wind farms, solar rooftop, and solar-based hot water to produce electricity. To avoid paying a huge amount in the national electric service and subside the production of enormous carbon footprints, the Australian Government has taken a series of schemes to prioritize the solar energy instead of local electricity. Therefore, the current article will show you the top 5 reasons for choosing a solar system.
Australia’s geographical location and the intensity of the sunlight here have made this country utilize the solar panel to such a huge extent. Not only has the outrageous price of the local electricity made the solar energy the future alternative of the country but also various strategies such as the affordable price of the solar PV systems, incentives, and rebates provided by the state ministers or retailers are some of the sole reasons to initiate this pioneering method.
Solar energy is one of the most invested businesses in Australia in the recent era. Australia has witnessed a remarkable clean energy industry along with a gigantic investment in that sector. The investment doubled from $10 billion in 2017 to $20 billion in 2018 in the large-scale renewable projects, which accounted for the completion of 38 projects while leaving 87 other large projects (14.5 gigawatts) under construction that were yet to start at the beginning of 2019.
The Clean Energy Council, which is the governing body for renewable energy, as well as the energy storage industry in Australia, expects to see a target of 33000 GWh be fulfilled by 2020. Not only solar energy but also the rooftop solar energy has also set a record of producing 1.55 GW in 2018 since there were 2 million people who used to have rooftop PV systems. However, the number has increased to 2.2 million, out of which 220000 were added in 2019. The advancement in rooftop solar is one of the prime reasons for Australians for choosing a solar system.
Likewise, 2019 had had a consistent inclination of solar energy as 34 projects increased solar energy capacity by 2.2 GW. More than two-thirds of this 2.2 GW energy have been contributed by the large-scale solar, followed by the surge of rooftop solar energy usage. Together, they account for 24% of the total electricity produced in Australia.
What Is Solar System And How It Works?
The solar panel is made up of lots of tiny photovoltaic cells. Each photovoltaic cell comprises silicon cells (semi-conductor), a metal frame, a glass casing, and numerous wirings. These silicon layers are then exposed to sunlight, and the energy from the sunlight causes the electron inside the cells to move in a unidirectional way, followed by the metal conductive plates collect them on the other side. This stage forms a DC electric current in which the electricity flows in one direction.
The electricity used in Australia from the grid depends on the AC electric current. Therefore, an inverter is used to convert this DC electric current to AC. This AC electric current produced from the inverter is then used in our homes or offices.
What Are The Top 5 Reasons For Choosing Solar?
There are lots of reasons for going to solar options. From nature to saving the electricity costs, reducing carbon emissions, and various incentives can be deemed major reasons to install a solar system on your premises. Today, we will discuss 5 most important factors for which the solar system can be considered.
1. High electricity costs: The substantial rise in the domestic market’s electricity price compelled the Australian people in dire need of solar energy. Thanks to renewable energy for its price to have fallen of an average by 7.1% between 2018-19 and 2020-21, thus, alleviating the burden of the extra cost of both local and solar energy. According to a research, the four main reasons are held to be accountable for hiking the price of the wholesale electricity cost: –
- Generating electricity from the coal or fossil fuel (39%)
- Poles and wires due to longest electricity network Australia (44%)
- Electricity company administration and marketing cost (10%)
- Environmental cost (7%)
Therefore, having a solar system in your properties is a great advantage over your current on-grid electricity bills. When you install a solar system, your total bill savings over the years will help you cover the solar installation costs. Moreover, your ROI (Return on investment) will recoup easily, along with the reduction in the payback period.
2. Lucrative financial aids: Various government schemes, incentives, and benefits will enable you to get a huge discount at the time of purchase and apply for an interest-free loan to pay the remaining price. Solar panel rebate Victoria is one such example in which the Victorian government pays a rebate up to $1,850 to Victorian households followed by an interest-free loan, equivalent to the same amount as a rebate ($1,850) to lessen the overall financial problem. This loan has to be paid over the course of 48 months.
The Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STCs) help you get a discount on your upfront price before the installation takes place. To avail the STCs, the retailer and solar system’s equipment must be approved by the Clean Energy Council, for example, Cyanergy. The STCs are sold to the contracted retailers or any other liable entities. They begin to sell your STCs to offset the price of the solar panels. Most solar energy retailers deduct the STCs from the original price of the solar panels during the purchase.
Also, the feed-in-tariff, which exports your remaining energy to the grid to get credit after meeting your electricity demand, can save you at the time when the shading or absence of sunlight will affect your overall generation of power. Don’t you find these three incentives-related reasons for choosing a solar system appealing? However, Feed-in-tariff, in terms of state-wise and distributor-wise, differs.
3. Eco-friendly renewable energy: Solar energy is free from any hazardous pollution, including carbon emissions. Neither does this system advocate the release of harmful chemicals nor does this system involve natural energy sources such as coal or gas. The installation of one solar panel can eradicate around 178 tons of carbon dioxide over a span of 30 years, which is equivalent to 10 football fields covered with trees.
This system also protects our mother earth from the depletion of ozone layers and global warming. Thus, solar PV systems promote bio-diversity by removing the carbon footprints and benefiting wildlife in the most sophisticated way.
4. Easy accessibility and Storage system: One of the reasons many people used to be deterrent to using PV solar due to a fear of not accessing its energy at any time. Indeed, you can use solar energy at any time in 24 hours as the solar panels keep collecting the solar energy from the sun. If you live in an area where the sunlight is always available, you can utilize solar energy to do any task without running out of energy.
However, you have an option to purchase the battery using your own cash or incentives for storing the excess energy produced from your solar panels so that you can use that energy at any time when it’s night or cloudy. Most of the recent inverters used in solar systems, either in the commercial or residential, are equipped with a hybrid storage system. Both integrated battery and later addition of battery storage system will provide you electricity in the case of outage or power-cut.
5. Rebate options for tenants: If you think you can provide extra power as a form of electricity to your neighbors, you can reach an agreement with your tenants or neighbors. They will pay you the electricity price they have received from you based on the current tariff in the market. Solar rebate for renters has allowed the renters to co-contribute with their landlords to install the solar system to benefit from the low-cost electricity.
Like any Victorian landlord, the new scheme helps the renters claim the rebate of up to $1,850 along with an interest-free loan of up to $1,850. This loan needs to be paid within 4 years also. The only thing you as a tenant to do is to inform your landlord or property manager about the hefty perks of the rebate that they can claim for installing this robust system to benefit from it at any time. To know the eligibility of you to apply for this rebate, check the solar rebate for renters.
In essence, it is to be said that the future of our world is heavily relying on the use of renewable energy such as PV solar energy system. This is effective, efficient, and cost-friendly. Those above five-mentioned reasons for choosing solar systems reinforce that. Australia has proven that households or businesses can run by using this energy without any hassles.
When the electricity price remains stable, and the government will secure the efficient use of solar energy by providing lots of incentive schemes and other facilities, we can only then hope to benefit from the solar energy to its fullest. For more information, comment below to know more
