Queensland utilities extend an olive branch to solar innovators
Whilst I often call a spade a spade and generally suffer from immense frustration with utility attitudes to solar, I have to give credit where credit is due. The next time you bump into the CEO’s of...
View ArticleWhat do Origin Energy half yearly results tell us?
Origin Energy released their half yearly results today and there are some interesting facts within the presentation pack. I’ll leave financial analysts and shareholders to comment on the statutory loss...
View ArticleLock up your powerboard; the all electric bikies are coming
This week I set out to test the touring range of my Zero electric motorcycle, combining a business trip to talk about solar and some real world riding on some of Australia’s best motorcycle roads. I...
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What happens when a solar eclipse takes 30GW of solar off-line?
The world is about to experience a fascinating experiment, when a solar eclipse hits Europe on March 20th 2015. The managers of Europe’s power networks are well aware and I stumbled across a...
View ArticleIs this the key to Australia’s economic and environmental success?
The nice thing about weekend’s is you get a bit of downtime to read detailed reports and ponder the state of the world. This weekend I stumbled across an annual report called the Global Energy...
View ArticleWhat do solar anti-dumping tariffs mean for Australia?
A little over a year ago, Australia’s only PV module manufacturer initiated an Anti-Dumping claim over the importation of Chinese PV products. In the simplest of terms, the claim is based on the...
View ArticleAnd the winner is….. distributed solar generation
Not a day goes by when I don’t learn something new about what solar energy can do and frankly, how much BS exists about “the problems” that it theoretically causes. I’m no conspiracy theorist but I...
View Article“Dear Government of Australia ; Australia’s Energy Prosperity Future Mega...
Dear Prime Minister Abbott OK I if call you Tony? Tony, mate, I was thinking about you this morning as I read the paper and since its been a while since I’ve written to you, I thought I’d drop you a...
View Article2014 – We may have a lot of coal, but we’ve got a lot more sun.
I hope like me, you got a chance to recharge your batteries with a summer break after a grueling year in 2013. The holidays are a chance to reflect, talk to “real people” and look at the big picture...
View ArticleLuckily, there is one psychologist for every solar employee in Australia
The Rec Agents Association released a new analysis and PR Blitz today, describing the enormous employment value of the Australian solar industry. Commissioned by Greenbank Environmental, I was lucky...
View ArticleWhy Deutsche Bank’s solar projections don’t fit Australia
I read with great interest that Deutsche Bank is projecting a potential reduction in solar costs of around 40% in the next two years. I’m excited to hear about this and don’t want to rain on anyone...
View ArticleWhat do solar anti-dumping tariffs mean for Australia?
A little over a year ago, Australia’s only PV module manufacturer initiated an Anti-Dumping claim over the importation of Chinese PV products. In the simplest of terms, the claim is based on the...
View ArticleDear PM – I’ve written an Energy Prosperity Future Mega Super Plan for you
Dear Prime Minister Abbott OK I if call you Tony? Tony, mate, I was thinking about you this morning as I read the paper and since its been a while since I’ve written to you, I thought I’d drop you a...
View ArticleSolar2015 conference –“Australia, ground Zero for storage”
The annual Solar2015 conference is done and dusted for another year. This year the event successfully choreographed three events into one and everyone I spoke to loved it. I read some interesting...
View ArticleSA Power Network’s declares war on solar owners
Wow, I haven’t been this angry for ages. Tonight’s announcement by the ABC that SA Power Networks has applied to the Australian Energy Regulator to discriminate directly and specifically against one...
View ArticleThe Greatest Debacle in Solar PV: Australia’s Rooftop DC Isolator Fires
The Australian solar PV market is on fire. Generous subsidies and support mechanisms have produced almost 2 million solar PV installations across the country, placing Australia among the leaders in...
View ArticleDear Prime Minister Tony Abbott – a word of advice
Dear Prime Minister (Tone is ok, right?) I’ve written a few times before on the issue of the RET and solar and other stuff and it’s clearly that time again. Tone, mate, yesterday I was on a call to a...
View ArticleAustralia’s Renewable Energy Target –“We’re back baby”
Thank goodness that’s over. Since almost the day our current Government came to power, we have undergone a torturous, needless and spurious inquisition into the Renewable Energy Target. Yes, we look...
View ArticleBREAKING; Australian Government to fund Perpetual Motion technologies
Over the weekend, details emerged of a Government issued directive to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. In a nutshell, they have universally re-classified what “Clean Energy” actually means and...
View ArticleThe last word; my final blog post for SolarBusinessServices
Since founding SolarBusinessServices almost seven years ago, I have learned a hell of a lot. One thing I have learned is that change is not only inevitable, it’s absolutely necessary. Businesses can’t...
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