The Eclipse Team

We would like to wish you a happy new year and hope you had a fun time over the Xmas break, and managed to get some time off with friends and/or family.

Senate vote signals new era for Australia’s energy sector

MatthewWarren CEC

Today’s passage of the Federal Government’s clean energy legislation through the Senate was the start of a new era that will transform Australia’s energy supply, according to the clean energy industry’s peak body.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Matthew Warren said today marked the beginning of a shift in the way we generate, deliver and consume electricity.

“This is a historic day for Australia and for the energy sector more broadly. Not only does it signal to the world that our country is committed to playing its part in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, it heralds a new dawn for Australian innovation in clean energy,” Mr Warren said.

“Our industry has been calling for the right policy environment and a carbon price is a crucial part of that. The establishment of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation will give emerging technologies the boost they need to prove their potential as mainstream energy sources.

“The clean energy legislation will also provide an incentive for businesses and households to use energy more efficiently.”

A price on carbon means emissions-intensive energy sources have to pay for their pollution, allowing clean energy sources to compete on a level playing field. The legislation will help Australia play its part in avoiding dangerous climate change.

“The clean energy sector is poised to unlock billions of dollars in investment that will provide employment for tens of thousands of people and shape Australia’s electricity market for decades to come,” Mr Warren said. “Renewable energy technologies will continue to exceed expectations and predictions about its efficiency and cost. Combined with a price on carbon, the 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target will drive the widespread roll-out of clean energy at the lowest cost for all Australians. Our economy is now well placed to take advantage of our abundant natural – and renewable – resources. We don’t need to rely on our mineral wealth alone.”
(Ref CEC website)

Solar hot water a natural choice for homeowners under new regulations.

New Federal Government regulations will spark a resurgence of consumers purchasing solar hot water systems, according to the renewable energy industry’s peak body.

Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said new data released by theAustralian Bureau of Statistics yesterday showed just under one in ten people had a solar hot water system.

“The data released by the ABS this week showed 52 per cent of households currently use inefficient electric hot water systems, which account for around a quarter of the average home’s energy consumption and are a big cost on electricity bills,” Mr Marsh said.

“A federal ban on replacing these electric hot water systems from next year, combined with the shift to a national six-star standard for energy efficiency in new homes, will make solar hot water the natural choice for many homeowners.

“A solar hot water system will be one of the cheapest, easiest and cleanest ways for people to save on their power bill while complying with the new regulations,” he said.
The Federal Government and some state governments offer rebates to households that replace an existing electric hot water system with a solar hot water unit.

“Some consumers are confused about the difference between solar panel systems and solar hot water. There is also confusion about whether solar hot water systems can provide hot water at night when the sun has set. Just to be clear, they can – either by having a natural gas backup system or by storing water that was heated during the day,” Mr Marsh said.

“The future is bright for the solar hot water industry and households that embrace the technology. Investing in solar hot water also means home grown jobs for Australians and the industry is looking forward to a couple of good years all round,” he said.

ECLIPSE GOES SOCIAL

We understand the importance of Social media and engaging with our customers.

Eclipse Solar have recently launched an Eclipse Solar Facebook page.

The Facebook page will highlight our latest offers, new pricing and product information.

There will also be the opportunity for you as our important customers to give us some feedback on our products, our customer service and the market in general.

To add yourself to our Facebook page please click on the following link and like our page Facebook

ENERGEX- Residential Hot Water Off-Peak Rebate

There’s one simple thing you can do to save money and help reduce the problem of peak demand. Connect energy hungry appliances like your hot water system and pool pump to off-peak tariffs. By connecting eligible appliances to off-peak tariffs your customers can significantly reduce their electricity costs at home.

Off-peak tariffs provide electricity for up to 18 hours a day at a discounted rate, and are up to 60 per cent cheaper than the normal domestic tariff, which means your customers will see ongoing savings on their electricity bill. ENERGEX is currently offering residents throughout South East Queensland and serviced by the ENERGEX electricity distribution network, the opportunity to receive a rebate of $100 toward the cost of connecting their electric hot water system to a residential Off- Peak tariff. There is also a program for switching pool pumps where your clients can receive a $250 gift card, starting November 28th.

For more information see the energex website.

REC Solar Panels

On the 5th of September REC Solar Panels were independently ranked first during the first six months of a year long comparative quality study by Photon Magazine. REC solar panels generated more electricity than 46 other leading modules participating in the test.
REC Solar panels have also been awarded the Solar industry Award for Innovation they won this award due to the design development that gave more electrical flow. The solar panels are designed in a way that they have these innovative in-house glass etching also a special anti reflective coasting that heightens the power output in all environments. Also
Not only are REC solar panels considered the best in the world in terms of electricity production but they also have one of the best warranty programs in the industry. After all solar panels need to last people a long time, and given the harsh environment, thankfully REC gives you 25 years of warranty if your run at 80% power output. In this industry that is unheard of.

Government Discussion paper: scaling up solar

The Australian Federal Government has released a discussion paper on large-scale solar deployment in Australia, in response to the Large-Scale Solar Deployment Roundtable meeting held on 8th July 2011.

The discussion paper summarises government support for large-scale solar projects in Australia such as the Solar Flagships program, identifies key challenges in the solar industry such as finance and solar forecasting, and highlights some of the advantages of solar: Some of these advantages include

1. Although the solar resource is intermittent, the output of solar electricity plants tends to correlate with daytime electricity demand
2. Photovoltaic technology is scalable from the micro household scale to utility scales
3. There is strong community support for solar energy.

The Roundtable that generated the discussion paper was attended by a range of stakeholders, including representatives from the solar industry, peak industry organisations, solar researchers, state governments, and the Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson.

To read the paper in full click here

The Solar Power Industry Celebrates Grid Party

The Photovoltaic Association says the drop in cost of producing power from solar panels has made solar power competitive with coal-generated grid power.
Solar power generated by photovoltaic cells on Australian rooftops has become so cheap and efficient that they now produce electricity for the same price that is charged by the electricity grid.

Australia is one of the first countries in the world for such solar power to reach what is known as ‘grid parity’.

In a time of rising electricity prices, it means even without solar subsidies it makes good economic sense to install the panels on your house.

Across the country, governments of all persuasions are abandoning schemes to pay people for the power their rooftop solar cells generate.

Despite controversy over feed-in tariffs – which have been blamed for Australia’s rapidly rising electricity costs – rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are now generating electricity for the same price and sometimes cheaper than can be bought from the grid.

In effect, this makes solar competitive with coal, even without subsidies, according to Photovoltaic Association spokeswoman Dr Muriel Watt.

“It’s competitive with coal if you add what you need to do to bring the coal-fired electricity to where you want to use it,” she said.

“So it’s coal plus the network. I think it’s a really good investment and that’s just looking at it from the price of electricity now.”

Mrs Watt says the growth in the market will mean a continuing decrease in solar production costs.

“We’ve seen rapid reductions in costs of production and now that’s being reflected in prices as well, as we’ve seen a whole lot of new production come on stream,” she said.

“Australia also now has a higher dollar value, so that’s made prices of imported Solar equipment even cheaper than they are in other places not to mention that our electricity prices have gone up significantly in the last five years.”

Australian sunlight is stronger than it is in other parts of the world, making PV panels here more effective.

Mrs Watt says grid parity is solar’s coming of age and governments now need to rethink their whole power-pricing models
“It’s been the holy grail of the industry to reach it,” she said.

Mrs Watt believes home-generated power should be worth a higher, competitive price given that it is already on the doorstep and does not require the huge cost of poles and power lines.