SilexSolar - Australian Clean Energy

April 1, 2011

ACT PV FIT to remain at 45.7c

Filed under: Australian Solar Industry,solar rebates — Nigel Morris @ 12:44 PM

The ACT Government has apparently ignored the advice of the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to lower the rate for its PV G FIT, which is currently the best in Australia.

The ICRC tried to convince the ACT Government to wind back the premium rate for household generators from 45.7 cents to 39 cents per kilowatt hour.

But, according to and ABC press report just out, the Government says it will keep the current rate to provide certainty and stability for the renewable energy industry and consumers.

What remains to be seen is how they decide to price the 30-200kW program but this bodes well for a healthy rebate at mini commercial scale.

Three cheers for the ACT Government

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March 21, 2011

Solar Power Rebates in Australia – Part 2

Filed under: solar rebates — Nigel Morris @ 12:44 PM

We recently summarised some of the incentives for solar power in Part 1 of this series on Rebates here.

This time round, we are focusing on Feed In Tariffs (FIT’s), which are the second critical support mechanism for solar systems.

What is a Feed in Tariff?

A Feed in Tariff is a mechanism to pay for energy generated from renewable energy systems. FITs are the most widely used policy in the world for accelerating renewable energy deployment and were first trialed in 1978 by the Carter administration. They have been more successful at accelerating demand for solar energy than any other policy mechanism.

There are many ways of implementing and designing Feed In Tariff’s; which we won’t go in to here, but if you are interested in learning more about the pro’s and cons of different designs, we recommend this report, produced in 2010 by NREL, a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy.

FIT’s in Australia

Here in Australia, we have a variety of FIT’s which have been designed and operated by our State Governments. Although they apply to many forms of Renewable Energy, we will focus on solar energy only.

The fundamental benefit of FIT’s is that they (generally) pay you a premium amount for the energy you generate which speeds up the payback period. It is important to note that FIT’s do not effect the up front cost – (which also effects the payback period) - rebates and other incentives perform that function.

Importantly, in Australia we have two basic forms of FIT’s – Net and Gross.

A Net FIT pays you a premium ONLY for the energy you export (above what you have used). In this case, you will need a system that generally generates more than you use to receive the FIT benefits, although in some cases the time of day you use – or generate – energy can be the deciding factor. Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland all have Net FIT’s.

A Gross FIT pays you a premium for ALL the energy you generate, irrespective of how much or when you use energy. The Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales have Gross FIT’s.

Understanding what you will get from your FIT, and under what conditions is really important.

A vitally important factor to note is that like all policies, FIT’s have rules, boundaries and do change! Some FIT’s apply only to Residential and some to Commercial sized projects. The FIT’s listed below represent those currently available for Residential applications; and some hints on their expected life.

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March 10, 2011

SilexSolarDirect to your roof!

Filed under: Australian Solar Industry,SilexSolar Products — Nigel Morris @ 12:14 PM

It’s not every day something really big happens in the solar power industry, but this week something really big did happen.

Ive been in the solar industry for almost 20 years and I’ve always wished that solar panels could be made available direct from the factory to solar installers.

And this week, SilexSolar launched SilexSolarDirect – which does exactly that.

Normally solar panels are sold through Wholesale Distributors to Retailers and then to the public. Let me be clear – I hold nothing against Distributors; to the contrary they can add huge value and still have a vital role to play. SilexSolar still supports them too, and I’m sure some Retailers will continue to buy through them.

But there are some Retailers who don’t, or won’t buy through Wholesalers. In recent years, the floodgates have opened for imported solar panels allowing Retailers to buy direct (or pseudo direct through brokers). But this has created a lot of problems – cash flow, foreign exchange risk, stock piles of stock etc.

SilexSolar managed to find a great formulae by developing a Retailer portal so Retailers can simply, conveniently and cheaply buy small volumes, on line, direct from the factory.

The aim? Faster delivery, less risk and thus lower prices for consumers who want Australian made SilexSolar panels.

Some of you might ask “Why not direct to Consumer?”. SilexSolar thought hard about this and its important to remember some fundamentals.

First, solar panels generate high voltage DC and ultimately, 240V Ac, both of which can be deadly. Unfortunately, this is not a DIY product….

Secondly, to get access to Feed In Tariffs or Renewable Energy Certificates, your system needs to be designed, installed and signed off by a trained and accredited Clean Energy Council installer in the majority of cases.

And last, SilexSolar focus is making great solar panels but a solar system needs other equipment too. These days, Retailers have a wide variety of options available to them to optimise systems to meet your needs – special products to maximise output in shaded sites, a variety of mounting systems for different roofs, various monitoring tools etc etc.

So by letting the Installers select the best gear – and not trying to make a margin by getting in the Distribution loop – we aim to give you more choice and better pricing. It also leaves room for Wholesale Distributors to make a living and support these products.

The response since we launched has been fantastic and we are excited about what this means for the entire industry.

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February 16, 2011

Solar Power rebates in Australia – Part 1

Filed under: solar rebates — Nigel Morris @ 4:54 PM

Despite confusing press stories on the issue, solar funding programs do exist in Australia. You can get support for the up front cost of solar systems (through STCs) and ongoing financial returns (thoughFeed In Tariffs).

What makes it confusing is that almost all of these programs undergo regular change; many have “caps” or “review triggers” or are simply subject to regular review; so the opportunities do change quite regularly.

Despite this, Australian’s can currently benefit from some of the best support in the world for buying and owning solar power systems. Compared to most other countries, our returns on investment are excellent (albiet heavily skewed towards 1.5kW systems).

Having said all that, we’ll cover FIT’s in Part 2 so first lets look at the current support for up front costs through STC’s.

STC’s (Small-scale Technology Certificates)

On the 1st January 2011, the Federal regulations that control REC’s for small PV systems changed. They are now called STC’s and a new mechanism for trading them is in place (you can read more about the scheme here). What is most important for residential solar power system buyers, is that the value of STCs has increased since late last year, which means more up front discounts are available at the time of writing.

Importantly, the price is NOT fixed; they are traded on a pseudo market based mechanism, although the recent changes were designed (and seem to be) holding the price in a smaller range of $34-40/SREC depending on who you are dealing with.

Whats also important is that from July 1st 2011 the number of STC’s “claimable” on a 1.5kW solar system will reduce. Although it varies a bit depending on your location, in simple terms it means that (at an average of $37/STC) your up front discount will reduce from $5735 to $4588.

With Retail prices for quality systems hovering around $9000 fully installed, that means your net cost will change from around $3200 to around $4400.

Should you get in now ?

If you are considering buying a solar system, the impending changes do provide a clear incentive to act sooner rather than later. If you have the “solar itch” in 2011 it would make sense to move quickly.

But wont solar get cheaper anyway, offsetting the changes?

Probably, but not absolutely. Like computers and mobile phones, technology costs are predicted to decrease over time, but this is subject to a myriad of global factors. We are also heavily influenced by an all time high US$, which could drop, increasing the cost of the majority of solar system components.

The impending reduction in STC value is a known factor that you can predict, which is a rare thing. Go ahead, scratch that itch!

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January 28, 2011

Grid Connect backup solar systems

Filed under: SilexSolar Products — Nigel Morris @ 4:02 PM

Update to post

Since posting this story I have been delighted to learn that there is another product option out there; and guess what it’s actually cheaper and even cooler, its Australian made!

Selectronics have a really clever package available which does pretty much the same thing as the previously mentioned SMA Sunny Backup, but has a few more smarts.

The SP Pro allows you to elect when to import or export energy; allowing you to maximise revenues from your energy sales and minimise your costs from peak tariffs. Nice; and a feature utilities are going to be looking for in the future.

Additionally, I’m advised that the entire Selectronics package including Grid Connect inverter is worth around $7500; compared to SMA at around $10,500, (including inverter but excluding installation costs). But please, do your own price research.

Imagine it; a clean green Australian made solar system from SilexSolar and an Australian made Grid Connect Battery back up system system; powering you through the the worst mother nature could muster, with the lights on and making you more money all the time!

Previous post

A recent comment to our blog Safe Solar in Queensland Floods prompted me to dig a little deeper into the topic of backup or emergency power.

First, its worth understanding that Grid Connect solar systems have no energy storage (ie batteries), rely on the grid being live as a “reference” point to operate and are designed to shut down when the grid is NOT live, as a very important safety feature.

However, if you DID want back up power in the event of a blackout, what would be required?

1) Some storage in the form of batteries. This would need to be designed to match the size of your loads (ie the peak Watts of your appliances) and the duration you wanted to run them for (the kW/hs). E.G. 200W Fridge x 6 hours = 1200Wh + 100W (phone chargers, laptop and modem) x 6 h = 600Wh = 1800Wh total.

2)You then need an auxillary or emergency circuit. This needs to be installed by an electrician and have some switchgear attached to make 100% sure when the grid power is out, the switchgear recognises it and opens up an isolated emergency circuit.

3) You then need a separate inverter which converts the DC power stored in your battery to 240V AC, establishes this as an isolated replica of the grid, which your Grid Connect inverter then recognises as its “reference” point, so it can come back to life. As I previously mentioned here, SMA do a very neat example which has all of this gear in one integrated package, including the brains and hardware to make it all safe and legal.

The picture below describes a typical layout.

sunny back up image

How much does it cost?

This depends primarily on how much energy you want to store, for how long and thus, the batteries. There’s also a bit of labour and electrical work required.

However, a quick web search revealed prices around $7000 for the Sunny Backup and switch box, around $1000 for a suitable battery (to match the example loads above) and indicatively, $1000 for electrical installation; so all up around $9000.

Good value? That depends on what value you put on un-interruptable power.

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January 13, 2011

Safe Solar Systems in Queensland Flood areas

Filed under: SilexSolar Products — Nigel Morris @ 5:57 PM

You have probably heard about the terrible flooding in Queensland, and now New South Wales and Victoria are also bracing for flood damage.

On behalf of everyone here at SilexSolar, we send our most sincere condolesences to those who have suffered at the hands of mother natures astounding fury.

I feel obliged to write about the potential risks associated with Grid Connect Solar systems in flood effected areas, after reading some posts on other sites.

Losing access to electricity is no doubt adding to the anguish and desperation of those in need; an event like this serves to remind us how much we all rely on electricity to keep the wheels turning in our daily lives, let alone when we are faced with such difficult circumstances.

And I can sense the frustration of people with Grid Connect Solar Systems who despite having roof mounted solar panels, are also with out electricity. All such solar systems are required to shutdown if the main grid is switched off, as it is in many parts of Queensland. It must be tempting to utilise those solar panels to recharge phones or run small appliances.

But I urge anyone who has a solar system and has been flood effected (or knows anyone in this situation) to follow this simple advice:

DO NOT be tempted to activate your system, irrespective of whether the main grid is on or off. Contact your installer for a full inspection before touching anything.
DO NOT be tempted to disconnect or use individual solar panels to run appliances or charge batteries. Grid Connected systems produce High Voltage DC even when disconnected from the main grid and can cause serious injury, fire, electrocution and potentially death.
DO NOT touch your solar panels or their frames,mounting systems or cabling, particularly if they are mounted on metal roofs.
DO contact and urge your friends and family to avoid touching any part of their solar system.
DO contact your solar supplieras soon as possible for their professional advice in your individual situation.

Having said all this, solar power CAN help in time like this and there are a myriad of affordable, portable and safe solar devices available for charging phones, computers and other small appliances which can help. Companies like Todae (a SilexSolar Distributor) have a wide range available here.

Stay safe.

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December 17, 2010

solar power; now with steak knives!

Filed under: SilexSolar Products — Nigel Morris @ 4:15 PM

In 2010 the Australian solar market will grow by more than 350% compared to 2009.

Coinciding with the growth, we have seen price reductions (terrific!), more innovation(cool!) and the return of PV manufacturing to Australia courtesy of SilexSolars investment (excellent!)

However, such growth inevitably attracts less desirable behaviour in the market too. This year we have seen the ACCC enforce public retractions for misleading advertising (oops), increasing complaints about poor workmanship (uh-oh) and I know of one company that was importing steak knives and figured adding solar panels to the shipment would be too easy (seriously!).

And today, I was contacted by an unfortunate soul who looks set to lose his job for poor sales performance who I shall paraphrase “I appreciated the conversation I had with you the other week as someone who got hired somewhat randomly by an import company…..This will probably be my last day working at (company x) as I have been terribly unsuccessful at selling anything, and have little confidence in the quality of our products”

It turns out the company he works for – who very recently entered the solar panel market – generally import car parts and figured solar panels would be a logical and simple addition to their business. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Selling poor quality solar panels, through teams with no experience at prices that seem too good to true generally are too good to be true. Are they likely to be here in a few years in the event of a problem? I doubt it very much. Could they inadvertendtly sell inferior products that won’t last ? Quite possibly. Could they accidentally package systems together that are technically poorly matched? Probably.

Take a note of caution from these stories and remember the phrase Caveat Emptor (Let the buyer beware)

Choose suppliers who have a track record or at least, a high degree of competence and understanding in what they are doing when it comes to solar power in Australia.

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December 9, 2010

News on SilexSolar manufacturing robot

Filed under: Australian Solar Industry — Nigel Morris @ 1:11 PM

We previously announced the commissioning of a fantastic new assembly robot at SilexSolar’s Australian Solar Panel factory, and I had a chance to drop in and see it last week.

This amazing machine is just one of a handful in operation around the world. In simple terms, it takes solar cells (produced in the plant) and adds tabbing, then connects them together, then scans them for defects, then assembles them into modules ready for completion.

Whats really incredible is the speed, accuracy and precision with which this device operates. Two features really stand out; one is the ultrasonic soldering.

This feature significantly reduces stress on the cell (compared to pushing a heated solder head onto the cell) and provides a really neat lower resistance contact. What that means for consumers is a more reliable, more powerful connection. The alternative is what is typically seen in many factories producing lower cost solar panels using cheap labour; hundreds of process workers around big tables manually soldering cells. You can imagine the variability of this type of technique.

The second feature is the infrared scanning of cells. This automated process scans every single cell looking for hidden defects such as micro cracks or inherent but invisible faults within the structure of the silicon. While I stood at the machine with a SilexSolar Distributor, we watched it identify a hidden flaw in a cell and isolate the string from assembly in real time. The flaw was a hidden blemish, most likely an iregularity within the structure of the silicon crystal. This may or may not have lead to a future failure, but most certainly it would have effected power. The benefit to consumers is increased reliability and more power.

Lastly, during my tour of this exciting new set of processes with some SilexSolar Distributors, we were reminded of the how human beings can influence production processes, both positively and negatively. While we were inspecting a string of cells that had just come out of the new robot one (unnamed to avoid embarrassment!) Distributor leaned over for a closer look only for his sunglasses to fall from his pocket and destroy 3 beautiful, perfectly soldered cells!!

It all seemed to happen in slow motion and despite the red faces, the SilexSolar team went to great lengths to assure him it was ok but oh boy, did he get a ribbing for the rest of the day.

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November 22, 2010

SilexSolar systems in Australia

Filed under: SilexSolar customers — Nigel Morris @ 9:13 AM

It is quite incredible to think that SilexSolar only started up it’s Australian Solar factory in April 2010.

Already, there are thousands of homes using SilexSolar Panels to generate clean green energy. You can see some of our great systems here

DO YOU HAVE A SILEX SOLAR SYSTEM?

We’d love to hear from you if you have a solar system with Australian made SilexSolar Panels, please leave us a comment and tell us your story!

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November 12, 2010

Robots for Module Assembly at Silex Solar

Filed under: SilexSolar Products — Tony Leo @ 3:02 PM

Silex Solar has greatly increased manufacturing capacity of high quality solar panels using state of the art industrial robots and camera systems.
These days industrial robots can manipulate large components with incredible precision and speed.
Robots do not require coffee breaks and are really reliable being pioneered by the automobile manufacturing industry.
Our robots are not replacing people but are making people more productive.

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