Ever wondered why coal companies and electric utilities – and political parties which rely on them for donations – are afraid of solar. It’s quite simple. Much of the solar output occurs during the afternoon when the demand for power is peaking, especially in summer, and when the big generators like AGL have been able to charge very high prices for the power they supply to the national grid. Today, solar is causing a fall in peak demand from the grid and, as a result, a fall in prices and…profits.
Reading Power Bills
The power utilities make it very difficult for those customers with solar systems. Origin’s bill, for example, has a line which reads `solar contribution’. What they don’t tell you is that this includes only what you export to the grid at a lousy 6c per kWh. It does not include the solar power you use during the day which, because it replaces power at 25c per kWh is by far the most valuable part.
Castlemaine to the world
Tim Flannery’s speech and Q&A at the Castlemaine Town Hall on September 26 will be broadcast live on the internet to Peking, Woodend, New York, Chewton and…the world. Moreover, the electricity needed will be effectively sourced from solar power as the Town Hall’s 100 or so panels will have produced a surplus that day which will should at least equal our needs on the night.
More solar news next week. In the meantime if you’d like to register for MASH2 or book for ‘An Evening with Tim Flannery’, go to mash.org.au or phone 0455 589 065