Grid-Feed Solar Power
Generate your own electricity - sell excess into the grid.
A great way to do your bit for the environment is to generate your own clean electric power with solar panels and/or wind generators.
DC power is produced on your roof and an inverter converts it to 240 volt AC power – identical to the power you pull out of the grid. When you generate more power than you can use, the excess is fed into the grid, earning you credits. At night or when electricity use is high, you draw power from the grid as normal.
In the May 2007 budget, the Federal Government doubled the rebate for grid-feed systems to $8,000. After this rebate and RECs, a 1kW grid-power system costs around $7,000 installed. In parts of WA including Margaret River, a special "fringe-of-grid" rebate scheme pays half the cost of any-size system.
Power Prices to Rise
On the ABC's 7.30 Report on June 4th, 2007, Greg Houston of NERA Economic Consulting predicted that electricity prices would need to rise by "as much as 50%" if carbon trading is introduced. That would take the price of a unit of electricity to over 19 cents. Even if they rose by just 3% a year, the retail price of a unit of power will be around 30 cents a unit in 30 years time. So buying power from the grid is going to cost you much more. This makes generating your own power a very attractive proposition.
But wait! There's more! The SA and ACT governments have already introduced legislation which forces their local power companies to pay a "three-times buy-in tariff". What this means is that they pay three times as much for the power from you as you pay for the power you draw from the grid. Other states are expected to follow suit. With higher power prices and a higher buy-in tarrif, the pay-back period on grid-feed could be as little as three years - on a system which should last for at least 30 years!
Now is the Best Time to Buy
People ask us whether new technology will reduce the price of grid-feed systems. We don't have a crystal ball but what we do know is that the rebate schemes are capped - when the money's gone they could end – and that suppliers are having trouble keeping up with demand. When demand is greater than supply, prices never come down. We genuinely believe now is a great time to install your own power system. Call you nearest SolarCo dealer for a detailed quote and for help with putting in your grant application.
Conergy grid-power systems are available in standard sizes of 1kW, 1.5kW, 2kW and 5kW. These are "off-the-shelf"systems, designed by BCSE engineers and already approved by the relevant authorities, or we can customise a system to suit. If you think ahead, you can also make provision to increase your generating capacity at a later date.
- The 1kW system is upgradeable to 1.5kW just by adding 3 panels.
- The 1kW system can be upgraded to 2kW by adding 6 extra panels if a larger inverter is fitted during initial installation.
- The 1.5kW system can be upgraded to 2kW by adding 3 extra panels or 3kW by adding 9 extra panels if a larger inverter is fitted during initial installation.
- The 2kW system can be upgraded to 4kW by adding 12 extra panels if a larger inverter is fitted during the initial installation.