Many of the photovoltaic cell systems used by businesses — which mostly need power during the day when solar cells work best — are being installed without major subsidies, the relative economics have improved so much.

The number of commercial solar installations (or those larger than 10 kilowatts) increased from 550 in the first four months of last year to 1460 in the first third of this year, according to AGL figures. A spokesperson from the Mark Group said the average payback period on a commercial solar system was between four and seven years.

The number of Australian homes with solar power systems has passed the one million mark, according to figures from the Clean Energy Regulator that confirm the milestone was reached in March.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive David Green said this meant that approximately 2.5 million Australians now lived in a home with a set of solar panels on the roof – more than the entire population of Western Australia.

Clean Energy Council Deputy Chief Executive Kane Thornton said common sense had prevailed.

Moore predicted this trend would persist for another 10 years and his prognostications have proven eerily correct.

Even extrapolating Moore’s Law, as it became known, beyond the realms of semiconductors into digital technology and elsewhere, technology tends to double in power every couple of years.

And as the performance increases, the price drops in sync.

It is to this phenomenon that electricity consumers can pin their hopes in coming years as they grapple with rising power bills. The technology to deliver cheaper energy is here.

The eight-year project will bring together six Australian universities, the CSIRO and the US department of energy.

Its aim is to create new technology that will reduce the cost of solar power.

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Source: ABC News

Currently STCs are trading at around $32. With the current multiplier of 2, for a 1.5 kW system in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide this equates to a rebate of almost $2000 and in Melbourne, it’s about $1700. Even if the small scale renewables target is not changed and the STC price consequently rose to $38, the level of the rebate for such a system will drop by around $700 in Melbourne and $800 for the other mainland capitals. However a spokesperson for Minister Combet informed Climate Spectator that the STP would need to be revisited by the regulator in light of this decision meaning it is likely to be reduced. This could mean that the STC price does not noticeably rise above current levels.

Source: Climate Spectator

The monopoly electricity retailer already has collected $68 million from households and businesses and will raise an estimated further $150 million before it passes on one cent in tax.

Source: Perth Now

The 10-megawatt (MW) capacity Greenough River Solar Farm, which is Australia’s biggest solar photovoltaic project comprising 150,000 panels, was officially opened on Wednesday.

Source: ninemsn

Source: The Age

The statistic astonished many in the solar industry, given Australia’s small population compared with renewable energy market leaders such as European Union countries, China, Japan and the United States. About 392,500 new household solar systems were switched on last year.