25 October 2017, ENOVA One Step Off the Grid: Enova launches community “Solar Garden” for those who can’t install. NSW community energy retailer Enova has launched a first-of-its kind project that will enable renters and others who can’t intall rooftop solar to invest in a “solar garden” and benefit from reduced bills. The idea is to build a 99kW rooftop solar system – most likely on a business – and “sell” the panels in 1kW chucks to consumers that can’t put solar on their own roofs, either because they are renting, they live in apartments, in houses that are shaded, or can’t afford to invest in a whole system. Enova held a public meeting in the northern Rivers town of Brunswick Heads on Tuesday to sell the idea, which it says could be the first of many such “solar gardens”, particularly as it moves into the major metropolitan markets of Newcastle and Sydney early next year. “We’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Enova chair Alison Crook said. “People have been saying they want to install solar but they can’t do it …. this makes rooftop solar more affordable and accessible for everyone. We didn’t think that we’d be able to offer this so quickly – but it is here.” The savings from a solar garden are not as great as having your own rooftop solar, but according to Enova’s numbers they are substantial, and can offer a rapid payback time. Customers will be able to buy capacity in increments of 1kW. The upfront price is expected to be $1,000 for each 1kW, and the returns could up to to 23 per cent a year (in the form of a $230 reduction in annual energy bills for each kW). That represents a payback of less than 5 years. The deal lasts for 20 years. Read More here
Tag Archives: Community
21 September 2017, The Conversation, Sustainable cities? Australia’s building and planning rules stand in the way of getting there. Australia’s building and land-use policy settings fall well short of what’s needed to make meaningful progress toward creating sustainable cities. You will find environmental sustainability goals and objectives in government strategy documents. But our newly released review of building and land-use planning policies around Australia has found New South Wales is the only state without serious gaps in legislation and enforcement. Research shows a large percentage of new dwellings in Australia fail to meet even minimum building requirements when checked after construction. There is little legislation and enforcement, with the notable exception of NSW’s Building and Sustainability Index (BASIX). This means neither building codes nor state planning systems are achieving sustainability goals required for a low-carbon future for cities and buildings. Sustainable cities are among the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At present, Australia ranks 20th on progress toward these goals. So how important is the built environment to Australia’s ability to achieve these goals? In fact, it’s a significant contributor to anthropogenic climate change. The built environment accounts for around 40% of worldwide energy useand one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. In Australia, the residential sector is responsible for 12% of final energy use and 13% of emissions. Read More here
4 September 2017, One Step Off the Grid, Community retailer Enova to buy and sell rooftop solar power, Australia’s first community-owned energy retailer, the Northern Rivers NSW-based Enova Energy, will soon offer customers locally generated rooftop solar power, as part of its goal of producing enough renewable electricity to meet all of its customers’ needs. In a statement released late last week, the company said it would now purchase excess rooftop solar generation from its customers, as well as from local community solar farms and gardens, to sell on to other customers who wanted access to solar power, but could not generate it themselves. The new scheme, which Enova says could meet just under half of existing customer requirements, comes less than two months after the retailer boosted its solar feed-in tariff by 33 per cent, to 16c/kWh. “Using solar supplies such as (the new 18kW system on our own office rooftop in Byron Bay) ….we can now supply locally generated renewable energy to people who don’t own their own solar panels,“ Enova said in a statement late last week. “Enova can meet approximately 40% of existing user requirements with this locally generated renewable energy.” The retailer said that it was also introducing new energy plans to allow customers to access the community generated solar. Read More here
4 September 2017, The Conversation, This is why we cannot rely on cities alone to tackle climate change. A lot of faith is vested in cities to tackle climate change, and with good reason. A day after the June 1 declaration that the US would exit the Paris Agreement, 82 American “climate mayors” committed to upholding the accord. By August 4, when the US gave formal notice of its withdrawal, there were 372 “climate mayors” representing 67 million Americans. In Australia, too, national intransigence has led to greater expectations of local actions. The Climate Council’s July report declares that deep cuts in cities’ greenhouse gas emissions can achieve 70% of Australia’s Paris goals. The report notes that a majority of Australian cities have adopted climate policies. Many are committed to 100% renewable energy or zero emissions. One of the report’s authors argues that, even without national leadership, Australian cities can “just get on with the job of implementing climate policies”. Many European cities have ambitious emission-reduction targets. Copenhagen plans to be the world’s first carbon-neutral capital by 2025. Stockholm aims to be fossil-fuel-free by 2040. So, at first glance, cities do appear to be leading the way. A word of caution We support local decarbonisation and the desire for cities to be progressive actors. Yet there are ample grounds to be dubious about cities’ ability to deliver on their commitments. Sam Brooks, former director of the District of Columbia’s Energy Division, has laid out sobering evidence on the reality of climate action in US cities. Brooks supports stronger local action rather than “press releases” and “mindless cheerleading”. He shows that most emission cuts in US cities can be attributed to state and federal initiatives such as renewable portfolio standards or national fuel-efficiency rules. Read More here