Antinuclear

Offgrid solar power an economic winner for Western Australian farming family

WA farming family opts for solar power battery system over costly grid connection, ABC News By Kathryn Diss 3 June 15 When Katherine Naughton’s family moved to a farm in Northam, north-east of Perth, it was going to cost them up to $60,000 to connect their house to the power grid.

But for just two thirds of that cost they have been able to install a solar power storage system, harnessing all of their electrical needs from the sun.”Not having that $400 bill every three months is just fantastic,” Ms Naughton said.

Perth-based company Solar Balance designed the system with Chinese battery manufacturer BYD.The batteries charge from rooftop solar panels during the day and store the energy for use when the sun goes down.

And unlike connecting to the grid, it is an investment that pays for itself. “With the cost of power going up, it’s quite scary how much it keeps going up by every single year, and you don’t know how much it’s going to be in the next five years,” Ms Naughton said. “So if we can go solar then we don’t have to worry about that bill.”

Battery storage an affordable option

The power revolution may be taking place slowly, just one household at a time, but the industry believes that is set to change………..

Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute’s Jemma Green said the power grid will become less relevant.

“The grid will have a place but it will become more of a back up system as electricity prices go up even further and the price of solar and batteries decline further, the economics of grid defection are going to stack up sooner.

“This is going to have an impact on the utilisation of the grid and therefore the revenue that the government currently derives from using it.

“I think the grid and the business models of the utilities, that is the generators and the poles and wires will need to evolve to deal with this changing energy system which is effectively a centralised and decentralised energy model,” Ms Green said.

Bosche, LG and Samsung have also indicated they plan to enter the market. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-03/farming-family-opts-for-solar-power-battery-system/6519960

June 4, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | solar, Western Australia