Antinuclear

Residents onafter $2.9m renewable energy grant  http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/residents-on-bruny-island-to-sell-solar-power-after-29m-renewable-energy-grant/news-story/945d59a87250bbfc2d533e8ff9009ace   April 14, 2016 RESIDENTS  of Bruny Island have the chance to turn their homes into mini-power ­stations and trade on the national electricity grid to boost the island’s energy security and offset their power costs at the same time.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency yesterday announced $2.9 million to help a project to help fund solar panels and batteries for up to 40 households on the island.

Harnessing the surplus power they generate is hoped to help take pressure off Bruny Island’s power system during peak times.

The systems will include software that allows homeowners to sell their power back to the grid during times of peak demand — and hence prices — on the National Electricity Market.

“The reason Bruny Island was chosen was because of the constraints they have from their undersea cables,” he said. “A battery with a solar panel can be converted into a remarkable power stat­ion. It’s fast and can both produce and consume power in an instant — it’s the type of power station the future needs.”

He said the benefit for households was they could sell their power into the market at a price of about $1 per kilowatt hour — compared to the much lower 5.5c per kilowatt hour feed-in tariffs available at present.

TasNetworks will begin consulting Bruny Island residents about the project over the coming months and seeking expressions of interest via public forums on the island this year.