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Exclusive discount offer for 1KW solar pv panel systems! The Sydney Energy Cooperative is offering residents of the council areas of Canada Bay and Leichhardt an exclusive discounted deal on a one kilowatt solar photovoltaic grid-connected system. Come to the information evening at 7.30pm Thursday 27th November, 2008 at the Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre. The discount offered is dependent upon the number of households that take up the offer. Sydney Energy Cooperative has provided two discounted rates. See the table below for prices. The usual price for these systems would be $4,880, or $3980 if the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) were sold* (after the Fed Government rebate of $8000).
All prices include GST, installation and metering. Depending upon the value of the AUS$, the panels used would be either BP Solar panels BP3170N (Australian made) or Suntech (Australian technology made in China). The inverters are SMA Sunny Boy SB1100 or SB1700.
*Why keep your RECs? RECs are Renewable Energy Certificates. They represent the portion of renewable power that you will be generating and can be traded back into the market for money. The net effect of releasing your RECs into the market is that you will actually be selling the greenhouse benefits of your solar power. See the article at the end of this document, “Don’t wreck those RECs” from ReNew magazine for a good explanation. Extra costs: · Upgrade to SB1700 inverter so that the system can handle 2kW of · Install to be tilted up on a flat roof – add $400 · Multi-storey AND cathedral (raked) ceiling – add $200
According to Thomas Bywater of Sydney Energy Cooperative Limited: “There are NO other extras. So someone can have a tiled roof, two storey roof, terrace house, no wall cavities, agro neighbours and the price is still the same as the base rate. The exception is for people with more than one-storey house AND cathedral ceilings, as this is a very time-consuming combination.”
Are you eligible for the Federal Government rebate? The bulk purchase discount is available to all households who have suitable roof space, but the $8000 Federal Government rebate for a 1kW system is only available to households with a combined taxable income of less than $100,000. Go to http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/pv/index.html to find out if you are eligible for the rebate. Do you need a Development Application? Your council will have requirements for the installation of a solar photovoltaic system on your rooftop. In the Leichhardt municipality Solar PV panels are covered under the Development Control Plan 35 – Exempt and Complying Development. If all the following requirements are met then you do not need to put in a Development Application. If, however, the house is within a heritage conservation area, which much of the Balmain peninsular is, then you may need to put in a DA. The heritage areas can be seen on this link. http://www.leichhardt.nsw.gov.au/Plans-and-Development-Control.html. For Leichhardt Council the requirements are as follows: · To be located behind the primary street frontage. · Installed so that the panel's orientation is within 45° either side of True North or the electrical output is at least 75% of that which would be achieved from orientation of the same sized system to True North. · Installed to the specifications and standards of electrical utility supplier and panel/solar tile manufacturer. · Panels must sit flat against the roof plane but with adequate clearance space between panel and roof to prevent heat build-up behind panels. · For tiles, heat build-up in the roof cavity must be controlled by insulation and/or venting. · Not directly overlooked from the habitable room windows of adjoining properties. · Not to include any battery storage systems. · The building work must not reduce the structural integrity of the building or involve structural alterations. · Any opening created by the installation to be adequately weather proofed. · Advisory: An adequate electrical output would be 1200 kwh per annum per kw installed, averaged over the whole system. Call Leichhardt Council for more information: 9367 9222 A representative of the planning department of Leichhardt council will be available at the information evening to answer your questions and assist with the process. Interested? Follow these steps: 1. Check your eligibility for the $8000 grant, and that you have 10-15 square metres of north-facing roof space. http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/pv/index.html 2. Email thomas@energycoop.com.au or phone 9557 1648 to register your interest by Monday 24th November 5pm. 3. Come to an information and sign-up evening at the Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre, 665A Darling Street Rozelle on Thursday 27th November at 7.30pm. Bring with you: A. A photocopy of your most recent rates notice, both sides of your driver’s licence and both sides of an electricity bill. B - Print photos of your house, your north, east and west roof and your meter box (with the lid open). C - Print and fill out page 2 and sign page 6 of the "Residential Application for Preapproval Form". Download this form at http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/renewable/pv/index.html - residential D - Write out a cheque or money order to "Sydney Energy Cooperative" to the amount of $100. This is a deposit for your solar system. 4. Applications close and this offer ends on Friday December 12, 2008. Alternatively, you can post all items to the address below but you must register your commitment with Thomas Bywater (02 9557 1648 or thomas@energycoop.com.au). Sydney Energy Cooperative PO Box 3244 Marrickville Metro NSW 2204
Make sure it includes:
- signed rebate application form (fill in and sign page 2 and page 6) - copies of your drivers licence, power bill and rates notice - photos - cheque
Queries?
Contact Thomas Bywater at Sydney Energy Cooperative 02 9557 1648 Fax (02) 8569 1097
Disclaimer
Climate Change Balmain-Rozelle contacted a number suppliers for this project and the Sydney Energy Cooperative were chosen because: they offered the lowest priced quote with good quality technology; they are a not-for-profit environmental organisation; they had the capacity to undertake the job; they were local; and their work was praised by Jayson Burhop, Renewable Energy Project Officer of the Mount Alexander Sustainabilty Group. However, Climate Change Balmain-Rozelle is not making any recommendation for or against the Sydney Energy Cooperative and we encourage you to undertake your own research, and takes no responsibility for the work carried out by the Sydney Energy Cooperative.
Important dates for the diary
Monday November 24 – register your interest by 5pm
Thursday November 27 – information evening, Rozelle Neighbourhood Centre
Friday December 12, 2008 – offer ends, applications close
Company details:
Sydney Energy Cooperative Limited ABN 56 630 306 285
18-26 Faversham St Marrickville NSW 2009 Phone 02 9557 1648 Fax 02 8569 1097
Contact: Thomas Bywater
Don’t wreck those RECs!
From ReNew , the magazine of the Alternative Technology Association, issue 101, page 34.
By selling the Renewable Energy Certificates from a solar electricity or hot water system, the greenhouse benefits are effectively lost, writes Brad Shone.
Probably the key driver for most people installing solar electricity and hot water systems is the desire to reduce their carbon footprint and generate at least a portion of their electricity from clean green solar.
However, what most people don’t realise, and what isn’t widely advertised in the increasingly competitive market of solar retail and installation, is that by selling the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from your system, you are actually selling the greenhouse benefits of your solar power. Most of the new players in the solar industry incorporate the value of the RECs into the advertised price of the product, and it is assumed that you will sign over the RECs for your system to the installer. You might find that if you don’t wish to sign over the RECs the price of your installation will go up considerably, or in some cases this may not even be an option and you may no longer be eligible for the ‘deal’.
However, what people need to be aware of is that by handing over the RECs on your system (or allowing a third party to claim them on your be- half) you are actually selling the ‘greenness’ of your electricity. RECs are the currency of green electricity. Just as when you buy 100% accredited GreenPower you are paying someone else to generate renewable electricity for you, when you sell your RECs, you are selling the re- newable energy component of your electricity. Thus you can no longer claim to be using clean green electricity in your home from your rooftop system. In fact, you might as well be buying electricity straight from the grid.
Once the RECs are sold to an electricity retailer they contribute to the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) of 20% electricity supply from renewable sources by 2020. If the RECs are kept by the homeowner, they stay additional to the MRET, so more green electricity is generated in Australia.
So, be sure to check out exactly what any offer involves before you sign on the dotted line, and if you want to be able to claim that you are generating your own renewable electricity, don’t claim RECs on your solar electricity or hot water system (nor allow someone else to do so on your behalf).
If it is too late and you have already installed and signed over your certifi- cates, all is not lost. You can always buy RECs back, either from an offsetting company who use renewable energy to offset greenhouse gas emissions, or possibly directly from a RECs agent or trader, if you can find one willing to deal in mall enough quantities. By purchasing the RECs your system was eligible for, you will effectively be buying back the ‘greenness’ of your electricity.
You can calculate how many RECs your system is (or was) eligible for by visiting the ORER website: www.orer.gov.au/publications/photovoltaic.html
Brad Shone is Energy Policy Manager at the Alternative Technology Association.
Ric Brazalle explains RECs for solar systems
Renewable Energy Certificates or RECs as they are now widely known are financial incentives that are available to customers, making purchasing a renewable energy system more competitive with grid electricity. RECs amount to around $800 to $1500 for a typical solar system, making a real difference in the decision to purchase a renewable energy system.
As part of its climate change strategy the Australian Government has com- mitted that 20 percent of Australia’s electricity needs to be produced by renewable energy sources by 2020. It will achieve this by requiring electricity suppliers to source increasing amounts of renewable energy through the surrender of RECs under the Mandatory Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act.
Under the Act a customer that installs a solar PV, solar hot water or small wind system has the right to create RECs once the system has been installed. The level of RECs that can be created will depend on the location, size and technology used. A REC is equivalent to 1 megawatt-hour of electricity generation or avoided electricity generation in the case of a solar hot water system. The numbers of years for which RECs can be created are as follows: system is less than 10kW (around nine RECs for five years for a 1kW system).
If a customer has recently purchased a solar or small wind system then the owner of the system when it was installed has the right to create the RECs themselves or assign the right to create RECs to a Registered REC Agent. Many solar businesses offer a point of sale discount for the RECs when a customer purchases a solar system. The cost of the system for which the customer pays is reduced and then it is up to the solar business to have the RECs created with the customers authorisation.
REC prices, like other commodities, can vary and will depend on the supply and demand for RECs at any point in time. REC prices have generally been over $40 per REC since the beginning of 2008.
Ric Brazzale is the Managing Director of Green Energy Trading www.greenenergytrading.com.au
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