Solar Energy New South Wales – The basics
In New South Wales, customers can connect a PV solar system of less than 10kw to the electricity grid. Currently, over 348,000 households in NSW have installed solar PV systems. As part of the federal government’s RET (Renewable Energy Target), the small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme will provide some financial help to individuals and small businesses wanting to install solar (and other renewable energy systems). Through the small-scale RES, you may be entitled to ‘small-scale technology certificates’, which you can sell to offset some of the cost of the system. As always, there are quite a few regulations:
-the panels and interverter need to be listed on the Clean Energy Council list of approved components and meet Australian & New Zealadn Standards
-you must use a Clean Energy Council accredited designer and installer and meet their design and install guidelines
-max capacity of 100kw, and max annual output of 250MWh
There are also other benefits to installing solar energy, such as cheaper power for yourself, the ability to use energy storage to enjoy cheaper power with peak/offpeak plans, and the option to sell energy back to the grid.
Connecting your PV system to the grid
Electricity distributors are able to give you information about feeding solar energy back into the grid.
There are three distributors in NSW. You will be serviced by Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy or Essential Energy, depending on your location in NSW.
- Ausgrid: call 13 13 65 or visit the Ausgrid solar web page
- Endeavour Energy: call 13 37 18 or visit the Endeavour Energy solar web page
- Essential Energy: call 13 23 91 or visit the Essential Energy solar web page
Research
Some other great links from the NSW gov’t website that should help with your solar panel research:
- NSW Fair Trading’s Guide to solar panels
- Clean Energy Council’s Consumer Guide to Buying Household Solar Panels
- The Choice Solar Panel buying guide
