ONCE the domain of alternative lifestylers, household solar energy has come of age – which is why an ambitious initiative underway across several councils in New England is bearing fruit.
Much like the iPod put an appealing interface on the complexities of digital audio, the Solar New England initiative has simplified the business of hooking your home up to the sun.
For a one-off outlay of $2440, residents of the Armidale, Guyra, Uralla and Walcha councils who sign up to Solar New England’s power program get a $14,600, fully-installed one-megawatt solar power system that hooks straight into the power grid, removing the need for a battery bank.
The solar panels stream power onto the grid during the day, and the house can draw back that power at any time.
Residents only have to pay a fraction of the unit’s total cost because Solar New England has cut a deal with the system provider, AusEnergy, to supply systems in bulked “clusters” of 50 at a time, and applied every possible government solar rebate to the cost.
With 200 households signed up to the power project, Solar New England recently launched its hot water program, which got half its 100 current signatories within five days.
For more see this week's The Land.
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