by Komoneed | Apr 18, 2024
Researchers from UNSW Sydney have examined the untapped solar potential of residential buildings across Australia. Their report found that people living in apartments, social housing and private rental houses are missing out on $9.3 billion per year in possible cost savings.
While Australia may be a world leader in residential photovoltaic deployment, with rooftop solar installed in almost one in three houses, most of those houses are owner–occupier dwellings — leaving rentals out of the equation.
The report, ‘Rooftop Solar Potential of Australian Housing Stock by Tenure and Dwelling Type’ was commissioned by Solar Citizens and conducted by researchers from UNSW School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering in collaboration with the Australian Photovoltaic Institute. It found total potential for rooftop solar installation is estimated at approximately 61 gigawatts (GW), which could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 785 megatonnes over the next 20 years.
The research involved an analysis of all residential buildings in Australia in order to estimate how many extra solar panels could be installed on those sites. As of June last year, approximately 15.1 GW of residential solar is installed in Australia.
The report found there is approximately 45.8 GW of unrealised potential solar energy on houses and apartments across the country — three times the number of panels currently installed on roofs. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland were found to have the highest share of this solar potential across the country.
“Our analysis found the power of solar can deliver average annual household bill savings of $1300 each year,” said Dr Mike Roberts, UNSW Senior Research Fellow and one of the authors on the report.
“Apartments are another housing type where government investment now will pay high dividends in cheaper bills and less emissions for long into the future,” he said.
Apartment buildings are missing out on three gigawatts of solar power, Roberts said. Social housing and the rental sector — which include both houses and apartments — are missing out on more than two gigawatts and 12 GW respectively.
Roberts said apartment residents could be saving an average of $500 to $700 a year on their energy bills and could be paying off the system in five years or less.
“While we have seen recent action on solar for social housing through collaboration between several state and federal governments, this approach should be fast-tracked to a greater number of social homes, given the outstanding cost savings on bills and other benefits delivered,” he said.
The report makes it clear, Roberts said, that certain sectors, such as social housing and rental properties, need targeted incentives to encourage more landlords to consider adopting rooftop solar.
“For rental properties, a big part of the problem is because the cost of installing solar is absorbed by landlords but the benefits go to the tenants,” he said.
“To address this, this report recommends giving tenants increased visibility of the financial benefits of solar which could be reflected in their rental rates — allowing landlords to recoup their investment costs.
“Targeted subsidies, such as Solar Victoria’s Solar Rebates for Rental Scheme, could also incentivise landlords to invest in solar, as could rule changes to allow the associated capital costs to be offset through instant tax write-offs.”
The report also found that closing the solar potential gap would create 240,000 additional job-years of employment in the solar industry, supporting those working in solar sales and installation roles — the equivalent of employing 48,000 people for five years.
“Unlocking this solar potential can return money to people’s pockets, deliver 785 megatonnes in avoided carbon emissions over 20 years and the up-front investment is repaid in bill savings for households within about five years,” said Joel Pringle, National Campaigns Director at Solar Citizens.
“Cleaner, cheaper rooftop solar energy is a win for both energy bill relief and reducing climate pollution. One in three Australian homes has now gone solar; we need greater government support to ensure the financial and health benefits are extended to all Australian households.”
Image credit: iStock.com/Photon-Photos
by Kate Mothes | Apr 18, 2024
A mother working overtime at home as a seamstress finds it difficult to carve out a few moments for her son in “Felt Love,” a poignant short film about family, togetherness, and quality time. Created by a group of students at San Jose State University as a senior thesis project in 2020, the piece combines a miniature 3D set with 2D animation to tell the story of a young boy who learns the depth of his mother’s hard work and adoration and how she learns to share that with him. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In ‘Felt Love,’ a Young Boy and His Mother Learn the Value of Spending Quality Time Together appeared first on Colossal.
by Komoneed | Apr 14, 2024
The Australian Government has announced its Solar Sunshot program, aimed at growing solar PV manufacturing in Australia while providing a pathway for local solar PV innovation to be commercialised.
The $1 billion program will be delivered by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), with development and design to be carried out in collaboration with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
Prior to this, ARENA had funded the Australian Photovoltaic Institute’s (APVI) ‘Silicon to Solar’ report to investigate solar manufacturing capability and potential in Australia. The report outlined a credible pathway for a domestic supply chain that could result in benefits such as securing access to solar PV components, creating local jobs, attracting significant private investment and unlocking potential export opportunities.
“ARENA has been at the forefront of building Australia’s solar PV industry through its support for research, innovation and large-scale deployment. This has helped solar to become our cheapest form of energy,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller.
“We’re pleased to see the Australian Government recognise ARENA’s wealth of experience and close relationships with industry by calling on us to deliver the Solar Sunshot program.”
Through Solar Sunshot, the government intends to provide support across the entire solar PV supply chain, including the scaling up of module manufacturing capabilities and exploration of other areas where grant funding can help kickstart the industry.
Areas of interest could be polysilicon, ingots and wafers, cells, module assembly, and other parts of the solar supply chain like solar glass and advanced deployment technology. There is also potential for development of other aspects identified through industry consultation.
ARENA and DCCEEW will publish a consultation paper outlining proposed specifications for the program, including objectives, funding mechanisms, timings, and draft eligibility and merit criteria.
“Australia has the opportunity to build high-quality products across the solar PV supply chain. Although we have a very small production capability today, we have the skills and the partnerships to establish a strong base that can be built on over the next decade,” Miller said.
“To unlock our renewable energy superpower vision, we need to be able to play a part in the whole supply chain, while also working with international partners and leveraging learnings as we build our own capability to complement the global market.
“We’ll be consulting widely with industry and other stakeholders to hear their views and inform what will be a transformative scale-up of Australia’s solar PV manufacturing capacity.”
Following the consultation period, ARENA and DCCEEW will develop the final program design.
Stakeholders can register their interest in participating in the consultation process at https://arena.gov.au/funding/solar-sunshot/.
Image credit: iStock.com/FernandoAH
by Komoneed | Apr 14, 2024
Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments Grants Challenge Event
jschoshinski
Thu, 04/11/2024 – 20:26
Join high-level speakers from IUCN, USAID, and Norad for a special event: ‘Together, we RISE: Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge winners announcement and 2024 call for proposals launch’. They will officially announce the newest RISE challenge grantee winners and launch the 2024 call for RISE grants challenge proposals. The event will provide prospective applicants a head start on essential information, including eligible countries, timelines, and thematic priorities.
The newest RISE grants challenge winners
In 2023, there were 814 applications to the Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Environment (RISE) grants challenge, a unique fund addressing gender-based violence and environment linkages.
Join on April 25th to learn more about the RISE grants challenge and meet the four new RISE winners coming from around the world to share their strategies to address multiple and overlapping manifestations of gender-based violence taking place in the context of climate action, conservation, sustainable management and protection of land and natural resources in climate-vulnerable communities.
Launching the 2024 call for proposals
The event will also launch the 2024 call for RISE grants challenge proposals and provide prospective applicants a head start on essential information, including eligible countries, timelines, and thematic priorities.
Teaser Text
Together, we RISE: Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge winners announcement and 2024 call for proposals launch.
Event Date
Thursday, April 25, 2024, 1:00
– 2:30 pm UTC
Advanced registration required
Off
External Link
Register Here
Event Format
Virtual
Event Type
Webinar/Presentation
Topic
Biodiversity Conservation
Climate
Coastal
Gender and Social Inclusion
Marine
Resilience
Projects
AGENT – Advancing Gender in the Environment
Sectors
Gender and Social Inclusion
Add to calendar
Add to Calendar
2024-04-25 13:00:00
2024-04-25 14:30:00
Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments Grants Challenge Event
Join high-level speakers from IUCN, USAID, and Norad for a special event: ‘Together, we RISE: Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Environments (RISE) grants challenge winners announcement and 2024 call for proposals launch’. They will officially announce the newest RISE challenge grantee winners and launch the 2024 call for RISE grants challenge proposals. The event will provide prospective applicants a head start on essential information, including eligible countries, timelines, and thematic priorities.
The newest RISE grants challenge winners
In 2023, there were 814 applications to the Resilient, Inclusive, and Sustainable Environment (RISE) grants challenge, a unique fund addressing gender-based violence and environment linkages.
Join on April 25th to learn more about the RISE grants challenge and meet the four new RISE winners coming from around the world to share their strategies to address multiple and overlapping manifestations of gender-based violence taking place in the context of climate action, conservation, sustainable management and protection of land and natural resources in climate-vulnerable communities.
Launching the 2024 call for proposals
The event will also launch the 2024 call for RISE grants challenge proposals and provide prospective applicants a head start on essential information, including eligible countries, timelines, and thematic priorities.
Global Climate Change
team@climatelinks.org
UTC
public
