It is surprising that it took so long to eventuate ! Power company Solar Energy is devising a plan to offer to put solar panels on the roofs of people's houses under agreements where they own what amounts to "mini power stations "" and compensate the home owner by way of a discount on the power produced.
The target areas are Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast and this will deliver a financial reward to homeowners without any outlay on their part. The cost of solar panels continues to decrease as the rate of power generated increases and this proposition to site them on private property overcomes one of the killer costs of any new venture - the cost of buying land in high density city areas.
It is certainly brilliant thinking to seek solar accommodation on the vast area of roofing that presently serves no other useful purpose than to shelter the householder from falling rain. Fed into the power grid during daylight hours they reduce the need for electricity generation using fossil fuels and pay a greenhouse gas dividend by reducing our carbon footprint.
The sticking point is likely to be the compensation offer for siting panels on people's roofs. The present arrangement for solar panels owned by householders allows unused electricity to flow back through the meter and augment the power that the supply company sells to other customers - and this is priced at just six cents a kilowat hour - a mere fraction of the outward charge.
If the solar panels are owned by the power company, logic suggests that the price paid for power generated would need to be lower than that offered to the actual owners of rooftop solar. Basically, it comes down to a matter of "rent ". The home owner is renting the space on his or her roof to a power company and will get a varied return - depending on whether the sun shines brightly or it is a dull day of menacing cloud. It is surprising just how much power is generated across the entire weather spectrum.
There are other limitations that the wise would do well to consider. Many scientists contend that the future of solar is linked to the development of battery storage. Better and cheaper battery design is heading towards the ability of rooftop solar to channel unused electricity into storage for use when night falls - and the home becomes entirely self sufficient in it's power needs. Obviously, solar owned by a power company would contain a limitation preventing such an installation. The cost return would need to be balanced between what is returned to the grid and what flows the other way through the meter.
This idea is also likely to spur innovation in house design. When we look at existing solar roof panelling it tends to consist of panels covering a fraction of the roof area. Surely the manufacturers of roofing systems are going to evaluate the prospect of integrating solar collection into the products they sell as roofing so that the entire surface becomes a collector. That could quickly become an option for those considering building a new home - turning the roof area into a money generator for their own use - and with surplus available for sale to a power company.
Of course, the door is opening on a new avenue of opportunity that will not be lost in the commercial world. This innovative idea of renting solar space to generate electricity will have implications for vast factories as a way of gaining a return on space that is presently contributing nothing to the company bottom line. Roof space is likely to be a new wealth frontier - and if it is viable for one power company there is every liklihood that the rest will pile in and demand for rental roof space will soar.
Logic suggests that those who actually own the solar panels on their roof have the upper hand in negotiating the return from those panels !
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