The campaign on solar feed-in tariffs (see below) is now being coordinated through Save Solar Tasmania – please visit that website and sign the petition to get involved.
Entries Tagged 'solar' ↓
Need to act on solar power
April 11th, 2013 — activism, solar
Go Solar!
January 11th, 2011 — Climate Connect Project, energy saving, solar
We’ve got solar PV panels installed – finally. We should have done this years ago!
We’d been debating for a long time whether or not to put in a grid-connected solar electricity system, as we thought it would be complicated, expensive, time-consuming and possibly not worth the effort.
Well, we were wrong! We’d committed to reducing our energy use as part of the Climate Connect project and solar power seemed an obvious thing to do. We were also shamed by a visit from a journalist from the Owner-Builder magazine who was surprised that we didn’t have such a system already. So, in a spirit of “keeping up with the Joneses” (although in our case it was keeping up with Chris, Troy, Shaun, Lilith, Amanda, Ian, Dorka, etc down the road) we sought quotes and chose our installer (the company who did many of the South Hobart installations).
When oil depletes, what then?
December 6th, 2010 — activism, energy saving, solar
Some brilliant good news to end the year, and it stems from this community’s successful solar bulk purchase efforts.
EcoTasmania Inc has awarded a $7,000 grant to the Peak Oil working group to conduct education and lobbying on peak oil – an emerging issue of great importance. EcoTasmania Inc is the corporate body that was set up from our community solar initiative to support sustainability projects.
For those wanting to know more about the peak oil issue (you will hear about it soon anyway!) you can read a good primer by clicking here.
And for those who don’t have solar hot water connected yet, the EcoTasmania solar enterprise is still going gangbusters, now set up as a normal business operation. You can contact them by clicking here.
Grants for sustainability projects
July 6th, 2010 — energy saving, solar
Our sister group, South Hobart Sustainable Community, has just launched a ‘carbon reduction fund’, a spin-off from its very successful bulk solar purchase.
Invitations are open now – so if you have a deserving project consider applying now. Deadline for the first round is August 31.
Please download details HERE.
Warning: insulation safety
February 14th, 2010 — Climate Connect Project, energy saving, solar
Recent publicity over insulation deaths prompts us to issue a general warning to Tasmanian households.
Please be assured that most home renovations can be undertaken with complete safely provided some basic safety measures are taken. To this end, please browse the checklist – download it HERE.
Waterworks Community by now has extensive involvement in advising householders on the variety of ways they can refurbish their homes to reduce their climate footprint. Our own community is a living demonstration of what success can be achieved.
Going solar – bigtime
January 2nd, 2010 — energy saving, solar
Having initiated the solar hot water bulk purchase scheme in 2007, solar installations are ballooning in our community as well as neighbouring suburbs.
During the past few weeks new solar systems have been installed at 46, 134, 141, 164, 178, 183 and 195 Waterworks Rd and at 22 and 30 Romilly Street – all these in addition to those already installed in the previous two years.
Taking a leaf from our book, South Hobart community’s bulk purchase scheme was overwhelmed with 300 expressions of Interest, many of those now being installed.
Solar systems are very visible sign of sustainable living, and are valuable not only in reducing our own energy footprints, but in advertising the concept of sustainable living.
During the coming six months our climate project will step up into top gear, with home assessments, free shower heads, collective insulation working bees and so forth. Watch this space!
Sustainable House Day
August 20th, 2009 — energy saving, events, food + gardens, solar, water resources
Sustainable houses throughout Australia will be opening their doors for you to look inside on Sunday 13th September.
See the real benefits of sustainable housing up close. Learn what you can do with your own home. Meet the professionals and find out about useful products.
Check out the sustainable house day website for house locations in Hobart area. Admission to all houses is free.
Let’s challenge the whole state!
July 23rd, 2009 — energy saving, solar, uncategorized
Waterworks Valley is the most solarised street in Tasmania (anybody wish to contest that claim?) and maybe we should challenge every other street community to do better – in the interest of promulgating sustainable living.
This year four more local households have installed solar hot water systems (at 60, 104, 166 and 191 Waterworks Rd) and several other households have signed up for solar hot water and solar photovoltaic systems – through South Hobart Community’s fantastically successful bulk purchase initiative.
(I hasten to add that solar is not the be all and end all. There are, of course, zillions of less photogenic things that are just as worthwhile – like growing home vegetables, recycling and walking kids to school.)
Patent pending!
April 19th, 2009 — solar
It happened at our group gardening meeting. Gazing lazily at a sunflower, Stuart G suddenly broke into a mad scientist type of smile. We knew then he had an inspiration that would save the world.
And the stroke of genius is? Well everybody knows how sunflowers track the sun across the sky. And… well… technology buffs have tried all sorts of ways to get solar panels to track the sun across the sky. There, you have it!
Care to calculate the power output from a hectare of micro solar panels attached to sunflowers and connected to the power grid?
Now’s the time to go solar!
March 28th, 2009 — solar
Our sister group, South Hobart Community, has taken a cue from Waterworks Valley Solar Project and is now offering a bulk purchase deal on both solar hot water and solar power (photovoltaic).
Now is the time to go solar power before federal rebates change mid-year. You can register an interest on their website.
ABC story on us
March 28th, 2009 — community organising, food + gardens, solar
Click HERE to hear it.
Reminder: Discount solar hot water
February 26th, 2009 — solar
Reminder: Our solar hot water commercial offshoot, EcoTasmania, is still offering to Waterworks community members a 5 percent discount on solar hot water systems.
With the new $1600 Fed rebate (not means tested) + around $1000 of RECS + $500 HCC rate rebate most people can get a high quality system for less than $1000 (+ installation costs).
See earlier post for more information about our solar program.
My meter is running backwards!
December 28th, 2008 — solar
My meter is running backwards…the government just gave me $8000…it must be Christmas!!
I’ve just had a 1Kw solar system put in – so easy to organize, no hassle with the rebate. Easy!
Now (with the federal government policy backflip) people on any income will be eligible for a rebate – but they will have to install 1.5Kw system to get the full amount ($7,500). I installed a 2Kw inverter so can upgrade simply by adding more panels. But for now 1Kw will cover my needs.