(BTW, their carbon price accounted for about 2c of that total.)

This is what the Australian government states…

“Historically, Australia has had stable and competitive electricity prices by
developed world standards. However, over the pastfour years the cost of electricity for households has risen on average by around 70 per cent nationally.

This is largely because Australia’s electricity networks -the power poles
and wires that deliver electricity to homes and businesses – were built 40
to 50 years ago and need replacing.

This is an expensive task.

At the same time we all have more appliances, from air conditioners to laptops and flat screen TVs, putting more demand on the electricity system.”

http://www.ret.gov.au/Department/Documents/clean-energy-future/ELECTRICITY-PRICES-FACTSHEET.pdf

It should be recognized that without the large installation of rooftop solar which has caused a great drop in demand AU’s electricity prices would have soared even higher.

Obviously, solar installers will begin offering storage and disconnection from the grid in the future if necessary to deal with problem utilities. More business for them, less for the utilities. Not a good strategy for the utilities.

Australian utilities will have to decide if they are going to morph into power storage and redistribution companies, or just go out of business. Most utilities in the world’s sun-belt will face this same choice. Those are going to be their choices as solar PV and soon storage continue to become more cost effective. You can pretty much look at the land line phone companies and transition to cell phones as an example of what is coming in the electrical power market. Some will find it more economical not to have any utility connection, just like we probably all know people who have given up their land line for phone service in favor of cellular only.

A second theme like the cell phone industry is going to be the increased use of solar power in third world areas that had no electricity before. This has already begun and will expand.

An older link with some anecdotal end-of-grid price information:
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/13/2000-mw-of-solar-reached-in-australia/ “2,000 MW Of Solar Reached In Australia” – November 2012
Comment from “Ronald Brak”:
“Point of use solar is currently the cheapest source of electricity available to Australian households. The price of a residential installation is now down to about $2 a watt. Most people who install solar own a roof, which means they can usually borrow money for around 6 or 7%. This means that for most Australians solar electricity costs around 10 or 11 cents a kilowatt-hour. This is less than half the cost of grid electricity which is about 25 cents a kilowatt-hour. Obviously this is a good deal and so solar is really taking off here and I don’t see its expansion stopping any time soon, despite major cuts in feed in tariffs.”
Comment from “RobS”:
“Our installed out of pocket costs are now consistently below $2/watt and commonly below $1.50/watt and our electric retail rates are ~27c/Kwh. We are so far past parity it’s funny.”

It is ALREADY compelling, without a “further fall of near 50 per cent”. Even at “13c/kWh – some say it is already less”, residential end-of-grid solar in Australia is already (Ronald Brakels) “less than half the cost of grid electricity which is about 25 cents a kilowatt-hour” (and RobS says some are 27c/kWh). Half the price of the incumbent is the very definition of a disruptive technology, because it allows for savings even including the financing of the transition, the installation of the new technology. …and the cost of installed solar PV is still falling…

Here’s an older one with some anecdotalend-of-grid price information:
http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/13/2000-mw-of-solar-reached-in-australia/ “2,000 MW Of Solar Reached In Australia” – November 2012
Comment from “Ronald Brak”:
“Point of use solar is currently the cheapest source of electricity available to Australian households. The price of a residential installation is now down to about $2 a watt. Most people who install solar own a roof, which means they can usually borrow money for around 6 or 7%. This means that for most Australians solar electricity costs around 10 or 11 cents a kilowatt-hour. This is less than half the cost of grid electricity which is about 25 cents a kilowatt-hour. Obviously this is a good deal and so solar is really taking off here and I don’t see its expansion stopping any time soon, despite major cuts in feed in tariffs.”
Comment from “RobS”:
“Our installed out of pocket costs are now consistently below $2/watt and commonly below $1.50/watt and our electric retail rates are ~27c/Kwh. We are so far past parity it’s funny.”

Seems like residential solar in Australia may be like 1/3 or 1/4 of their end-of-grid prices now. Yeh, that’s just a little compelling. I think the author is wrong when he says that it will be compelling in the future. Clearly, it is now. As you now, there are a number of low cost storage technologies coming to the market.
Australian utilities will have to decide if they are going to morph into power storage and redistribution companies, or just go out of business. I find it amazing consumers are threatened by the utilities. Utilities are supposed to be government regulated businesses, run for the benefit of the people. WE should be revoking THEIR permits, when they fail to consider our interests, not the other way around. Oh well, the tipping point is here and as with all disruptive technologies, it is speeding up as it makes more and more
economic sense. The madder the Utilities make the people, the worse the counter reaction will be when it comes. At 1/2 the cost they cannot win. At 1/4 the cost…

Thanks again, mike

It appears power provider had legal grounds to prevent him from installing a bigger grid solar setup, or there are pre-existing problems recorded with his system. (Denied permission) utility companies have obligation under safety act, quality of power which must conform to the legal requirements, Power Act 1960,1980,1990,2005. The operation of equipment must not interfere with other customer’s equipment. Solar generators (grid solar system) must conform to the act, prosecution would occur if found outside the parameters of the Act.

Kiss the power network good bye.

Many been turn away.

Someone (sorry, forget who) linked a current price report for installed solar in Australia. It shows a low price of $1.44/W and an country-wide average of $1.88/W.

http://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/solar-pv-price-index-may-2013/

$1.44/W with 4.5 hours (19% capacity) and 5% financing gets the LCOE down to about $0.07/kWh. Natural gas peakers are in trouble….

If PV panel prices “fall another 50 per cent” from $0.70/Wp in Jan 2013,
that would put us at $0.35/Wp, astounding!
If you consider German and Australian all-in installed costs for solar
PV were close to $2/Wp last year when panel prices were close to $1/Wp, then we’re
talking about fully installed costs at $1.35/Wp or less. That should drop solar electricity prices, at
end-of-grid, from

$0.13/kWh to ($1.35 / $2.00) x $0.13/kWh = 0.08775 or about $0.09/kWh …or
less with lowered install prices into the deal.

1) The installer somehow screwed up.

2) The inverter was faulty.

Over voltage from inverters simply does not happen unless the inverter is malfunctioning.

Your report is meaningless. There are millions of grid-connected solar systems and the problem you report is pretty much unheard of.

Take your FUD elsewhere, please.

If the cost of panels were to halve in the next 5 years without other costs dropping, the installed cost would only drop by around 1/6.

In reality, we might be nearer to a situation where panels only drop slightly in price, There is likely to be a substantial increase in panel efficiency and improved temperature coefficient – with more kWh delivered per kW installed. Balance of system costs per kWh delivered will drop due to less racking, cable and labour per watt, an increase in array size and higher output per kW installed.