There have been rumours for the past 6-12 months that most panel companies around the globe are operating at a loss, due to the fierce competitiveness. We have seen many companies fold, and many being bailed out by their governments. The PHOTON International is a publication about the solar industry and they have what is called a PHOTON Price Index, which basically shows stock prices for solar cells. In the last week (more...)

On Friday Naked Energy attended James Cook University’s inaugural Sustainability Symposium and Fair where community members, local businesses, authors, researchers and politicians came together to share, inspire and discuss sustainability issues that impact the world in the face of a rising population, and more specifically, pressing issues that will affect the long term sustainability of Cairns and Tropical North Queensland as food, water and fossil fuels become scarcer resources. The symposium’s seminars kicked off with a guest speaker, Rob Hopkins, who is co-founder of the Transition Network a network that supports community led responses to climate change and shrinking supplies of cheap energy. The transition town movement is happening in thousands of towns across the globe as communities band together to initiate projects in the areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing and wealth in response to global challenges such as climate change and the dwindling availability of cheap energy. The transition town initiative gives people (more...)

If you have been following the news this week surrounding the Queensland Competition Authorities decision to raise power bills by more than 20% you would be well aware of the political ping pong match being played around this matter. The all too familiar blame game between the Federal Government, who sets the price of electricity tariffs, and the Queensland Government, who owns the infrastructure, is being waged with a third culprit, Green Energy Schemes, also being dragged into the showdown. So what is the truth (more...)

...chances are it is, and the same is true with solar prices these days. UNLEASH Solar is the most recent large Southern company to go bust because of selling dodgy systems at far to low of prices. Watch video HERE When you are purchasing a solar power system for your home, its no different than purchasing anything else.....you get what you pay for. (more...)

If anyone picked up a copy of today's Cairns Post they would have noticed Naked Energy's Wade Allen dazzling the cover page with a write up about the Queensland Competition Authorities power price rise and how solar panels may be the answer to combatting these price increases. The electricity price rises, which were announced last week, are set to increase the average family’s power bill by 21.4% which is, (more...)

It's all over the news this weekend- Queenslanders are getting ready for an enormous power bill increase as the Queensland Consumer Authority recommends a 21.4% increase in power bills this year. It comes as no real surprise as there has been plenty of talk and speculation around this decision for months. With the writing on the wall it is time for the people of Cairns and Far North Queensland to (more...)

Over half of the 75,000 Queenslanders who signed up for the 44 cent feed in tariff risk missing this golden opportunity if they don’t organise an installation soon. (more...)

For all those who have been to our office at 31F Campus Shopping Village, Smithfield the next time you come in it will look quite differently. As a backbone of the Cairns Solar Power industry Naked Energy has renovated their office to show off our renewable energy products. It isn't quite finished yet, but it has been transformed into a more energy efficient renewable office with LED Lighting, Solar Air Conditioning (this week), and if we can convince our building owner to go solar....that will be next. Come in for a visit and chat to one of us anytime M-F from 8:30-5. Let's talk Solar, Commercial Solar, LED Lighting, Solar Air Conditioning, Batteries, Off Grid Solar, STC Government Solar Rebates.....or just a good heart to heart! :) 31F Campus Shopping Village 5 Faculty Close Smithfield 4878

The current STC (Small-scale Technology Certificate) rebate program has a maximum of 100kW whereby the end user can receive an upfront discount from their solar supplier. This means that in Queensland, Solar PV Systems up to 100kW can receive a rebate equal to the Size of the System (in kW) x 1.382 (MW/year production per kW of panels) x 15 (years of carbon offset prepaid). Therefore a 50kW Solar PV System will generate 50 x 1.382 x 15 = 1036 STC's. STC rebates are currently hovering around the $30 mark, so that system will generate a 1036 x $30 = $31,080 rebate. That's straight off the top price of a system......significant. This rebate is now being threatened by the Federal government as they continue to find ways to save money, and hurt one of the most popular, growing, and employing industries in Australia (and the world). They are considering reducing that threshold from 100kW to 10kW, making commercial solar a less attractive investment for businesses to help mediate the ever increasing power costs that plague their overheads. The good news is, it is still at 100kW so all business owners looking to add commercial solar systems to their roofs have a great and unique opportunity right now to drastically reduce their power costs. Don't sit on the fence any longer, call Naked Energy today to discuss how we can get a system on your roof and have you in one of the best investments your business will ever make. Cairns solar is still growing and we can really make an impact on the rest of the country.

Another day, another company adding to the list of smart technologies to enhance energy efficiency and smart grid potential for customers. This time, its Arlington Virginia’s Opower, a leader in providing customer based solutions for utilities. In development for five years, the app will allow customers to use Opower 4, which uses five main components: big data analytics, home energy control, behaviour engagement, energy information services, and retail and marketing services. “Opower 4 has gained a … Read More

Opower Releases New Energy Mobile Phone App was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.

CleanTechnica

The big wind news of the past year that we keep trumpeting is that US wind power accounted for more new US power capacity in 2012 than coal (which actually declined), natural gas, nuclear, solar, or anything else. It made up 42% of new power capacity additions in the US last year. But another huge wind power stat from Denmark is also worthy of a trumpet or two. Wind provided enough electricity for over 30% of Denmark’s … Read More

Wind Energy Hits Over 30% Of Denmark’s Electricity Consumption At End Of 2012 was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.

CleanTechnica

There’s a lot in the news these days about solar manufacturers going bankrupt. This news is often disheartening, and sometimes used to discredit solar technology and the industry itself. Based on a study I just recently completed, I can tell you that the global industry shakeout is just beginning. Many others have noted, however, that this does not spell bad news for solar technology, its adoption in mainstream society, or the future of solar installation … Read More

Solar Industry Shakeout — What It Really Means was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.

CleanTechnica

Dr Jeffrey Sachs, Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary‐General on the Millennium Development Goals, gave one of the strongest presentations of the first-ever Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the 6th Annual World Future Energy Summit — it might have been the strongest presentation, in my opinion. His goal definitely seemed to be to wake us up to the urgency of addressing global warming and global climate change, and I … Read More

Jeffrey Sachs: Natural Gas Is “Absolutely Not Clean Enough” was originally published on: CleanTechnica. To read more from CleanTechnica, join over 30,000 others and subscribe to our free RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or just visit our homepage.

CleanTechnica

Well we finally have it up and running and we are so grateful for Gary, Kate, Sharon and the rest of the team at Hot Croc for putting this together for us. This is the first release with just the basics. We will be adding more and more pages, content, images, and videos over the coming weeks. Until then please peruse through and let us know of any grammatical or technical errors you may find. And above all, we really hope you enjoy our new website. When you think Cairns Solar Power, Cairns Renewable Energy, Commercial Solar, and anything renewable, think Naked Energy. Happy New Year, The Team at Naked Energy