Popularity of Solar in Newcastle, Port Macquarie, Albury, Wodonga and Throughout Australia Growing
As a clean source of renewable energy, the solar power has long been touted as the ideal solution to the world’s energy problems. However, high expenses and extremely delicate technology long dogged the solar industry and prevented solar power from being widely adopted for commercial and residential use. Now, all this is changing. Many factors have come together to make solar for Port Macquarie and other cities in Australia like Albury more viable than ever.
Advances in Solar For Wodonga
One important advance in solar for every city in the world is the development of new technologies that make solar panels more durable, more efficient, and more affordable. The cost of producing the photovoltaic cells that make up solar panels has dropped significantly, and this savings has been passed along to consumers. To give you an idea of how dramatic this price drop is, the price of a photovoltaic panel has dropped 75 percent in the past five years. Can you think of any other power source that is actually cheaper now than in the past?
Solar panels are now more efficient and cost-effective than ever. They’ve definitely come a long way since one of the first solar cell prototypes, which was developed by a German engineer in 1931 and converted just 1 percent of the light hitting it into power. Today most cells commonly used in solar power installations have a conversion efficiency of more like 20-30 percent. However, a scientist from CalTech recently developed plans for a cell with a conversion rate of 70 percent! Theoretically, this can be achieved by creating a cell with nanostructures that can convert more wavelengths of the light spectrum into electric power.
Newcastle and Other Areas Adopting Solar Power
Solar power seems to be catching on everywhere the sun shines, including in Australian cities like Newcastle. Some areas you wouldn’t think of as being particularly sunny, like Germany, have actually been top adopters of solar power. Worldwide, the number of solar panels installed has grown by about 20 percent each year, for the past 15 years. The output from all those panels has increased by 40 percent per year since 2000. In Australia in particular, use of solar in Albury and other parts of the country like Port Macquarie has grown so rapidly that experts predict that by the end of 2013, 10 percent of Australia’s homes will have solar panels.
Bottom Line
Solar is popular, and for good reason! If your home gets a lot of sunlight, you should consider tapping into this trend and getting solar panels installed on your roof or in your yard. Every little bit of power generated by clean methods helps the planet, so even if you can’t rely on solar for all your needs, you can still benefit from installing solar panels for home use. Check and see what rebates or incentives might be available to you.