A power station in every home

Last year was Australia’s hottest on record and summer peak power demands now exceed winter peaks, mainly because of the consumer stampede towards residential air-conditioning. More than 60 per cent of Australian dwellings are now air-conditioned, compared with 33 per cent in 1994. And last month was Australia’s sunniest on record; an average of 10.4 cloud-free hours of sun a day were recorded in December.

But for the 900,000 or so air-conditioners bought a year only 1300 or so homeowners Australia-wide invest in photo-voltaic systems. Australia has about 30,000 solar buildings, in the main in remote areas with no access to the power grid, and most solar use is for hot water, now installed in about 4 per cent of homes.

..Since 1950 Sydney’s population has doubled, but its power consumption has increased 12-fold, pushing the grid close to collapse, especially on summer afternoons when the air-conditioners all kick in at once.

..Australia’s electricity is among the cheapest in the world and NSW enjoys some of the cheapest power in Australia. This means solar grid-connect systems won’t realistically pay for themselves for decades.

Most Australians are simply unwilling to invest their money in reducing greenhouse emissions. A recent survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found energy consumption patterns were driven by lifestyles and resources availability, “not a desire to reduce energy use”.

The Sidney Morning Herald