A Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) calculator allows you to make an estimate of the amount of credits that you can receive for your installed solar power system unit. The Federal Government has currently adopted RECs as the rebate scheme to promote renewable energy – it’s commonly referred to as ‘solar credits’. REC represents a renewable energy measurement and it can be traded for cash. One megawatt hour of electricity is equivalent to one REC and you can generate credits from eligible solar hot water systems, photovoltaic systems, wind energy systems, etc.

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Australia is cited as one of the countries that faces a great amount of risk from climate change. The burning of coal is seen as a major factor contributing to climate change in Australia. However, Australia has a significant potential for generating power from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal, etc. Design and installation of such technologies are expected to mitigate the generation of greenhouse gases substantially.

With a view to increase the generation and use of renewable energy, the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 made it compulsory for electricity retailers and major users to purchase a specified amount of electricity from clean energy generators. They also needed to produce evidence of purchase of renewable energy by acquiring Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Each REC represents one MWh of electricity purchased. In case of failure to acquire the requisite number of RECs that would meet the annual target according to the legislation, the parties have to pay a fine of AUD40 per MWh. Read More …

The Clean Energy Council (CEC) is an industry association representing the clean energy sector of Australia. More than 600 member companies, many of which represent the renewable energy sector and others working in the energy efficiency field, make up the council. The members of the CEC are involved in the development and implementation of modern technology systems for clean energy generation and management, including solar, wind, marine, hydro, geothermal, etc.

CEC is a non-profit incorporated association which is based at Melbourne. It operates nationally and is primarily funded through membership fees. Additional income is generated through industry-associated programs such as accreditations. Read More …

Australia’s latitudinal position on the planet and a near-perennial dry climate makes it immensely suitable for solar energy production and usage. On any given day, a major part of Australia receives a high measure of solar radiation during any given time.

Solar panels have been fitted in many Australian household rooftops since the 1970s and nationwide, there’s an estimated 300 MW of installed photovoltaic (PV) power, contributing an estimated 0.1 to 0.2% of total electricity production. Read More …

The Australian Government has been working to increase solar energy uptake from as early as 2001 through the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme. The MRET has since been merged with the state and territory targets to form RET that currently consists of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET).

With the SRES in place, solar uptake has seen a marked increase in Australian households. Some of the solar energy facts of the Australian Clean Energy Council’s (CEC’s) annual assessment report of 2011 are as listed below and they paint an encouraging picture:

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