PV grid-tie bulk purchase

[Mark Gerrard]

Hi all,

 

Some people have inquired about getting together to do a bulk purchase of solar PV grid-tie systems similar to what the group did last year with solar hot water systems. (If you would like info on what a grid-tie system entails I've uploaded a PDF brochure from BCSE [1.2MB] that explains both grid-tie PV systems & stand-alone PV systems so check the file area at http://groups.google.com/group/sm-energy/files?hl=en & download the brochure there.)

 

To get some discussion going I'm posting a link to a Byron Bay company that's doing 1 kW installations for $895 (was $499) in lots of 50 http://www.beyondbuildingenergy.com/. This is about $2500 less than the cheapest installation I've heard of around here. Obviously they're buying panels & inverters in bulk & probably have contacts on the manufacturing side in China (just my opinion). Anyway the inverters are Sunny Boys which have a 3 year warranty & good reputation.

 

If you go to the Apply page on their site & look at the dropdown list, there's about 27 groups already underway, mainly in the Nth. NSW area. I contacted them & the requirements are for the 50 households to be within a 5km radius of town (or 10km radius if no town). This probably wouldn't be difficult to organise in a town like Maleny. Of course, this offer only stands while there's the $8000 gov rebate available (I hear that the first year's allocation will shortly be used up).

 

This company is also happy to use local installers & I have tender documents if a group of us want to bid for it. I'd say that the installation price would have to be pretty low though so I'd need some advice on what would be a fair quote for 50 installations (all done within 4 to 6 weeks but you wouldn't want it to be raining like it has been lately).

 

So take a look at the site - I have no affiliations with it & thought it was a scam at first - & post any comments back here.

 

For the record, I would advise that households have a solar HWS first (greater carbon reductions) before they go for a solar PV setup. Also there's a lot of people installing grid-tie PVs just because of the gov rebate available - it would be nice to know that these people are also doing something about reducing their household energy use as well (mandatory energy audits would have been a useful requirement for a rebate) as a 1 kW system is only going to give you 4 - 5 kWh a day on average.

 

Cheers Mark

[Tony Ullman]

Hi Mark,

 

We should at least try to get 50 houses together.  I think we should discuss it at the next SM meeting (whenever that may be) and then consider putting the idea out there in the community to see what the response is.

 

Last time I looked at the Beyondbuilding site there were a lot of unanswered questions like "can I spend twice as much and get a system that is double the size".  I think they have just done enough homework to get themselves into the market with the smallest sized system which will attract a rebate.

 

I am also sure that Beyondbuilding would be responsible for any warranty claims as they are the importer. If they go down the tube I don't like the chances of getting anything out of a Chinese manufacturer.

 

The main problem with tendering for the install is who is accredited? Neither of us at present.

 

I looked into the solar HWS deal and it's a great but I don't have that sort of money to spare at present.  I would be interested in spending $500 and cutting my power usage by a reasonable percentage however.

 

Regards,

 

Tony

 

 

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[Paul Williamson]

I think you'll find there are more accredited installers in Maleny than you think, Tony, and some of us non-accredited have been installing un-subsidized systems for a few years now, we can always do labouring for an accredited person if they are installing 50 systems.

Spending $500 on more efficient globes/fridge/insulation and an energy audit might well be a better prospect for CO2/energy reduction than a solar system

Paul

On 06/02/2008, at 7:46 PM, Tony Ullman wrote:

Hi Mark,

 

We should at least try to get 50 houses together.  I think we should discuss it at the next SM meeting (whenever that may be) and then consider putting the idea out there in the community to see what the response is.

 

Last time I looked at the Beyondbuilding site there were a lot of unanswered questions like "can I spend twice as much and get a system that is double the size".  I think they have just done enough homework to get themselves into the market with the smallest sized system which will attract a rebate.

 

I am also sure that Beyondbuilding would be responsible for any warranty claims as they are the importer. If they go down the tube I don't like the chances of getting anything out of a Chinese manufacturer.

 

The main problem with tendering for the install is who is accredited? Neither of us at present.

 

I looked into the solar HWS deal and it's a great but I don't have that sort of money to spare at present.  I would be interested in spending $500 and cutting my power usage by a reasonable percentage however.

 

Regards,

 

Tony

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Mark Gerrard

To: sm-energy

Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 4:52 PM

Subject: [sm-energy] PV grid-tie bulk purchase

Hi all,

 

Some people have inquired about getting together to do a bulk purchase of solar PV grid-tie systems similar to what the group did last year with solar hot water systems. (If you would like info on what a grid-tie system entails I've uploaded a PDF brochure from BCSE [1.2MB] that explains both grid-tie PV systems & stand-alone PV systems so check the file area athttp://groups.google.com/group/sm-energy/files?hl=en & download the brochure there.)

[Bernie Dwyer]

I'd be keen, but I'm more than 14km from town, can't go grid-tie ($33,000+ to get a grid connection), and I've already submitted an application for subsidy to upgrade my system.

 

cheers

Bernie Dwyer
***********************

[Tony Ullman]

Hi Paul,

 

I was accredited to design and install but I let it lapse when I started doing repair work.

 

Tony

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