A retrograde step for Solar in Australia

[Joe Blake]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-03/normanton-solar-farm-turns-off-after-ergon-energy-negotiations/105843958

An outback solar farm has officially switched off its panels after the owner said a failed agreement with Ergon Energy forced his hand to pull the plug.

For eight years, Doug Scouller's Normanton Solar Farm has kept residential and business lights on across an area almost twice the size of Tasmania.

But his dream of using the region's abundant sunlight to power his remote Gulf of Carpentaria community has been extinguished.

Mr Scouller said the most recent power purchasing agreement (PPA) offered by Ergon Energy was "completely commercially unviable".

[Ralph Day]

And I was shuddering to think of what my 10kw feed in will be paying when my contract is up in 2030.

[Rob Beckers]

Ralph, likely they won't pay a dime, all you can do (at this time at least) is offset your own use. Not much help if you're mostly off-grid like you..

It's a sign of the times unfortunately.
The general population is tired of hearing the "climate change" message, and at the same time see their cost-of-living go up, and the world go to s$#t. They tune out, look for scapegoats, believe right-wing populists are the solution, or all of the above. It just happened in Czechia, a month ago in Poland, The Netherlands' largest party was right-wing populists in the last elections, and of course we know about Hongary, the USA, and many more around the world. More disconcerting is that the under-30 crowd is massively moving in this direction. Once upon a time they could be counted on to balance out the more traditional right-leaning of the older generations.

No doubt it will eventually swing the other way again. Meanwhile, hunker down, batten the hatches, and ride out the storm. We'll see what's left of the world after!

-RoB-

[Ralph Day]

Well, my system has long been paid for, thank the star. And my production of about 14,000kwhrs per year would require electric heat and open windows to consume :D

I suppose I could scavenge some of the microfit production for just the house system, but that's next decade's questions.

Ralph

[Asif Javed]

It’s sad to see clean energy dreams dimmed by profit margins. When innovation meets red tape, everyone pays the price — especially the planet.

[Johnny Smith]

When your local government runs short of funds or cancels subsidy policies for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems:

If your PV power generation exceeds your household electricity consumption, you used to get paid by the government for the surplus electricity. But now, with no subsidies, that sweet deal's gone!
When your PV power generation falls short of your household needs, you'll simply have to cough up the cash for the extra electricity used, just like you always did before going solar (except now without the subsidy perk).
In such cases, it's high time your PV system did some "damage control" and switched to an off-grid setup! After all, you've already shelled out for the PV panels, inverters, and your house itself. Without subsidies, you're footing the electricity bill all on your own. Going off-grid puts you in the driver's seat, letting you manage your power usage based on the size of your energy storage batteries. It's like having your own little power oasis!