Wednesday 22/10/2008 Page: 14
NATHAN BROWN and his wife, Arnie, run a solar panel installation business in Richmond, which they founded eight years ago. They were slightly ahead of their time but Brown says the business has grown steadily. He did an apprenticeship as an electrician before crossing to solar. "It's a big advantage to have an electrical background," Brown says.Another advantage is to have no fear of heights, because Brown often has to clamber over rooftops, affixing silicon panels and inverters. Unlike solar hot water systems, the solar electricity panels work on UV radiation and are more efficient in cooler weather. "It's like you can get sunburnt on an overcast cold day - same thing with solar panels," Brown says. He prefers to install Australian made solar panels, although cheaper Chinese ones are available.
Before government rebates, an average grid-connected system might cost about $12,000. Customers with grid connected systems feed any excess solar-generated electricity back into the grid, and draw off the grid at night. In countries that have forged ahead with solar energy, there is usually a feed-in tariff, where excess solar energy is bought from solar households at a higher rate than electricity is sold off the grid. "In the ACT it has gone through Parliament. It stimulates investment in solar energy. That's what the industry is hoping for."
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