On Sunday, February 24, Aust-ralians around the country will be holding BBQs to celebrate the extraordinary installation of rooftop solar systems.
Nationally, 1.5 million house-holds now rely on solar panels to provide all or some of the electricity they use.
This is not only helping to drop greenhouse gas emissions, when combined with increasing efforts to use electricity more efficiently and cut waste, it has helped prevent construction of a new coal-fired power station in NSW.
It is now at the point when the price of electricity generated by wind is cheaper than the price from a new coal-fired power station.
Sure, the old power stations are still cheaper because the cost was paid by taxpayers years ago.
In Armidale, Uralla, Walcha and Guyra there are 1053 rooftop solar systems, the vast majority on houses.
There was rapid uptake while NSW paid households 60 cents for each kilowatt they generated.
Even though this has been discontinued, people are still choosing to install panels on their roofs.
The price of panels has dropped rapidly as demand increased. If, as many businesses do, a house or business uses a lot of energy during daylight hours when solar panels are generating electricity, then it is particularly advantageous to install a rooftop solar system that meets your daytime needs.
While the system may seem expensive, even if you borrow the money, you will be able to pay it back in a couple of years because you will be saving so much money on your electricity bills.
Once you have paid for the system, each kilowatt you generate will save you money.
So , when Sunday comes around, Sustainable Living Armidale (SLA) encourages everyone to join with friends in someone’s backyard or in a favourite picnic spot and hold a BBQ to honour what has already been achieved.
