Solar power in Australian cities has recently sprung to life with various grants and great prices on offer. Furthermore, more people are realizing the obvious benefits that it can have in the long term. 

Lower Prices
The drive to own a home that is green is ‘on’ at the moment. The government is supporting this push and have set aside a large chunk of money to put towards various plans like the feed-in tariff program. If you have thought about installing solar panels in your home, at the moment you could save in the region of 30% off the total store price from a government-backed program alone.

On top of this, Australia receives the perfect amount of sunlight for solar panels to be effective. This means the homes in this country will receive the best benefits when they use them.

Utility Bill Saving
Apart from the positive impact on the environment, the main benefit of installing solar panels on your home is that you will start to notice your utility bills reduce significantly. Depending on the amount of solar energy you are generating, you could reduce your bills by a couple of hundred dollars a year or you could even make them obsolete. Furthermore, if you produce enough energy and do not use as much as you produce, then your panels could actually make you money as you can sell your units back to the government.

Developments to the Technology
There are a lot of people that are still under the impression that solar panels only work on sunny days, yet this is not the case. Even at night, solar panels gain power through the light emitted from the stars and the moon. Furthermore, on cloudy days, there are still rays of light that hit the panels, and all of this goes towards how much energy your panels gather.

Environmental Gain
Of course, if you think of yourself as green, then by using any amount of electricity contributes to global warming. When you use solar panels, this is not the case because there are no coals or oils that need to be burned, and no nuclear waste is produced. In fact, there are no emissions at all. While this may not be the biggest point to many, to some people, this is the point that makes having solar panels worthwhile.

Solar power will continue to become a bigger ‘force’ in the way we generate energy until it becomes commonplace for every home to have panels. So, contact a solar panel expert today, and start saving money on your electricity bills.


Written by Paul Lee

Found at http://www.greenerideal.com/alternative-energy/solar-energy/0319-why-should-i-install-a-solar-panel/

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR), today announced that it has delivered 12,000 high-efficiency SunPower™ E19 / 320 solar panels to La Compagnie du Vent, a subsidiary of French utility giant GDF SUEZ Group.  Estimated for completion in the summer of 2012, the 3.8-megawatt dc (MW) power plant will be La Compagnie du Vent's largest ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) installation to date. The solar power plant is expected to generate approximately 6,270,000 kilowatt-hours of power each year, which represents the electricity consumption of approximately 3,500 persons and, according to RTE 2011, carbon offset of approximately 5,000 tons per year.

"SunPower is delighted to partner with La Compagnie du Vent to provide them our high-efficiency solar panels, the most reliable on the market today," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, regions. "We are confident that, with SunPower's proven performance, La Compagnie du Vent will experience exceptional energy output and achieve robust return on investment over the 25-year minimum life of the solar panels."

"La Compagnie du Vent, GDF SUEZ Group has followed SunPower and its unrivalled high efficiency PV technology for the past several years," said Gilles Leandro, La Compagnie du Vent's PV development director. "We are impressed with the company's highest efficiency solar panels, which maximize capacity on space-constrained areas; a key driver for our choice of this PV technology."

French pioneer of wind energy, La Compagnie du Vent, is considered a major player in renewable energy due to its diversification in the production of solar electricity.  Today, wind farms and PV power plants in operation and under construction by La Compagnie du Vent represent a total of approximately 280 MW dc.

About SunPower

SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) designs, manufactures and delivers the highest efficiency, highest reliability solar panels and systems available today.  Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on the company's quarter century of experience and guaranteed performance to provide maximum return on investment throughout the life of the solar system.  Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. For more information, visit www.sunpowercorp.com.

SOURCE SunPower Corp.