The Solar Panels on Climate Change

It is seriously worrying that the South Australian government is currently spending $2.6 million of taxpayers money on an advertising campaign about energy. It now says that it is “taking control” of the situation.  That is bad. Very bad.

Electricity here is already 3 times as expensive as in the US, and I have had many power cuts this year. So a bad situation looks like it is going to get much worse before it gets better.

So I have installed a solar system on the roof. This is not because I think solar is great. It is because I think the grid supply is really bad, and getting worse. It comes with an internet based dashboard, so I can see what it going on. Right now, for example, my panels are generating 5kW. Most of that is powering the house. Some is charging up the battery which provides power at night. And I am exporting a bit of it to the grid. It is surprisingly compelling, watching the dashboard as the sun comes out and then dives back behind a cloud.

Daft ideas from the State government here

Cryptic

I had some trouble with 21 Across yesterday:

Sharp turns in quiet Scottish river valley (6)

Well, “sh” for quiet is easy. And inside that “tart” turning backwards is OK. I had never heard of strath. But it makes sense. Strathclyde. Strathalbyn. It had just never

Electric soup

I have been installing a lot of solar panels on my roof. And in the garage, inverters and battery etc.

This is not because I am a fan of solar power, or this State’s Government’s obsession with renewables. Just the opposite. I think that that obsession will lead to yet more massive increases in mains electricity prices here, and even more power cuts. The home battery bit is expensive, but one needs it, apparently, to maintain power during the power cuts (you would have thought that you could use the electricity coming from the panels. But you can’t.  That has to go into the grid, and if the grid is off, it’s thank you and goodnight.)

Already, my taxes do not lead to much return. I have

• No mains water (I collect my water from the roof);
• No rubbish collection (I burn as much as possible);
• No mail deliveries (I have to collect from the post office in the local township of Myponga);
• No sewerage (I have my own Envirocycle system);
• No mains gas (I use bottled gas for cooking on the hob);
• A very poor telephone line, incapable of carrying an internet connection;
• Very poor mobile telephone reception (I had to put in an 8 metre high antenna);
• No road surface (the road I live on is just a strip of dirt).

So, with my own electricity generation, I will be even further off grid. I bake