Soleair

"When it comes to electric cars or aircraft, that is not eliminating pollution; it's merely exporting it to the power station and the battery manufacturer. " I disagree Dafydd. My point (from several pages earlier in this thread) was that using existing technology it is perfectly possible to provide power for electric car(s) - and aircraft - from domestic rooftop solar arrays. It is an efficient way of harvesting the surplus power not used in the home rather than feeding it back into the grid for the derisory price paid by Origin et al. Admittedly this would become more attractive with advances in battery technology but I think it is reasonable to assume these will be forthcoming very soon, particularly if the incentive of a mass market was to occur. I believe the real problem is that the State would not make any money out of this. If we all used our roofspace to generate our own household + commuting travel energy needs, how would the government replace the tax income presently received from petrol & electricity sales?

It seems crazy to me that not every house in Australia is fitted with rooftop solar arrays. Certainly this should be the case for all new builds. Australia has the highest average solar radiation per square metre of any continent in the world. The annual solar radiation falling on Australia is approximately 58 million petajoules (PJ), approximately 10 000 times Australia’s annual energy consumption. So it is plain to see that every house could become a net generator instead of a consumer. And with the technology already here - not 'coming soon' - each household can easily generate sufficient power to run 2 runabout electric cars. And ISIS will probably see to it that battery technology advances much more quickly than previously. I run rooftop photovoltaic panels plus solar water heating. We have a backup immersion heater that's been on for less than 12 hours this winter, and never in summer. My solar array will never repay me the capital cost, as I am only paid 6 cents for electricity I generate, compared to 32 cents per unit for that which I buy back. And of course I pay an additional fixed price for use of the electrical distribution network (poles & wires). So I need to generate more than 5 times my consumption to break even, then half as much again to pay for the connection costs. This is not sufficient incentive to expand the market. If we are to pay for the distribution network separately then we should be paid market price for the power we feed into the grid. In this way, within a very few years Australia could be almost free from dependence on damaging - and diminishing - fossil fuels. Bruce