Australia loves solar. One in three homes now sports panels. But here’s the kicker: fewer than one per cent of those panels were made here. Round 2 of the federal Solar Sunshot program is the first serious push to change that, with $150 million aimed squarely at turning Aussie ideas and capability into kit we actually build at home.
If you’ve bought an electric car to rein in the household budget, good news: pushing electrons is almost always cheaper than burning dinosaurs. The twist—and it catches plenty of new owners—is how wildly the price of a “fill” swings depending on where and when you plug in.
If you’ve ever stood under a hot shower thinking, “I wonder if this is costing me more than my last weekend away,” there’s a good chance your water heating system is guilty as charged. Traditional electric hot water heaters are basically kettles on steroids, chewing through power to keep water hot even while you’re off at work or the beach. Imagine the amount of energy being consumed by these systems globally when it’s totally unnecessary to keep the water hot just in case someone might turn the tap on.
By September, the federal government will finally let us in on its big climate number – the 2035 emissions reduction target. This isn’t just another political announcement to politely clap through; it’s the line in the sand that tells the world whether Australia’s fair dinkum about pulling its weight on climate action.