Mapping our Power
The team at the Australian PV Institute have created some truly amazing maps and tools around solar energy installations in Australia. These maps are used by enthusiasts, media, developers and installers to communicate the message that Solar Works!
There are 6 different types of maps and tools that show where solar is installed and how much energy in each state is coming from solar, for example;
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You can see how South Australia typically gets >20% of its energy from solar day after day after day...
- You can see how much solar is installed in your area and compare it to others, by state or by postcode. There are entire suburbs where 50% of the homes are powered by the sun! There are electorates in Queensland where over 40% of the homes are solar powered!
- There's an animation showing how solar in Australia has increased by over 300 times since 2007
- There is even the first release of a tool that you can use to estimate the output of a PV system on your roof - not all locations yet as we are building this up
- and we have plans for more....
To see for yourself, follow the website link provided later, or search for APVI solar map.
This work received seed-funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), for which we are very grateful, but there's so much more we can do and, with your help, we'd like to take it further.
We are mapping solar in Australia to communicate its success and to inform the discussion and policy debate around the significance of solar.
We've mapped Queensland by electorate, now we'd like to do that for each state, starting with NSW.
What We Need
We need just $2,500 to map by electorate for each state. With an election coming up, we want to start with NSW, but the more support we get, the further we will take it. We aim to bring enough money in the first few days to have the solar map used to inform the conversation in the lead up to the NSW election.
Our target of $15,000 will allow us to map all of Australia by electorate and make a big contribution to the conversation around solar and the people's support. We'd recruit a communications person to create content around the facts and figures and get the message out about the successful deployment of solar in Australia. We lead the world in residential rooftop installations and we want to let everyone know about it.
With more than $15,000, we'll be able to build extra features on the maps (listed below), including more sites, better branding and communications around the Solar Map.
If you've got this far and are ready to support us, a big thanks - go for it. If you want more information on the benefits of support or our plans for the map, then read on.
You can contribute by way of donation as little as $1 or by selecting a perk from $22 up. If you support us with over $100, we'll offer you the opportunity to join the APVI then you can access all the members benefits including recognition on the APVI website, news and event invitations and discounts.
The Impact
We aim to increase the deployment of solar energy through sharing good data and through communication. The Australian Solar Map is already a great resource for sharing information about the uptake of solar in Australia and is widely referenced in industry news. With your help we can do more...
We've got big plans for more from the Australian Solar Map including....
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Mapping by electorate will help inform discussion and policy debate around support for solar.
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For most capital city CBD's it is already possible to map your rooftop for how much energy you can generate from solar panels using the Solar Potential Tool. We want to extend this to much greater areas.
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We want to work with the Solar Schools program to include their data in the Australian Solar Map.
- We're interested in integrating weather data so that we can start to forecast future PV generation
- and we are working with our members to develop new applications
This is only the beginning. We'd love to hear your ideas too. Join us in developing this amazing tool.
Who are we...?
The Australian PV Institute (APVI) is a not-for-profit, member-based association of companies, agencies, individuals and academics who are passionate about solar energy research, technology, manufacturing, systems, policies, programs and projects.
Our objective is to: Support the increased development and use of PV via research, analysis and information.
Participation in APVI activities is on the basis of subscriptions or sponsorship of research and events, like this one. Benefits of membership include regular events and newsletters, networking, and the opportunity to meet and work with local and international PV experts on submissions, reports and research projects.
The Australian Solar Map was developed by the very clever Dr Anna Bruce, with the support of ARENA and a number of other APVI members.
And we're very excited that the Australian Solar Map was nominated and has now been shortlisted for the Energy Globe Awards.
