Solar Power

Delta Electrics has been designing, supplying and installing solar power systems in the NT and remote parts of Western Australia for more than 20 years. Today we have many systems in operation providing reliable, sustainable and economical power to households, schools and remote communities throughout the NT and northern Western Australia.

Delta Electrics supplies the world-record winnning Q.Cells range of solar panels. Established in Germany in 1999, Q.Cells has grown rapidly employing over 2,000 people including 200 engineers. Q.Cells are at the forefront of solar research, design and innovation. The company has won 5 solar world records in the past year for the efficiency of their solar panels are rank amongst the top 10 solar companies in the world.

Delta Electrics also sources high quality solar products from Bosch, SMA, Selectronic and Exide-GNB.

Commercial-scale grid connect or remote power

Delta Electrics specialises in the design, supply and installation of medium to large scale solar power systems for schools, businesses, remote properties and Aboriginal communities. This includes systems that can be connected to the main power supply (grid-connect) or for remote locations that do not have a connection to the main power grid (Remote Area Power Systems or RAPS). We also specialise in the design and installation of hybrid solar power systems that can harness solar power during the day and back it up with efficient Diesel power generation at night or during extended periods of cloudy/rainy weather.

Solar power equipment for households (domestic grid-connect)

We work closely with local Darwin-based solar power installation companies to supply solar power
systems for people interested in installing solar power on their homes.

Government rebates and financial assistance

Grid-connected systems

Financial assistance is available to households and businesses to help reduce the cost of installing solar power in the form of Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs). STCs (formerly know as Renewable Energy Certificates or RECs) can be generated when you install a grid-connected solar power system and reflect the reduction in greenhouse emissions your system will create (the bigger the system, the more STCs you can create). STCs are traded much like shares on the stock market and can be worth up to $40 each. An average sized system (1.5kW) installed in the NT creates 34 STCs.

Remote-power systems

Households and businesses not connected to the main power grid can also generate STCs when they install a remote solar power system that is not connected to the grid provided that you are:

More than 1km from the mains grid AND
It would cost at least $30,000 to get connected to the grid.

Remote Solar Power systems of up to 20kW are eligible for these STCs.

Solar Credits Multiplier

Grid-connected systems

Households and businesses that install a grid-connected solar power system can get an additional benefit under the Federal Government Solar Credits scheme whereby they can get a multiple number of STCs for systems up to 1.5kW. For example, a house in Darwin that installed a 1.5kW grid connected system could generate 172 STCs if the system was installed before 30 June 2011 or 102 STCs after 30 June 2011.

Remote power systems

Households and businesses not connected to the mains power grid that install a remote solar power system can get an additional benefit under the Federal Government Solar Credits scheme whereby they can get a multiple number of STCs for systems up to 20kW. For example, a remote property in the NT that installed a 20kW off-grid solar power system could generate up to 2,300 STCs if the system was installed before 30 June 2011 or 1,380 STCs after 30 June 2011.

The value of STCs varies and can be sold via an authorised STC trader or via the Federal Government Clearing House.

This multiplier will be reduced over the coming years as follows:

From 5 to 3 on 1 July 2011
From 3 to 2 on 1 July 2012
From 2 to 1 from 1 July 2013

As you can see from the information above, if you are considering installing a solar power system on your home or business you should act sooner rather than later in order to maximise the financial benefit of your STCs.

Feed-in Tariffs

Another financial benefit of installing a solar power system on your home or business is the potential to sell your solar energy to your energy provider. In the NT, we have a gross feed-in tariff scheme which means that you can get paid for ALL the solar power produced from your system. The NT utility authority, Power and Water Corporation, will pay households and businesses the following for the solar power they produce:

Households – 19.23 cents per kWh
Commercial customers – 22.37 cents per kWh

In addition to Q.Cell solar panels and frames, we supply components that help make up a solar power system from the following leading solar equipment manufacturers: