14 March 2005
Archicentre says the continual failure of Governments to invest in solar energy will continue to leave Australian capital cities in the grip of major black outs as being experienced by tens of thousands of homes in Adelaide today.
Ms Christine Teichert, South Australian State Manager of Archicentre said: "The amount of sunlight energy falling on the average Australian roof using current inefficient technology could produce several times the amount of power required to run the home."
"The failure of the national power grid clearly shows South Australia needs to take responsibility for its own power demand and as a start we should be looking at ways to limit power demand to homes through good design and management of power within the home."
"A design and research brief by the Government to produce a range of low cost roof panels which heat water, provides insulation and generates energy should be one of the first projects governments should have been implementing."
"Generally hot water makes up 50% of the average electricity bill and the use of solar hot water can save between 50% to 95% of this, depending on the location of the home in Australia."
"Millions of hectares of rooftops exist in Australian suburbs and industrial estates that should be productive fields of efficient and non polluting energy. Instead they lay untapped and dormant owing to the failure of progressive governments to focus on building a national Smart Solar industry which could create a major export market with leading technology."
"Australia as a country should be moving towards making every home via its roof and design a net contributor to the electricity grid. One of the things that mass produced solar technology would bring is affordability that would place clean solar energy within the reach of everyone."
Residential solar energy in 1995/96 represented less than one per cent of all energy used and in 2010 it was forecast to be only 1.1%. Source: Australian Bureau Statistics November 2001
Media Enquiries:
Christine Teichert State Manager Archicentre South Australia (08) 8228 0300
Mobile: 0417 846 375
Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications (03) 9818 5700