We are experiencing huge growth in the adoption of rooftop solar panels plus energy storage as a means to gain independence from the antiquated, overpriced and largely fossil-fueled electricity grid. Energy independent homes and small communities linked by microgrids, appear to be leading us to a brighter energy future, and the charge is being made in regions with the highest electricity rates. However, one expert from Australia, where electricity rates are among the highest in the world, insists that small-scale energy independence is the wrong direction for society. Australia added more than one gigawatt of rooftop solar panel capacity during a benchmark 2017, representing an increase of about 50% over 2016 figures, according to consultancy firm Green Energy Markets. “People seem to feel somehow that they are being ripped off, and at the same time, there is news everywhere about renewables and batteries becoming better and cheaper,” says Professor Pierluigi Mancarella, of the University of […]