Indeed...
I worked on using the Suntech 175w Panels with 26 on a Pallet as this seems to be a fairly widely used and a common panel size. I also rounded the weight up to 500Kg's which gave a higher number in case one wanted a heavier Pallet but it's not that much more as everything is a per Kg charge and also a cubic meter charge!
So
US$13,216 for the Pallet of 4.55Kw of Panels which @ $0.90 is about AU$14,700
AU$300 for a once off goods in transit insurance on that
AU$1300 for Adelaide
AU$1400 for Sydney & Melbourne - difference is the delivery truck
So your looking at around AU$16,500 for the 4.55Kw of Panels but as it's a Pallet you need a Forklift to unload it. I've got a friend with a nearby warehouse so that's not problem for me. If you buy those panels over here they seem to be around $1200 each - $31,000 - not quite half price!
Split that between 3 friends or family @ $5500 each ( paid entirely by Solar Credits ) and you've got your 1.5Kw. Find one friend with $8.5k and get a 2.25Kw! Buy your inverter pay a BSCE certified sparkie to install it.
If you throw in an SMA 3000TL Inverter (97% Efficient) at AU$2750 ($4750 over here) but not including freight you save almost another $2k! All the wireless meters and stuff are a bargain price like the SMA webbox which is AU$800 its double that over here!
If you can organise a nice sized buying group (?) one can fit about 20 Pallets in 20' Container and that price is about $5200 or $6000 for a 40'. You then divide that by your 20 Pallets and its about $250 per pallet not the $1400 so there's another grand each.
We are paying an absolute fortune for everything, 50% is quite a generous profit margin on plain parts considering there's no moving parts and everything carries such a long warranty!
Posted Saturday 5 Dec 2009 @ 4:55:35 am from IP
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