ABC Wednesdays - S for Stobie Pole

The stobie pole is a common sight throughout South Australia. Made of steel and concrete, it was invented by James Cyril Stobie in 1924. Stobie poles are manufactured in a variety of sizes and are used to carry electricity, telephone and data cables.


The ABC Wednesday meme was initiated by Denise Nesbitt. To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see other participants' contributions click here.

Tindo - Solar Electric Bus

After my visit to the Zoo yesterday I caught the Adelaide Connector, a free bus, to the railway station.

Tindo takes claim to being the World's first solar electric bus. It carries 40 passengers, 25 of whom are seated, and has a range of 200 km.

It is an electric bus run on batteries that are charged (indirectly) from solar cells on the roof of the Adelaide Central Bus Station. These are connected to the state's power grid which is actually used to charge Tindo's batteries overnight. 70,000 kilowatt hours of electricity is generated annually, sufficient to offset the requirements for charging the bus.

Tindo is the Kaurna Aboriginal name for sun.

My solar energy use

Over the last few days I have highlighted some of the uses of solar energy in South Australia. I will conclude by mentioning my solar devices.

A few years ago I replaced my in-roof hot water service with this on-roof solar hot water service. As with the solar panels for generating electricity for use in the house, the solar hot water systems like this attract government subsidies. Without these subsidies the costs would be prohibitive and so far the savings made have been minimal - but the environmental savings justify the installation.

This is my yacht and the solar panel mounted on the back keeps the batteries topped up; sufficient to keep a fridge running and to run lights and electronic devices on board and still be able to start the motor!

Wilpena Power Station

Commissioned in 1998 this solar power station is about 450 kilometres north of Adelaide. It supplies electricity to local customers such as the Wilpena Resort and the Finders Ranges National Park Headquarters.

The power station has an array of 1250 eighty watt panels, capable of generating up to 100 kWh. There are also diesel generators which are used to supplement the power when the output from the solar panels is insufficient.

Household solar power

Not only is the City installing solar panels in public places, but many energy conscious residents are installing panels like these at their homes. These panels are installed in the backyard of a friend's house.

A set of panels like these generate about 2500 kWh of electricity in a year. Surplus power is fed into the electricity grid and generous rebates are paid; currently 44 cents per kilowatt hour.

The Federal Government is currently encouraging people to install systems like this by offering a rebate of up to $8,000. A six panel, one kWh system can be installed for about $4,000 (after the rebate).

Solar light

Adelaide has an average of 7.6 hours of sunshine a day, so it makes sense to use it . This is a solar street light in Victoria Square in the City.

Electricity produced from these panels is sent to the State's electricity grid during the day, and the lights are powered from the grid at night. Each light produces about 100 kilowatt hours (kWh) more than it uses each year.

The lights are an initiative of the Adelaide Green City program which aims to develop Adelaide as a Solar City.