Solar panel popularity cuts demand
Adelaide Now, Julian Swallow August 09, 2012 REDUCED electricity consumption and growing use of renewable energy will cause a five-year delay in the need for extra generation investment in SA, a new report says.
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) South Australian
Electricity Report (SAER) reveals there has been a five per cent
reduction in the state’s annual energy consumption in 2011-12 because
of reduced demand from large industry and the increased popularity of
solar panels.
This is about 10 per cent lower than forecast in the body’s 2011
South Australian Supply and Demand Outlook report, while forecast
maximum demand is also slower than anticipated, growing at 1 per cent
a year.
At the current rate of growth, the energy market operator forecasts
South Australia will next experience a small reserve deficit of 24 MW
in the summer of 2019-20, pushing back the expected date for further
generation investment in the state by five years….
Reduced electricity consumption has been attributed to lower demand
from large industrial and manufacturing customers.
The high uptake of rooftop solar systems in South Australia – about
one-in seven of the state’s households, according to Office of the
Renewable Energy Regulator figures released in April – is another
factor.
Rooftop systems are estimated to produce about 2.4 per cent of South
Australia’s energy, while wind farms now contribute 8.3 per cent of
electricity needed to meet peak summer demand – up from 5 per cent in
2011….. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/solar-panel-popularity-cuts-demand/story-e6frede3-1226446143372
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Be very careful about quoting these numbers. The Report is focussed on grid electricity (not electricity in general and especially not about energy in general) and it often doesn’t make clear whether it’s talking about energy/electricity demand or supply.
Go to the actual report although there is still plenty of potentially confusing stuff there as well.
Like many, AEMO seems to think that rooftop solar electricity is in some way inferior in that it doesn’t contribute to supply only reduces demand.
At the same time it doesn’t talk about solar hot water, energy conservation, or energy efficiency even though they also reduce electricity demand.
In short, the report is supply oriented, a major deficiency given that, like any market, the electricity market is controlled by supply AND demand.
Dennis Matthews
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