Australia’s solar rooftop industry looked successful, so government caved in to fossil fuel lobby to stop it
Greens leader, Senator Christine Milne, said the government’s move, combined with a decision to delay taxing methane gas emissions from mines and landfills, “gives the fossil fuel industry a reprieve.”
“It seems incredible that the government wants to bring forward harm to renewable energy industries but delay cost impacts to fossil fuel polluters,” she said.
Solar scheme shift stuns industry, SMH, November 16, 2012 – Peter Hannam Carbon economy editor A rebate for rooftop solar panels will be halved six months earlier than planned in a move blasted by an industry group
as “diabolical”. Climate Change Minister Greg Combet announced the solar credits scheme would end in January next year “due to continued strong demand for household solar”….. Continue reading
Some surprising trends in Australia’s large scale electricity generation
Australia’s renewable energy map – off-grid, it’s another story By Giles Parkinson on 16 November 2012
The Bureau of Research and Resource Economics this week released an update on Australia’s large scale electricity generation – what has just been built, what is been built, and what’s in the pipeline.
It’s a useful update, but it highlights some surprising trends, and some lost opportunities.
It notes, for instance, that of the 20 large scale plants under construction, all but six are in renewable energy. 
And of those six gas fired and coal fired plants that are being built, only one – Eraring Energy’s 240MW expansion in NSW – is connected to the National Electricity market
The others are located either in WA’s own market, or in off-grid and mini-grid locations around major mining areas – Queensland’s Mt Isa, the Pilbara region in WA, and the Northern Territory. The irony here is that these developments are mostly high-cost and are in areas that should afford renewables such as wind and solar the best chance of deployment on an economic basis. The fact that it hasn’t is one of the main problems that Greg Bourne is trying to address as chairman of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
You’d think that miners – given their profits – and the high cost of energy in remote locations would be enthusiastic supporters, but it seems they need to have a subsidized example before they embrace the idea.
The fossil fuel component of the new build accounts for just less than one third of the 3,017MW of plant under construction, and about a similar share of the cost.
Of the renewables projects, most are in wind (just one in solar), and half are in Victoria, despite that state’s blustering about renewable energy and it’s dangers on health and amenity…. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/australias-renewable-energy-map-off-grid-its-another-story-10111
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) promoting regional renewables
ARENA’s regional outlook; Solar Dawn discontinued, http://ecogeneration.com.au/news/arena/078757/ , 16 November 2012 A new program to increase renewable energy uptake in regional and remote areas of Australia has been announced by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, as part of its inaugural General Funding Strategy and Investment Plan for 2012-15 .
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) also announced that it will no longer pursue development of the 250 MW Solar Dawn project in Queensland.
ARENA Chair Greg Bourne said the General Funding Strategy and accompanying Investment Plan for 2012-15 includes strategic, supporting and complementary initiatives to drive long-term change. Continue reading
Australian govt puts the brakes on rooftop solar, after intense lobbying by fossil fuel utilities
for most Australians from January 1, there will be virtually no additional subsidies for rooftop solar PV installations.
The solar industry was stunned by the move and still had not figured out its implications.
the decision also comes after intense public lobbying from utilities and generators, particularly Origin Energy
Canberra brings early end to rooftop Solar Credits scheme http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/canberra-brings-early-end-to-rooftop-solar-credits-scheme-97164 By Giles Parkinson 16 November 2012The Federal Government has announced the early closure of its Solar Credits scheme, meaning that rooftop solar PV installations will receive only one renewable energy certificate for every megawatt hour of electricity produced from January 1.
The closure of the scheme, six months early, is the second time the government has intervened in the program, which was originally intended to end in 2015. Last year, it announced that the closure was being brought forward by 12 months. Continue reading
Electricity from sugar power at Mackay, Queensland – AUDIO
AUDIO Mackay running on sugar power http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201211/s3633288.htm By Michael Cavanagh, 15/11/2012 From today, 30 per cent of the electricity needs of Mackay on Queensland’s central coast will be supplied by the Racecourse Sugar Mill located on the city’s outskirts.
The bagasse, or sugar waste, has long been used to power the mill’s operations. Now, with the use of more efficient boilers and a newsteam turbine generator, the excess will be pushed into the town’s electricity grid.
Mackay Sugar is one of Australia’s top 500 carbon emitters. Business development manager John Hodgson says this is a further reason to move away from more traditional power.
“So we have a liability for those emissions and we desperately want to get off that list of high emitters so that is another big incentive to displace coal with stored bagasse.”
The Racecourse Mill cogeneration project is costing around $120 million. A small part of this is government funding, with the bulk coming from Mackay Sugar.
The man with his hand on the purse is Mackay Sugar CEO Quinton Hildebrand. He says it’s a “good commercial venture” with an expected “payback” over the next six years. Mackay Sugar receives payments on a monthly basis, which are calculated on the power exported.
South Africa leads in solar thermal, where sunny Australia fears to go
Australia concedes lead in solar thermal technology to South Africa, REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 12 November 2012 It is ironic that in the same week that the ambitious $1.2 billion Solar Dawn solar thermal project in south-west Queensland should finally be put to rest, construction of two solar thermal projects – with storage – should begin in South Africa.
The last chance for the Solar Dawn consortium led by French nuclear giant Areva for the construction of a 250MW solar thermal plant in Queensland, or even a scaled down version of it, was removed when the Australian Renewable Energy Agency rejected its funding proposal – after the federal government had done so under the previous Solar Flagships program.
Meanwhile, in South Africa, the Spanish group Abengoa last week began construction of two solar thermal projects boasting a mixture of solar tower and parabolic trough technologies. The 50MW Khi Solar One and 100MW KaXu Solar One CSP (concentrating solar power, another name for solar thermal) projects will feature storage and dry cooling technologies, to reduce water demands.
These are the sort of projects that should be pioneered and deployed in Australia. Instead, Australia’s obsession with grandiose schemes, its inflexible funding arrangements, and the lack of true support from state governments and major utilities, mean South Africa will lead and Australia will follow.
The failure of the Solar Flagships program, or the inability of various projects to lock in power price arrangements is not a failure of technology, as many would like to portray it, but a failure of policy – where the hubris of government overwhelms sound technical advice from the industry. It was an idea dreamed up by the egos in the office of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and the bureaucrats were never able to meet the impossible task of matching such grandiose dreams – of having the biggest, but not necessarily the best – with sound policies. The coup-de-grace was delivered by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman in a similarly grand-standing gesture…..
The one opportunity that Australia now has for a solar thermal project in the short term may well be in Port Augusta, where Alinta has held some discussions with ARENA, for a possible replacement of its coal-fired power stations there. What they may propose, however, is a hybrid systems no dissimilar to the solar booster that is currently being built in Queensland by Areva.
But the importance of solar thermal should not be underestimated. Even the Energy White Paper, a conservative document prepared by the Federal Energy ministry and released last week, said 16 per cent of Australia’s electricity demand could be sourced from solar thermal by 2050. That could make Australia a leader in solar thermal, but for the moment it trails……
South Africa is succeeding with stand alone systems because it has introduced a market-focused system that has successfully attracted many of the world’s largest solar and other alternative energy developers, through an auction-based system that has attracted more than $5 billion of projects in its first two auctions.
The ACT is the only state or territory government that has pursued a similar strategy, albeit at a much smaller scale. It has so far had one round of bidding that should see a 20MW solar PV project being built near Canberra by the end of 2013…… http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/australia-concedes-lead-in-solar-thermal-technology-to-south-africa-91812
New ultrafast transmission technology is a boon for renewable energy
Capable of carrying electricity over long distances much more efficiently than alternating current (AC), HVDC transmission is seen as a way of transporting renewable energy from remote utility-scale locations — such as desert solar power facilities and offshore wind farms — to consumption centers at much lower cost than existing transmission infrastructure.
Big boost for renewable energy: ABB’s game changing hybrid, REneweconomy, By Cleantechnica 12 November 2012 Solving a problem that has handicapped use of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) in transmission lines, networks, and power grids for more than 100 years, multinational power engineering giant ABB has announced that it has designed and developed a hybrid DC breaker capable of interrupting DC power flows “equivalent to the output of a nuclear power station within five milliseconds… as fast as a honeybee takes per flap of its wings.”
The hybrid DC breaker combines “advanced ultrafast mechanical actuators with ABB’s in-house semiconductor IGBT valve technologies or power electronics.” ABB management deems it a “game changer.” Continue reading
Still hope for Mallee solar energy, despite federal funds not available
“But we do have another solar power station under way with Silex Systems, as well as a number of other companies who have shown interest,”
Lights fade: $700m Mallee solar park misses out on federal funding
http://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/story/962578/lights-fade-700m-mallee-solar-park-misses-out-on-federal-funding/?cs=1259 By Allan Murphy Nov. 13, 2012 PLANS for a $700 million Mallee solar park, described as one of the largest solar power station projects in the world, may be scuttled after the proposal again failed to attract federal funding.
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) yesterday said it would not pursue the EnergyAust-ralia (formerly TRUenergy) project despite an available funding increase of half a billion dollars.
The agency said it was forced to make “tough decisions” to increase renewable energy uptake in regional and remote Australia. Member for Mildura Peter Crisp last month said he was “genuinely worried” about EnergyAustralia’s bid to establish the Mallee Solar Park south of Mildura, despite the State Government committing $100 million towards
the proposal. Continue reading
Origin Energy’s push for gas, against renewabl eenergy
Origin Energy under scrutiny over anti-renewables stance (includes video) Indymedia 13 Nov 2012 By takver Origin Energy, Australia’s largest energy retailer, came under intense scrutiny today from shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in Sydney over it’s energy portfolio placing great emphasis on development of gas, poor investment in wind and solar power, and a campaign by Managing Director Grant King to destabilise the Renewable Energy Target.
At one stage a banner was quickly unfurled infront of the board on the stage which said “Origin: Build wind and solar, not coal and gas”. Continue reading
Australia’s Energy White Paper – in the right direction, but SOLAR is going even faster
Rooftop solar generators now produce electricity for less than the retail tariff everywhere in Australia. This could fundamentally change the nature of the electricity business, leading to the establishment of millions of small generators to supplement wind farms and large conventional generators.
Energy White Paper underestimates solar http://theconversation.edu.au/energy-white-paper-underestimates-solar-10645 Andrew Blakers 10 Nov 12 The 2012 Energy White Paper has much to commend it. In particular, the far greater acknowledgement of the need to shift to clean energy sources is a fundamental shift from previous White Papers.
The emphasis on the need for power demand management, rather than simply meeting peak demand though capital expenditure, is also very welcome.
The energy landscape is changing rapidly. A fundamental change is the extraordinarily rapid decline in the cost of solar energy. Results from the 2012 Australian Energy Technology Assessment of various energy technologies is included. This was a radical departure from previous Government assessments in that it recognised that solar and wind are on track to be low cost, fully competitive energy generation technologies rather soon.
The White Paper notes that “few could have predicted the dramatic reduction in solar PV costs that has occurred
over the past few years”. The White Paper could perhaps have emphasised more strongly the large implications of this fact for electricity providers. Continue reading
New “solar smoothers” solve problems of “intermittent’ renewable energy
Innovative solar smoother manages fluctuations from alternative energy sources http://www.pacetoday.com.au/news/innovative-solar-smoother-helps-manage-fluctuatio 9 November, 2012 Kevin Gomez Western Australia’s Horizon Power recently released new specifications that have a major impact on the renewable energy industry.
The State-owned regional utility required a smoothing device to be installed on every new solar power system to help with power fluctuations. Horizon Power’s infrastructure was having difficulties coping with the unstable power, due to injection of solar energy from private systems.
The utility operates WA’s remote electricity supply systems and some local generation facilities and retails electricity to almost 30,000 customers in the Kimberley, Gascoyne, Mid West and southern Goldfields.
Horizon Power generates some electricity from renewable sources, including wind power in coastal areas and small scale solar power schemes. Currently there are too many solar panels feeding into generator-based mini-grids in some towns in rural WA. When the mini-grid experiences large changes in the injection of solar power, for example on cloudy
days, the generators have to work hard to keep up. If a large cloud passes by, then the solar power injection level will
suddenly drop and generators will need to work hard to keep the power flowing.
Horizon Power has introduced the changes to ensure that these “black holes” of power are avoided. This is achieved via a “solar smoothing” equipment. The smoothing device will provide back-up power to the grid while the generators ramp up and down – reducing the long term wear and tear of the equipment.
The introduction of the specifications will ensure that Horizon’s infrastructure is protected, whilst also allowing space for new solar farms, where the hosting capacity has been reached. Continue reading
Martin Ferguson keeps nuclear door open, while pretending to promote renewables
The big talking points from the Energy White Paper REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 9 November 2012, “…….Ferguson may (begrudgingly) acknowledge that nuclear is not part of the Labor Party platform, but he clearly wants to keep the door open. As he said in the draft white paper, and repeated in the final edition, nuclear might be the only option for a zero-emission future if other technologies such as carbon capture, large scale solar and other renewables fail to develop in the next decade.
“If those technologies fail to develop as expected, future Australian governments may need to consider other clean energy alternatives to meet our emissions reduction targets and to minimise the risk of higher adjustment costs,” the Energy White Paper says. Bet get a wriggle on then. But it’s just a little ironic, given his department’s botched handling of the funds designed to bring those technologies to the market – and here you could cite any number of schemes such as Solar Flagships, the Renewable Energy Development Program, and the Geothermal Drilling Program.
Thankfully, the Greens and the Independents forced the Labor Party to put these together under an independent body called the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which is about to swing into action. Ferguson, however, would have been pleased by the CSIRO’s eFutureonline modelling tool, which displays a nuclear scenario that can best be described as wishful thinking. But as the Energy White Paper admits, the establishment of a commercially based nuclear energy industry in Australia would also require additional financial and/or other forms of government support, and a social licence to operate….”
With friends like Martin Ferguson, renewable energy doesn’t need enemies
Call on our nuclear path looms http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/call-on-our-nuclear-path-looms/story-fn59niix-1226513326556 BY: SID MAHER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT The Australian November 09, 2012 AUSTRALIA may have to decide whether to proceed with nuclear power by the end of the decade if global and national progress on renewable energy technologies fails to develop at the expected pace.
The energy white paper says the Australian government does not support the adoption of nuclear power. However, it says nuclear may enter consideration if new low-emissions baseload energy technology cannot be commercialised in time to meet emissions reduction targets.
Given the long lead times, this would force Australia to make a choice on nuclear energy by late this decade, the paper says.
Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said the government did not support the use of nuclear energy, but it could not produce an energy white paper without acknowledging its existence. “If we get to a point in the future where the community comes to a conclusion that, to achieve baseload clean energy at the lowest possible cost, nuclear is competitive then the community will make that decision in the future,” he said.
The white paper says estimates of future costs for nuclear suggest it could be an economically competitive backstop energy option.
But international experience suggests the establishment of a commercially based nuclear energy industry in Australia would require some initial government support.
The development of the industry would need a lead time of 10-15 years, making the end of this decade the cut-off if the 
technology is to be deployed by 2030-35, which would allow emissions reductions in line with clean energy policies.
The white paper cites carbon capture and storage as critical to meeting long-term global emissions reduction targets, given the planned expansion of coal-fired power in China and India. Continue reading
Australia’s Energy White Paper – Martin Ferguson has to admit -“No Nuclear “
Mr Ferguson said clean energy sources could expand to provide more than 40 per cent of electricity needs by 2035 and potentially as much as 85 per cent by 2050.
The energy generation forecasts go out to 2050 in the report, and do not include nuclear energy as part of the supply mix.
Ferguson calls for ‘non-political’ energy debate, SMH, November 8, 2012 Peter Hannam Carbon economy editor Australia’s energy policies must be driven by competitive markets that operate in the long-term interests of consumers and are guided by “a constructive, non-political debate”, according to the federal government’s long-awaited energy white paper.
The wide-ranging policy update, aimed at guiding energy markets for years to come, is the first for the sector since 2004. – a delay criticised by the opposition.
It comes as consumers battle rising electricity costs prompted by excessive investment in networks, particularly by state-owned companies, and the recent introduction of the carbon tax. Power prices rose 15 per cent in the September quarter alone, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported last month.
Launching the white paper in Melbourne, federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said the rapid rise in electricity prices in recent years has prompted a response from consumers that had been “much higher than expected”. The falling demand, driven also by a restructuring of the economy away from manufacturing, meant that the requirement for additional gas-fired peaking power had all but disappeared, he said. Continue reading
Climate Change Authority’s disturbing idea to hold back commercial solar energy
Commercial solar – putting solar panels on the roofs of shopping centers and factories – currently represents just 3 per cent of the total solar industry.
SunWiz and Solar Business Services found the unintended consequences of tinkering with the SRES and LRET were likely to greatly outweigh any benefits.
Commercial solar should be encouraged, not discouraged, and the embedded barriers to greater commercial take up should be addressed. Rather than jumping at shadows and trying to fix a non-existent commercial solar boom, it would be better if the CCA helped us to get off the ‘solar-coaster’ and provide the stable policy footing for solar the industry and public so desperately want.
Putting the brakes on commercial solar? http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/putting-brakes-commercial-solar, 7 Nov 2012 John Grimes One of the more peculiar proposals that has surfaced in the Climate Change Authority’s review of the renewable energy target is the suggestion of reducing the size of solar systems covered by the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme.This was a thought bubble in search of a home – neither a specific recommendation nor a detailed proposal.
It is the sort of tinkering that has dogged the renewable energy target since it was first established in 2001, and it is making
Australia’s solar industry nervous.
The Climate Change Authority explicitly recommended against merging the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target.
They also recommended that the SRES structure should remain largely unchanged.
However, the CCA went on to float the idea of a half-way house that would see smaller commercial PV systems placed into the large-scale scheme as a way of reducing the cost of the SRES. The CCA’s Discussion Paper states, “the Authority is continuing to consider whether the threshold for a small-scale solar PV system should be reduced below its current 100 kW limit to for example 10 kW.”
This would be an uncertain solution to a non-existent problem. Continue reading
1 This month
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