Australia leads the world in home rooftop solar
Australia’s Small-Scale Rooftop Solar Installations Hit 4.59 GW In 2015 http://cleantechnica.com/2015/12/29/australias-small-scale-rooftop-solar-installations-hit-4-59-gw-in-2015/ by Glenn Meyers Propelling a global boost in renewable energy, Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator has reported small-scale rooftop solar totaled 4.59 GW in 2015. As reported by pv-magazine, data released by the Clean Energy Regulator shows 119,000 new small-scale PV installations have taken place in 2015. While not as sizable as 2014, this number distinguishes Australia with the highest portion of residential buildings with rooftop PV globally.
The Australia small-scale rooftop solar numbers also show the nation has maintained its world lead the world in deployment of rooftop solar. Counting a December 1 calculation, Australia has reached 1.49 million small-scale PV installations. This total is based on data released by this country’s Clean Energy Regulator.
The Clean Energy Regulator was established on 2 April 2012 as an independent statutory authority by the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011, and operates as part of the Environment portfolio.
Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) estimates the nation will have another 300 MW of large-scale PV by the end of 2015. “Renewable energy is essential to Australia’s future economic growth and prosperity in a carbon-constrained world and to helping lower Australia’s carbon emissions. The transformation of Australia’s energy sector will require around $100 billion in investment in the renewables sector over the period to 2050.”
The CEFC Act has provided that a minimum of 50% of the CEFC portfolio be invested in renewable energy technologies, related enabling technologies and hybrid technologies that integrate renewable energy technologies by 1 July 2018.
CEFC reports on Australian solar potential
The CEFC has stated, “With the highest average solar radiation per square metre of any country in the world, and substantial cost reductions in solar technology over recent years, there is significant future opportunity for growth in deployment of solar technologies in Australia.”
CEFC has invested in both large and small-scale solar projects using solar photovoltaics. It reports the demand for solar financing continues to be strong, with solar projects valued over $3 billion.
The clean energy report shows a solid foundation for small-scale solar is in place.
Queensland’s Fraser Coast Region could bloom with solar farm, says Councillor
Solar Farm ‘Common Sense’ For Queensland’s Fraser Coast December 30, 2015 Energy Matters “There are many issues on the Fraser Coast Region; none of which are more important than rising energy prices,” says Cr. Loft; who also points to issues with unreliable delivery of electricity.
The councillor states the construction of a solar farm within the region’s boundaries could provide savings for Council of around 15%, freeing up hundreds of thousands of dollars in working capital that could be redirected to other community needs.
In addition to savings, creating jobs and a more robust electricity supply, Cr. Loft says benefits for the region would include “the ability to portray the Fraser Coast Council as an environmentally friendly and green community, compatible with our magnificent natural environment.”
The Fraser Coast sits within the Great Sandy Biosphere, which is part of a world network of Biosphere Reserves.
The proposed feasibility study would include profiling the electricity consumption of Council and major consumers of electricity in the Shire; determining total Shire electricity consumption, potential locations for the facility and the most appropriate technology, e.g. solar panels, CPV or solar thermal + storage.
Cr. Loft believes now is a good time for a major solar power project……..
The Fraser Coast Council incorporates Fraser Island – the world’s largest sand island – and towns including Maryborough, Burrum Heads, Hervey Bay and Brooweena.
Queensland is Australia’s leading state in terms of total solar capacity and it also has the highest number of small scale solar power systems – more than 460,000 installations. http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/fraser-coast-solar-em5271/
Solar thermal plant at Forbes, New South Wales,has great potential
“This sort of technology will put massive amounts of money into regional Australia if it takes off “.
“It could be very significant here in Australia but also, there are significant overseas opportunities for Vast where Australia could earn export dollars.”
Developer of $20 million Australian-first solar thermal pilot plant predicts sunny future under Turnbull ABC Central West By Melanie Pearce 23 Dec 15 After hours of steady rain, there is not a ray of sunshine in sight and the mud is thick on the ground at the $20 million Jemalong pilot solar thermal plant near Forbes in central west New South Wales.
But in a way, the fact it is overcast helps to explain the importance of this technology, which enables both capture and storage of energy from the sun, according to James Fisher, chief technology officer of Vast Solar.
The engineer, who formerly worked in the fossil fuel industry and said he never thought renewables could compete with coal, now has a much sunnier outlook on the subject.
Technology behind solar thermal power plant
The Australian company has developed what it hopes will be a low-cost, high-efficiency Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) generation technology.
The Jemalong pilot plant will be ready for commissioning in mid-January and is designed to prove the technology works. Continue reading
South Australia power networks cannot impose tariff on solar homes
Federal Court rejects SA Power Networks’ proposed charge on solar-powered households http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-23/federal-court-rejects-solar-household-charge/7050600 The Federal Court has dismissed an appeal by SA Power Networks to charge a tariff on homes with solar panels.
The electricity distributor wanted it to approve a tariff of about $100 a year.
It argued that solar-powered houses have different energy consumption patterns and are effectively subsidised by houses without panels.
SA Power Networks took the matter to court when the Australian Energy Regulator rejected the proposed charge.
The distributor said that it was “disappointed by the appeal decision” and maintained that its application was about “fair and equitable cost-sharing among customers”.
“This was not about additional revenue,” SA Power networks said in a statement.
Solar farm for Parkes, could double as sheep farm
French company plans 240ha solar farm for Parkes http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-18/240ha-solar-farm-planned-for-parkes/7035218 Landholders adjoining a proposed solar farm near Parkes in central west New South Wales are being assured they will not be adversely affected by the development. The proponent Neoen is planning a 240-hectare plant west of the town that will include about 245,000 solar panels.
Cattle producer John Smeaton plans to lease his land to the company and says planting trees around the site will address any concerns about glare.
He said he was confident the area would remain productive and become ideal for grazing sheep.”These panels, cattle would wreck them, the only thing they could run there could be sheep,” Mr Smeaton said.
“Some of the other neighbours might be interested in running sheep there.
“From a fire prevention point of view I think it’s necessary for something to take the grass down, because it’s fertile farm land and the grass can grow a metre or more high and it grows hot when it burns.”
The company plans to create 120 jobs during construction if it is successful in getting grant funding and planning approvals next year. Mr Smeaton said it would also have tourism potential.
Research into wind turbines and their role in reducing carbon emissions
The effect of increasing the number of wind turbine generators on carbon dioxide emissions in the Australian National Electricity Market from 2014 to 2025, Australian policy Online
18 December 2015……
Battery storage for renewable energy: boom expected in 2016
2016 boom in uptake of electricity battery-storage systems predicted by Clean Energy Council, ABC Radio 17 Dec 15 The year ahead will see a booming take-up of battery-storage energy systems, the Clean Energy Council predicts.
Key points:
- Battery storage costs ‘becoming affordable’
- Clean Energy Council says best power deals require aggressive ‘shopping around’
- Fewer power lines in bushfire risk zones could have benefits
“The main barrier has been that batteries have been fairly high cost but that cost is really coming down,” solar policy manager Darren Gladman told 891 ABC Adelaide.
“People are expecting in the next year or two batteries will become quite affordable and it’ll become a real option for households and businesses.”
He said South Australia and Queensland led the world in uptake of solar panel rooftop systems and battery storage of that energy was the next logical step.
“We don’t have a lot of big solar farms in Australia but we do have a lot of rooftop solar,” he said……..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-17/battery-electricity-storage-systems-2016-clean-energy-council/7037416
In Australian Capital Territory panasonic home battery trial launched
First panasonic home battery trial launched in the ACT December 11, 2015 David Ellery Reporter for The Canberra Times ActewAGL has partnered with Panasonic to promote the installation of solar panel and storage battery packages across the territory. Continue reading
New wind farms to go ahead as Turnbull removes barrier to Clean Energy investment
End of Tony Abbott’s war on wind farms gives green light to Capital Region projects, Canberra Times, December 13, 2015 Clare Sibthorpe Canberra Times reporter Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to lift Tony Abbott’s controversial ban on government investment in wind power has been embraced by the Australian Capital Region farming community.
On Sunday, Fairfax Media revealed Environment Minister Greg Hunt has issued the Clean Energy Finance Corporation with new orders that negate the Abbott government’s June decree, which prohibited the $10 billion green bank from investing in new wind power projects.
The move gives the Clean Energy Finance Corporation the green light to fund many wind farms in the Southern Tablelands – one of Australia’s fastest growing wind investment regions – enabling them to progress from planning to construction.
Crookwell farmer and NSW regional organiser for the Australian Wind Alliance, Charlie Prell, said wind farms now able to access funding include Collector, Rye Park, Yass Valley, Bango, Rugby, Crookwell two and three, Capital two, and Boco two.
“All of these wind farms will contribute massively to the local economy, not only during construction, but over the life of the wind farms,” Mr Prell said.
“It’s giving farmers in these regions a passive income stream with making our operations more sustainable, financially and environmentally, and giving local businesses the opportunity to participate in construction activities.”
Under the new mandate, the corporation will be allowed to invest in any wind projects provided they involve “emerging and innovative” technology, although it does encourage it to “focus on offshore wind technologies”.
Mr Prell said the wind farms already operating in this area have contributed significantly to small business, particularly in Goulburn, Bungendore, Taralga and Crookwel……..http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/end-of-tony-abbotts-war-on-wind-farms-gives-green-light-to-capital-region-projects-20151213-glmer9.html
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding new solar technology to reduce solar costs
ARENA supports new, cheaper solar technology to reduce cost of renewable energy in Australia, IBT By Darwin Malicdem on December 07 2015 The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is aiming to reduce the cost of renewable energy in the country by providing a funding boost to an innovative solar cell technology. The new perovskite solar cells could significantly be cheaper than and as efficient as existing solar cells.
ARENA will be providing about $892,000 to CSIRO for the development and application of guidelines for assessing the performance of the perovskite solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. The materials of perovskite can be used in solar cells with a less cost and labour intensive process compared to silicon.
ARENA aims to accelerate the development of perovskite solar PV cells in the country. “If perovskite solar cell technology matures to commercialisation, it has the potential to provide cheaper power from the sun,” said ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht.
CSIRO is planning for new methods and guidelines applicable to perovskite solar cells, as international standards to measure solar PV cell performance are only applicable for silicon wafer cells…….http://www.ibtimes.com.au/arena-supports-new-cheaper-solar-technology-reduce-cost-renewable-energy-australia-1490089
Queensland Premier says “focused on solar and wind’ but also ‘committed to coal’
Queensland to boost renewable energy target in wake of Paris climate agreement, Palaszczuk says, ABC News 13 Dec 15 By Jessica van Vonderen Queensland will look to lift its renewable energy target in the wake of the Paris agreement to tackle climate change.
Envoys from 195 nations agreed on the weekend to transform the world’s fossil fuel-driven economy within decades and slow the pace of global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her government was focused on wind and solar farms, while maintaining a commitment to coal……
University of Queensland’s Matt McDonald, a reader in international relations who attended the negotiations in Paris, told 612 ABC Brisbane there were lots of discussions about mining, in particular the proposed $16 billion Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland.
“It does raise a series of questions about whether Australia and businesses really want to commit to that scale of investment into fossil fuel, given all the signals that are pushing in the other direction,” Mr McDonald said.
“So there’s a lot of concern about a future of that type of mining program.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-13/firm-focus-on-renewables-palaszczuk-says/7024762
Increasing popularity of community solar energy projects in Australia
Small is beautiful: the community solar projects taking on big energy, Guardian, Annie Kane, 8 Dec 15 A brewery, a bowling club and a library join forces with a new type of energy supplier to save money and become more sustainable
What do Sydney’s Young Henrys brewery, Shoalhaven Heads’ Bowling and Recreation Club, and Bendigo library have in common? They’re all hosts to some of Australia’s first solar power projects funded and run by local people in community energy groups.
Projects like these are becoming increasingly popular in Australia. The Coalition for Community Energy (C4CE) 2015 national community energy strategy states that there were 19 community energy groups operating in early 2015, with a further 59 projects in development. Continue reading
South Australia headed for 100% renewable energy, and away from nuclear
It is also supporting its capital city, Adelaide, in its push to become the first large carbon neutral city in the world – a target it hopes to achieve within a decade. Both the state government and the city council have pushed new incentives to encourage battery storage in homes and businesses. Weatherill has also called for tenders to ensure that his government’s own electricity demand is met entirely by renewable energy.
South Australia is also hosting a royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle, but since the release of a new report late last month predicting that nuclear technology will cost more than twice as much as wind and solar in the next decades, the chance of nuclear power being built in South Australia, or even Australia, appears negligible.
South Australia to set path towards 100% renewable energy, REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson on 8 December 2015 South Australia is expected to pass its 50 per cent renewable energy target next year – nearly a decade ahead of schedule – and the Labor government will now aim to get the state as close to 100 per cent renewable energy as possible.
Premier Jay Weatherill said in Paris on Monday that the state was leading the world in the incorporation of variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and hoped the knowledge gained would create a massive economic opportunity for a state struggling with the decline of long-term industries such as car manufacturing.
“We are running a big international experiment right now,” Weatherill said at the launch in Paris of the Compact of States and Regions, an initiative that will see 44 states and regions reduce their emissions by 12.4 tonnes by 2030.
“We have got a long, skinny transmission system and we will soon have 50 per cent renewable energy, including a lot of wind and some solar.
“We need technology breakthroughs for large-scale storage, such as pumped hydro or batteries, but these are massive technological challenges that are exciting opportunities for the state.”
South Australia does find itself at the cutting edge of the transition from a fossil-fuel based economy to an energy system dominated by technologies such as wind, solar and storage. Its last coal fired power generator is due to close in March next year.
The 50 per cent renewable energy target was formally announced last year, but was always going to be met well ahead of time – the addition of the Snowton 2 wind farm, the construction of the Hornsdale wind farm, and the growth in rooftop solar PV will take the state over that threshold in 2016.
Indeed, the Australian Energy Market Operator has forecast that all of the state’s daytime demand may on occasions be met by rooftop solar alone within the next decade. Continue reading
Western Australian Greens appalled at plan for funding out-of-state renewable energy projects
WA considers funding out-of-state renewable energy projects, The Fifth Estate Annie Kane | 8 December 2015 Electricity generator and retailer Synergy, owned by the Government of Western Australia, is considering paying for renewable energy projects in other states in order to meet renewable energy targets.
According to The West Australian, the company is looking at paying for wind farms and solar plants in eastern states to help meet the Renewable Energy Target, which requires electricity providers to get 20 per cent of their power supplies from large-scale renewable sources by 2020…..
Move is a “bastardisation of the Renewable Energy Target”
The move, however, has been criticised by WA Greens energy spokesperson Robin Chapple, who said: “The idea of our tax dollars going towards renewable projects interstate is a bastardisation of the Renewable Energy Target.
“Why would we pay for clean energy projects that we won’t ever receive electricity from? “The fact that this has even been floated just shows how short-term this government is in its thinking.
“Here is an industry that could create new jobs, lower the price of electricity and greatly improve our environment. “The excuse that our system is over capacity is ridiculous.”
He said that by retiring the state’s fossil-fuel generators could help bring in new renewable capacity and therefore work towards the 2020 target.
Mr Chapple added: “As a state we should, and could, be doing a lot more around renewables. Frankly, the costs of this technology are dropping so fast, and our natural resources are so good, that it is only a matter of time for WA.
“I am dumbfounded by Mr Rowe’s comments, and I sincerely hope that these ideas are not borne out.” http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/innovation/energy/wa-considers-funding-out-of-state-renewable-energy-projects/79284
Govt talks big on renewables ‘innovation’, but will close Australian Renewable Energy Agency
JOHN CONNOR: Well, we’ve got a big belting boom gate that’s our old, clunking coal-fired power stations, and so until we get those out of the system and replaced with cleaner technologies, then we’re going to be stuck.
Innovation is fine, but we’ll have no way to implement it.
MICHAEL EDWARDS: The environmental sector also wants the Government to provide certainty about the future of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the body charged with developing new technologies and increasing the supply of renewable energy in Australia.
Hopes innovation money will drive investment in renewable energy http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4367751.htm Michael Edwards reported this story on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: There are hopes that renewable energy products will be one of the areas that will see a boost in investment form the Government’s billion-dollar innovation package.
The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he wants to start an ‘ideas boom’ to transform Australia’s economy away from mining.
The investment sector has welcomed the package, saying it provides a policy framework needed for people to invest in the clean energy sector.
But some say the Government needs to change its positions on renewable energy and climate change for the industry to truly thrive. Continue reading
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