Solar Dawn project- Concentrated Thermal Power (CSP) in the balance for Australia
as a new report points out, Australia has a unique opportunity to grab a significant share of the global supply chain for solar thermal, a technology recognised by the International Energy Agency,
Industry awaits dawn of federal solar project BY GILES PARKINSON The Australian June 08, 2012 IN the next few weeks, the federal government will learn whether the $1.2 billion Solar Dawn project in Queensland has been able to meet its extended deadline to obtain finance for the 250 megawatt solar thermal project. Continue reading
New report on the prospects for solar thermal energy
CSP: It needs a new way of thinking about energy REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 6 June 2012 A new report outlining the prospects of solar thermal energy has underlined its enormous potential for Australia, saying it could provide between a third and even one half of the nation’s energy needs, but notes it may require a new of thinking about energy production and delivery. Continue reading
The true value of Concentrated Solar Power is underestimated
market mechanisms are a long way from recognising and rewarding the full value of CSP – 100 per cent renewable, zero carbon, zero waste, dispatchable power – as compared with incumbent coal, gas and diesel.
As Australia considers how to gain best advantage from the huge investment we will make in our electricity system in the coming 20 years, the evidence points to solar thermal power as having very significant value for Australia – value our markets are not currently reflecting….
Not all electrons are created equal REneweconomy, By Andrew Want on 6 June 2012 All electrons look the same, so the saying goes. It only matters that the electricity comes out of the consumer’s power point when needed. Modern economies and consumers demand reliability of electricity supply. The question modern electricity markets need to answer is, what is the most economically efficient way to meet that expectation? And that question is about value, not cost.
The new report, Realising the Potential of Concentrating Solar Power in Australia, confirms that, as much as they may all look the same, not all electrons are created equal – some are indeed more valuable than others.
Commissioned by the Australian Solar Institute (ASI) and undertaken by international renewable energy consultancy IT Power, the report is the result of an extensive 12 month collaborative review involving Australian Solar Thermal Energy Association (AUSTELA), the Clean Energy Council, the Australian Solar Energy Society, CSIRO and Boston Consulting Group.
The report confirms that assessments of the costs of concentrating solar thermal power used in Australia for many years are well and truly outdated. Continue reading
Australia’s politicians ignorant about the economic impact of solar photovoltaic energy
rooftop solar PV was about to play a significant role in the electricity market, so much so that rooftop solar alone could add 12,000 megawatts to 18,000MW to Australia’s electricity capacity by 2031
the economics of solar PV has changed dramatically in recent years.
Politics must catch up with solar BY: GILES PARKINSON The Australian June 01, 2012 IT is time politicians in state and federal parliaments had a look at what’s happening in the solar photovoltaic market. There is a revolution going on in the electricity industry and no one in politics seems to have noticed.
This was made clear this week by a report from the Australian Energy Market Operator, which supervises the operation of the electricity grid in the eastern states, and which for the first time has produced a separate report analysis the impact of rooftop solar PV. It came to conclusions that would appear remarkable to those not close to the solar industry. Continue reading
Overwhelming majority of Australians support solar power
In the long run, big solar is also a big money-saver. Initial set up costs are high. But because the energy source is free, big solar will save many billions of dollars worth of coal and gas bills in coming decades.
The 100% renewables survey reported many of those polled said they supported big solar power because it would help boost employment. Unlike fossil fuels, solar power is a job-rich option.
Big solar power needs democracy to switch on, Green Left June 2, 2012, By Simon Butler If Australia were a democracy and governments had no choice but to carry out the will of the majority, we’d be well on our way to a 100% renewable power grid.
Recent polling organised by climate action groups around the country found that 94% of 12,000 people polled said they wanted big solar power stations built in Australia . And 93% of those polled said the government should invest public money to make that happen. Continue reading
Distributed energy, small scale solar, has taken off in Australia
Solar insights – Australia big in small solar REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 28 May 2012 Germany may set most of the records for the amount of solar PV installed – 27GW and growing quickly – but it seems that Australia can claim a record of its own – it’s really big in small solar.
According to data drawn to our attention by Warwick Johnston of Sunwiz Consulting, Australia installed more small-scale solar than Germany in calendar 2011 – 795MW of rooftop systems of 10kW or less (the average size in Australia ranges from 1.5kW to 2.2kW) compared to 759MW in Germany…. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/solar-insights-australia-big-in-small-solar-65337
Queensland govt axes solar farm project
Queensland Government Bails On Solar Farm Project
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3224 by Energy Matters, 25 May 12 The Queensland Government has withdrawn funding for Cloncurry Solar arm as part of a cost cutting campaign that may see other solar elated casualties. Continue reading
Australia-based Barefoot Power provides small scale solar power to 10 million impoverished homes
The Australia-based social enterprise Barefoot Power aims to expand access to its high-quality, energy efficient, affordable light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, home lighting systems and phone chargers, to more off-grid communities with expansion in Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and India as a focus by 2015. The company has already captured the majority market share in East Africa.
Solar energy enterprise to provide 10 million with access to renewable energy , PR Wire 24 May 12 The BCtA is a global initiative that encourages private sector efforts to fight poverty, supported by several international organizations including the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Ten million low-income people living in rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America
and the Caribbean, will gain access to low-cost solar energy by 2015, in part due to a commitment made by solar energy provider Barefoot Power to the Business Call to Action (BCtA).
The BCtA is a global initiative that encourages private sector efforts to fight poverty, supported by several international organizations including the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Continue reading
Success of solar power is giving a shock to Australia’s utilities
Fear and loathing as utilities grasp impact of solar PV, REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson 21 May 2012 Australia’s power generators and electricity network operators are viewing the rapid falls in the cost of solar PV and an anticipated surge in installation with an increasing level of concern.
The potential of solar PV to deliver cost-effective options for home and commercial consumers has been apparent to many in the industry for some time.
The report delivered by the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission into solar feed-in tariffs merely confirmed this, and offered it as a potential excuse for the utilities’ apparently lack of enthusiasm to ensure connections for solar PV and other forms of distributed energy.
While plunging costs are good news for consumers, who can turn to solar PV in increasing numbers with the emergence of innovative financing solutions, it is a massive headache for the incumbent generators and network operators, who are about to witness business models built up over decades being shredded by a technology that is as disruptive to the electricity industry as mobile phones were to telecoms…..
Australia has just over 1.5GW of solar PV installed on rooftops now – so there is little apparent impact on the NEM as it stands. By 2020, when the percentage of households with solar PV is expected to treble from around 7 per cent now to 19-20 per cent, the impact is significant.
By 2030 and 2035, it takes a large slice out of the generators’ earnings pie – an impact that has already been established in Germany, which has 25GW of solar PV and counting, and which we documented in our piece “Why generators are terrified of solar.”
It should be remembered that the profit projections – and the debt repayments – built into the Australian generators’ financing models depend almost entirely on the “super dividend” they receive when peak demand surges and the cost of wholesale electricity rises up to 10-fold for just a few hours of the year. A large deployment of solar PV will quite literally throw a spanner in those works…… http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/fear-and-loathing-as-utilities-grasp-impact-of-solar-pv-15262
In reality, Western Australia’s Solar Feed In Tariff is an economic boon
Western Australia’s Solar Feed In Tariff Ramifications Exaggerated http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3211, 17 May 12, Professor Ray Wills of the Sustainable Energy Association of Australia (SEA) has challenged the notion that spending more on renewables is somehow a bad thing and brought the situation regarding Western Australia’s solar feed in tariff into perspective.
Professor Wills points out while the media circus has focused on the “blowout” in Western Australia’s scheme; there has been no analysis of the benefits. “Energy Minister Peter Collier rightly points out that 76,000 WA homes now have solar panels on their roofs as “a terrific outcome”,’ says Professor Wills, who says the uptake hasn’t been confined to the wealthy, but spurred on by average households in Western Australia now slashing their electricity bills.
“We are yet to calculate the savings that this program has bought – savings that will amount to fewer upgrades to poles and wires, has in the vast majority of cases delivered improved electricity quality and reliability, and will avoid the need for investment in new fossil-fuel based generation.” Continue reading
Australia and China – a solar energy story, with more achievement to come
China’s solar story is Australia’s solar story. It is an untold story of Australian innovation and climate change action. Everywhere I went in China, I met Aussies. So many of the leaders of China’s PV industry – indeed the global PV industry – were trained in Australia, at the University of New South Wales or the Australian National University.
Suntech is just one example of Chinese and Australian innovation, action on climate change and strategic investment in solar.
The solar partnership between Australia and China is making the economics of solar persuasive, and the introduction of a carbon price, the establishment of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the continuation of the Renewable Energy Target will open up investment opportunities.
Power in numbers: Tapping the Aus-China solar alliance, REneweconomy, By John Grimes on 4 May 2012 Greg Combet’s recent visit to China for the annual Australia-China Climate Change Forum was a timely reminder of the strong action China is taking to cut its carbon pollution levels and the importance of the partnership between Australia and China in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Nowhere is that partnership more important than in the clean energy space.
As the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, largest population centre and second largest economy, China is facing the extraordinarily difficult challenge of disconnecting its rapid economic growth from soaring greenhouse emissions. China is introducing a pilot emissions trading scheme in seven provinces, with a combined population of 250 million people, before introducing a national emissions trading scheme from 2015-16. China is committed to reducing its national carbon output per unit of GDP by 17 per cent by 2015, and 40-45 per cent by 2020.
China has also made a strategic investment in renewable energy, with the unstated aim of leading the world as it moves into the next industrial revolution. China is already the world’s leading manufacturer and installer of wind turbines and is the home of seven of the world’s top ten solar PV manufacturers (up from four in 2009). It won’t be long before China takes the lead as the largest installer of PV…… Continue reading
Bega, New South Wales, getting very Smart about Solar Energy
the stored energy can also be fed back into the network at peak demand times – say, at night when people come home and cook dinner, watch television or play computer games, or use their hot water systems for things like showers and washing up
The battery banks can also be configured to be charged from the network, creating a micro-grid
Bega library’s bright future Eden Magnet, BY BEN SMYTH 03 May, 2012 The roof of the Bega library is sporting a new look this week. On Friday, a network of solar panels was installed as part of a project that will see considerable savings for the Bega Valley Shire Council and, in turn, ratepayers.
In a first for regional NSW, Essential Energy is constructing an “intelligent” solar energy system, which will showcase the benefits of community-based renewable energy solutions and effectively make the library self-sufficient in regards to its electricity consumption. According to Essential’s regional general manager south eastern, Phillip Green, who was on hand to launch the project with Member for Bega Andrew Constance, the library’s system is the third phase of the energy company’s “Intelligent Network”. Continue reading
1.2 million solar installations already in Australia
Australia Home To More Than 1.2 Million Solar Installations http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3186, by Energy Matters,2 May 12
Either Australia is chock-full of tree-hugging hippies, or the average Aussie is increasingly understanding how much money can be saved by making the switch to solar… and yes, it’s the latter. According to statistics published by the newly-formed REC Agents Association (RAA), 665,215 solar power systems for which certificates have been registered were installed between 2001 to the end of March this year, representing an installed capacity of 1.431 gigawatts. Add to that 574,503 solar hot water systems and throw in 149,420 air source heat pumps (arguably also a solar technology) for good measure and the total figure is actually closer to 1.4 million systems.
The RAA says 20% of Australian households that could have a PV or solar hot water system installed have done so, thanks largely to support provided under Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET), which has helped reduce the installed cost of a PV system 75% over last 5 years. Continue reading
In Western Australia – a window in Australia’s solar future
“[It’s] a window into Australia’s solar future,” – Australian Solar Energy Society chief executive John Grimes
“Big solar makes sense in the Mid West. The region’s enormous appetite for energy is matched by some of the best sunshine in the world.
“Solar increasingly makes economic sense in the Mid West, with a dramatic fall in the price of solar PV countering a significant rise in the cost of electricity.”
Mr Grimes said there was no reason why solar could not provide a significant amount of Austral’s electricity needs by 2020, particularly with the introduction of the carbon tax from July 1 and the national 20 per cent renewable energy target.
Historic solar farm transforms WA landscape http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/historic-solar-farm-transforms-wa-landscape-20120412-1ww3t.html#ixzz1s49L4pPw WA Today, Courtney Trenwith April 12, 2012 WA’s historic solar power farm will soon be glistening in the outback, with the first panel installed today. In what will be the largest solar energy generator in the country, the farm will house 150,000 panels across 80 hectares, creating a remarkable sight and producing an environmental feat.
The 10 megawatt Greenough River Solar Farm is being built 50 kilometres south of Geraldton, with 100 construction jobs created. It is expected to generate enough electricity for 3,000 average homes while displacing 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas each year – the equivalent of taking 4000 vehicles off the road. Continue reading
Australia’s lost opportunities in solar power
the big dish was by-passed in the Federal Government’s Solar Flagships program. The claim that it was not “commercially ready” is directly contradicted by the creation of the Solar Oasis consortium that is now building a 40 MW big dish solar power generator at Whyalla, in South Australia.
Solar lessons from Korea, Daily Mercury, John Mathews | 14th April 2012 “……. [Korea] is streamlining investment into the new green sectors, that so far run to financing of nearly $50 billion. That’s billion, not million – compared with Australia’s much-touted Solar Flagship program which is funded at the level of millions.
………the Korean approach will be – mark my words – to turn the solar dish concept into a central component of their new green growth industrial strategy. They will be expected to acquire rights to the technology, and then adapt it through the intervention of Hyundai or LG or Samsung (the Korean innovation champions). They will mass produce the dishes in the thousands and then promote use of the technology throughout the world, providing all the components and materials from Korean sources.
The contrast with our approach in Australia could not be more stark. So far, we have seen two major solar technologies starved of funds and shipped offshore. There was thin-film solar photovoltaic technology, developed at the University of NSW under Professor Martin Green, that became a political football and a casualty of NSW state politics (when Bob Carr was premier). It was eventually sold off to Germany. Continue reading
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