Giant solar energy plants for New South Wales and Queensland
Giant solar energy plants to run 100,000 homes, Sydney Morning Herald, Ben CubbyJune 20, 2011 THE two giant new solar power plants slated for Moree in western NSW and Chinchilla in Queensland will mark the first time solar power in Australia is deployed on a scale large and reliable enough to rival coal as a source of ”baseload” energy. Neither plant is close to being the world’s biggest, with much more powerful solar power stations in the US and Spain already under construction, but enough power to run more than 100,000 households will be generated without the use of fossil fuels…. Continue reading
Australian Productivity Commission overestimated costs of solar power
some media reports seem to have put a strong focus on the solar element rather than the major driver – increases in the costs of transmission and distribution. Massive amounts of money are being poured into network upgrades to service peak demand; largely driven by the use of air-conditioners during the summer months. “Here’s again where rooftop solar power can be a saviour,” said Mr. Rich. “By creating the power closer the point of consumption, you decrease line loss, which can account for up to 10% of electricity generation – and line loss worsens in warm weather. Additionally, solar power systems would be generating the most power during times when the bulk of air-conditioning is being used. Rooftop solar has many other benefits – it’s the Internet of distributed electricity generation.”
Solar Power’s Carbon Abatement Cost Exaggerated, Renewable Energy News, by Energy Matters 15 June 11 –The Australian Productivity Commission’s recent report questioning the value and benefit of residential solar power is misinformed says Jeremy Rich, CEO of national solar solutions provider Energy Matters.
Explaining Australia’s ineffective solar energy policies
Australia has no policies to build the market for large-scale solar power.The carbon price, if it is ever introduced, will be too low for at least a decade to assist significantly….
Flagships will subsidise initially only one large CPV and one large CST power station by 2014.
Cuts to this program in the 2011 federal budget make it unlikely that a second round of grants will be made….
There is really only one plausible explanation for Australia’s piecemeal and ineffective set of solar policies: the immense political power of Australia’s big greenhouse polluters.
Australia’s confused solar policy June 1, 2011, PHYSORG.com By Mark Diesendorf Solar collectors spread out over a square 50 km could generate all of Australia’s current electricity demand. Continue reading
How Australia could be powered by solar technology
Australia’s confused solar policy June 1, 2011 PHYSORG.com By Mark Diesendorf “…….Scaling up to industrial-size solar The residential and commercial sectors are together responsible for about half of Australia’s electricity consumption. Almost the entire other half is industrial.If this demand were supplied by solar, it would need large solar power stations. Continue reading
Rural Australia’s enthusiasm for solar and for feed-in tariff
“A sensibly designed scheme would make Australia a world leader in solar power.”…The feed-in tariff scheme’s cancellation comes despite huge interest in solar power across the State.
Wanted: sensible solar, The Land RICHARD FOX, 21 May, 2011 “…….“Australia has an excellent resource for solar, particularly west of the Dividing Range, and consumers have an enthusiasm for renewable energy. Continue reading
New South Wales rally for solar feed in tariff to re-open
Australian Solar Energy Society holds rally to demand re-opening of New South Wales feed-in tariff Solar Server 20 May 11 On May 18th, 2011, the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) organized a rally in Sydney, Australia to ask the New South Wales (NSW) Government to re-open its Solar Bonus program.The NSW Government has announced that it will not accept applications to the program filed after April 28th, 2011, and has reduced the existing feed-in tariff level for the highest tier.
“AuSES and NSW homeowners are calling for certainty and security,” stated AuSES CEO John Grimes. “The rally is the last chance for solar, because businesses and livelihoods are on the line.”…KW20 | Australian Solar Energy Society holds rally to demand re-opening of New South Wales feed-in tariff – SolarServer
Western Australia and NSW govts strike down solar power
Western Australia FiT chopped in half, PV-Tech By Emma Hughes – 19 May 2011, Less than a week after the shock closure of the feed-in tariff scheme in New South Wales, the Government of Western Australia has cut the subsidy rate for new residential applications submitted after June 30. The state will also be subject to a cap on installations, putting a halt to progress just one year after the scheme was introduced.
The feed-in tariff rate for new installations will now be cut in half, with applicants receiving AUD$0.20/kWh instead of the AUD$0.40/kWh rate that was introduced in July last year. All existing customers will continue to receive the higher tariff rate for the originally-proposed 10 years.
Alongside the tariff cuts Western Australia will also be hit with a 150MW cap, which when reached, will mark the end of the program, when no further applications will be received….Western Australia FiT chopped in half | PV-Tech
Solar energy in Australia – whacked by the power of polluter lobbyists
The situation in Australia is problematic because renewables, and climate policies in general, are clearly a political football.
A solar policy of ill repute | Climate Spectator, Giles Parkinson, 17 May 11, “…….The renewables industry has experienced multiple policy convulsions over the past decade that have stalled its development, but none may be so damaging as the decision last week by the NSW government to make retrospective changes to its feed-in tariffs. Continue reading
Australia’s Minister For Nuclear Energy squashes solar power’s prospects
the budget cuts come as solar policy is in turmoil, as feed-in-tariffs, introduced over the past few years to support the installation of rooftop solar, are set to be wound back or abolished.
Spending, like meters, goes backwards and forwards, Sydney Morning Herald, Paddy Manning, May 14, 2011 The budget was dismal for the renewable energy industry and the Energy Minister just doesn’t get it.
MORE proof ricocheted through Twitter this week that federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson doesn’t ”get” renewables. Continue reading
Australia’s CSIRO – cutting edge solar energy research
CSIRO is progressing world-class technology, combining two of Australia’s largest energy resources– solar energy with natural gas. The resulting product is SolarGas….CSIRO is undertaking a solar energy storage research project to be conducted in Australia.
CST projects: CSIRO, EcoGeneration — May/June 2011, CSIRO has the largest concentrated solar thermal research team in Australia; there currently are approximately 30 scientists, engineers and technicians working on research projects in the industry. Continue reading
Australian National University in world leading solar energy research
the new silicon cells will be cheaper to manufacture and … the technology will drive down the cost of solar electricity …Jenny Goddard chairs the Australian Solar Institute (ASI) board…She described ANU’s solar energy research team as world leading.
New solar energy partnership, ABC News, By Adrienne Francis, 29 April 11, The scarcity of high grade silicon is one of the things which pushes up the price of roof top solar panels……Researchers from The Australian National University in Canberra have found a way to use more abundant lower grade silicon components to generate electricity from sunlight. Continue reading
Nuclear company AREVA opens solar project in Australia
The Kogan Creek Solar Booster project gave Prime Minister Julia Gillard a wonderful new photo opportunity…the largest project of its type in the world, and the first commercial-scale operation for Areva Solar,….The technology, conceived by Dr David Mills at Sydney University
Areva’s sunshine test Business Spectator CLIMATE SPECTATOR Giles Parkinson, 14 Apr 2011 It’s been just over a year since French nuclear giant Areva bought out the aspiring solar thermal energy developer Ausra, but the purchase of the Californian-based company with the Australian-grown technology may be about to pay dividends. Continue reading
Joint solar and wind energy venture – Australia and China
China joins $6.2bn Australia wind and solar roll-out Recharge 13 April 11–Australia’s CBD Energy plans to invest A$6bn ($6.26bn) in wind and solar farms across the country in a joint venture with two of China’s biggest renewables companies.
China joins $6.2bn Australia wind and solar roll-out – Finance – Renewable energy news – Recharge – wind, solar, biomass, wave/tidal/hydro and geothermal
Solar power popular for financial reasons
Although solar panel installations require an initial upfront investment, this cost has been declining dramatically in recent years and is expected to continue its descent in the years to come.
Sun Connect Survey – Economics Drives Solar Panel Installations – Planetsave.com, 2 March 11, The results of a recent survey by Sun Connect, an Australian solar power installation company, show that rising electricity bills have a major influence on homeowner’s decisions to go solar. Continue reading
Australian Greens giving new hope for solar energy
The Greens say they have ensured $100 million will flow into Solar Flagships within the forwards estimates period (before 2015) with the remainder of the funding to follow. A round table discussion between the government and Greens will convene to discuss how best to utilise solar energy funding into the future, including the role of feed-in tariffs as a necessary mechanism in the uptake of solar energy in Australia….
Australia’s Solar Flagships May Not Be Sunk, Renewable Energy News, by Energy Matters, 18 Feb 2011, The federal government’s Solar Flagships program, which was to have faced the axe to help pay for damage caused by the Queensland floods, is now back on the national agenda after the Australian Greens agreed to support the Prime Minister’s flood levy. Continue reading
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