[Graeme]

Australians lead in fitting solar panels on homes

AUSTRALIANS put more household solar panel systems on their roofs than anyone else in the world last year, new data from the Clean Energy Regulator and the International Energy Agency show.

The statistic astonished many in the solar industry, given Australia's small population compared with renewable energy market leaders such as European Union countries, China, Japan and the United States. About 392,500 new household solar systems were switched on last year.

Australia still generates far less solar electricity than those countries, but the nation's preference for small, individual panels mounted on detached, owner-occupied suburban homes means a greater number of systems were actually installed.

''It took me by surprise that we were first, because Germany and Italy are so big,'' said Ric Brazzale, the president of the REC Agents Association, a body representing traders and creators of renewable energy certificates.

smh

[Shaved Monkey]

Seems a little apples and oranges
Australians have lots of little individually owned systems.
We have lots of sun we should have bigger state owned and or privately owned systems too,but coal is so cheap and has a loud voice.

[SeaGypsy]

Let's see what happens to this statistic now feed in tarrifs are phased out. Most of these systems were bought with a 50% subsidy on supply & install plus a 50% feed in tarrif. Both of which are history in the last few weeks most places.

[Graeme]

Rooftop solar energy forecasts updated for Australia

Green Energy Markets has updated its original forecast concerning the rate at which rooftop solar energy systems would be installed in Australia. Previous forecasts estimated that more than 736 megawatts of solar energy capacity would be installed in the country through rooftop systems. Now, the firm estimates that Australia will boast of 787 megawatts of solar energy capacity by the end of 2012. Though the forecasts have improved, they are below last year’s levels, where Australia installed more than 863 megawatts worth of rooftop solar energy systems.

hydrogenfuelnews

[Graeme]

Renewable energy to rise without cost to public

THE NSW government has promised to triple the amount of energy generated by wind turbines and solar panels in NSW over the next eight years at no extra cost to the public.

Its draft ''renewable energy action'' plan confirms its commitment to a 20 per cent renewable energy target by 2020, up from about 8 per cent today, but claims this can be done mainly with money from private investors.

The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, said last year that it was his ''personal view'' that no more wind farms be built in NSW but, under his new plan, the number of turbines will likely increase tenfold over the next few years.

The plan itself has been delayed for months, partly over the issue of wind farms, with some in cabinet believing that turbines pose unspecified health risks to people that live close to them.

smh

[Graeme]

Australia Competing With Germany On Low Solar PV Prices

Australia, seldom talked about in the solar industry, is currently going toe to toe with Germany on another solar metric that’s equally important to installed capacity: PV system pricing. And remarkably, Australia achieves this distinction with a scant 2.5 gigawatts of installed PV capacity nationwide (by comparison, Germany had installed nearly 10 times that by the end of 2011). Australia’s low-cost rooftop solar environment underscores the solar leadership role that Australia may have in the years to come.


This is worth repeating. Australian PV system prices for medium-sized residential projects are currently at $2.85 per Watt. Based on the latest price estimates from GTM Research, average residential prices in the U.S. are $5.00 USD/W. Last year, Lawrence Berkeley Lab reported German PV system prices at $3 USD/W. More recently, Germany’s Solar Energy Association claimed that German PV systems prices have declined to $2.28 USD/W. This highlights the fierce cost competition between Germany and Australia.


These costs will set Australia up as a solar market that is poised for continued growth and leadership. Even with the disappearance of generous state-level feed-in tariffs, the market fundamentals of solar energy are very strong in most areas of the country. Australia has great sunshine, attractive market conditions (low capital costs and a long-term carbon pricing market), and the country has a very high cost of electricity, which currently stands at an average rate of more than 27 cents/kWh (AUD).

In fact, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance press release from earlier this year noted that unsubsidized renewable energy in Australia is already cheaper than electricity from both new-build coal- and gas-fired generation. The levelized cost of energy for a new wind farm came in at $80/MWh (AUD), compared to $143/MWh and $116/MWh for coal and gas, respectively. Even without a carbon price, wind energy is 14% cheaper than new coal and 18% cheaper than new gas. Further, utility-scale solar PV is expected to follow suit, forecast to beat coal and natural gas by 2020 with carbon prices factored in.

cleantechnica

[Graeme]

Has the micro-inverter revolution begun?

A glance through recent solar trade publications reveals a proliferation of advertisements from micro inverter suppliers. Micro inverters, which are embedded into PV modules or, directly adjacent on the roof top are clearly gaining popularity, but has an AC photovoltaics revolution begun, or is this just hype?

Micro inverters are not a new phenomenon to Australia. Back in the late 1990s, Pacific Solar were embedding micro-inverters into “Plug’n’Power” systems using BP Solar panels and although it was early days for roof mounted electronics. Although many are still operational today, it’s true that the heat stress caused an unsatisfactory failure rate and since Pacific Solar’s (unrelated) closure not long afterwards, micro inverters have been virtually unheard of.

Fast forward 10 years.

Micro inverters started emerging again, particularly in US markets and soon afterwards, several innovators in Australia started supplying them locally into a tiny market niche. With the benefits of hindsight and rapid advances in electronics, micro inverter manufacturers around the world ramped up production, convinced they had overcome the reliability and cost issues, and extolling the virtues of the product. Even the incumbent string inverter kings (SMA and PowerOne) launched micro inverter products.

Just three years later, it is estimated that around 10 per cent of all inverters sold in Australia this year will be micro inverters, hence the burst of advertising activity. Compared to an estimated market share of 40 per cent in California, it seems Australia could be on the cusp of a micro inverter boom.

businessspectator

[TroyTucker]

Australians lead in fitting solar panels on homes

AUSTRALIANS put more household solar panel systems on their roofs than anyone else in the world last year, new data from the Clean Energy Regulator and the International Energy Agency show.

The statistic astonished many in the solar industry, given Australia's small population compared with renewable energy market leaders such as European Union countries, China, Japan and the United States. About 392,500 new household solar systems were switched on last year.

Australia still generates far less solar electricity than those countries, but the nation's preference for small, individual panels mounted on detached, owner-occupied suburban homes means a greater number of systems were actually installed.

''It took me by surprise that we were first, because Germany and Italy are so big,'' said Ric Brazzale, the president of the REC Agents Association, a body representing traders and creators of renewable energy certificates.

smh

Yes Australia is only country which is promoting the use of renewable ways of energy production. Other countries must follow similar policies to save nature

[KaiserJeep]

I'm all in favor of renewable energy, and have had a solar PV roof online and producing power for 3 years, 4 months.

But let's not fool ourselves, either. The year 2008 was a watershed year for renewable energy sources, when they surpassed 1% of the energy generated in the world.

Today, with lots more than that amount of renewable energy sources online, the renewable energy market share is considerably less than 1%, and still shrinking.

The demand for energy of any type is overwhelming the demand for renewable power. The fastest growing energy source in the world is coal.

I live in a state (California) that thinks it can legislate the way to renewable energy. I already pay over 2.4 times the USA's national average for my electricity. (Which is really the only reason having the solar roof is a good deal for me.) But California has just passed legislation that requires that the three largest public utilities in the state build 1,325 megawatts of renewable energy storage. The energy storage must be online by 2024.

It's a good thing I am retiring and moving to another state before then, because I can't afford to live in California any more.

[argyle]

I'm all in favor of renewable energy, and have had a solar PV roof online and producing power for 3 years, 4 months.

But let's not fool ourselves, either. The year 2008 was a watershed year for renewable energy sources, when they surpassed 1% of the energy generated in the world.

Today, with lots more than that amount of renewable energy sources online, the renewable energy market share is considerably less than 1%, and still shrinking.

The demand for energy of any type is overwhelming the demand for renewable power. The fastest growing energy source in the world is coal.

I live in a state (California) that thinks it can legislate the way to renewable energy. I already pay over 2.4 times the USA's national average for my electricity. (Which is really the only reason having the solar roof is a good deal for me.) But California has just passed legislation that requires that the three largest public utilities in the state build 1,325 megawatts of renewable energy storage. The energy storage must be online by 2024.

It's a good thing I am retiring and moving to another state before then, because I can't afford to live in California any more.

Hopefully by then, they have full standalone/with storage systems available.. so you don't have to worry about it anymore..

[KaiserJeep]

-snip-

Hopefully by then, they have full standalone/with storage systems available.. so you don't have to worry about it anymore..

You don't understand. When they mandated renewable energy sources and the result was electricity costs more than doubled, the drove all the light and heavy industry out of the state of California. We lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, making the economic recession in this state much worse than the rest of this country. What we have left is mainly large corporate farms in the Central Valley, the entertainment "industry" in the LA basin, and Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area.

By mandating the building of large scale energy storage, the retail cost of electricity could double again - making it 4-5 times as expensive as other US states. The California economy could go into the dumpster again, and this time we might lose both Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

The point being, legislating a changed energy infrastructure is devastatingly destructive to the economy.

[argyle]

-snip-

Hopefully by then, they have full standalone/with storage systems available.. so you don't have to worry about it anymore..

You don't understand. When they mandated renewable energy sources and the result was electricity costs more than doubled, the drove all the light and heavy industry out of the state of California. We lost hundreds of thousands of jobs, making the economic recession in this state much worse than the rest of this country. What we have left is mainly large corporate farms in the Central Valley, the entertainment "industry" in the LA basin, and Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay area.

By mandating the building of large scale energy storage, the retail cost of electricity could double again - making it 4-5 times as expensive as other US states. The California economy could go into the dumpster again, and this time we might lose both Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

The point being, legislating a changed energy infrastructure is devastatingly destructive to the economy.

Well, in Germany, heavy industry that uses large amount of electricity (like smelters), they are exempt of paying part of the bill for the renewables.. (puts more costs on 'remaining' (without pv) consumers though)

[KaiserJeep]

-snip-

Well, in Germany, heavy industry that uses large amount of electricity (like smelters), they are exempt of paying part of the bill for the renewables.. (puts more costs on 'remaining' (without pv) consumers though)

In California, arrangements were made to subsidize the newly doubled electric utility bills of low income consumers. This was largely inner city minorities in Los Angeles and Oakland, but also included some working poor in the Central Valley.

Note that this part of the utility rate changes was a miserable failure, after 10 years, the funds allocated to subsidize low income homeowners are barely touched. There are much larger numbers of renters versus actual homeowners in the areas they were targeting, and the bureaucracy made the paperwork for renters to be reimbursed very burdensome.

The net result is that the costs associated with the electric rate increases that are part of the CSI (California Solar Initiative) legislation are largely falling on low income citizens, while Middle Class homeowners such as myself are enjoying the benefits of installing Solar PV panels on our roofs. Oops.

[TroyTucker]

Australians lead in fitting solar panels on homes

AUSTRALIANS put more household solar panel systems on their roofs than anyone else in the world last year, new data from the Clean Energy Regulator and the International Energy Agency show.

The statistic astonished many in the solar industry, given Australia's small population compared with renewable energy market leaders such as European Union countries, China, Japan and the United States. About 392,500 new household solar systems were switched on last year.

Australia still generates far less solar electricity than those countries, but the nation's preference for small, individual panels mounted on detached, owner-occupied suburban homes means a greater number of systems were actually installed.

''It took me by surprise that we were first, because Germany and Italy are so big,'' said Ric Brazzale, the president of the REC Agents Association, a body representing traders and creators of renewable energy certificates.

smh

Yes Australia is only country which is promoting the use of renewable ways of energy production. Other countries must follow similar policies to save nature

[SeaGypsy]

What bollocks! We are one of the top coal exporters in the world with no end in sight. We have been in the top 3 CO2 polluters per capital consistently for decades. I love this country- but let's stick to the facts huh?

[Shaved Monkey]

Australias coal is a major part of the global problem

Keystone XL tar sands pipeline – a project to pump a reported 830,000 tonnes of one of the world's dirtiest fossil fuels from Canada to Texas.

as much as 24.3m tonnes of CO2-equivalent being released every year.

Over the 50-year life of the project, that's 1.2bn tonnes of greenhouse gases – a huge amount.

Yet if this level of emissions seems irresponsibly high – which it surely is in a carbon-constrained world trying to avert the risk of dangerous climate change – then how should we categorise 3.7bn tonnes of CO2-e, a figure more than triple that from the Keystone XL proposal?

That 3.7bn tonnes is the total emissions of CO2-e which could be emitted by just two linked mega coalmines in the Galilee basin in Queensland, Australia, which have both been approved for development.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... oal-mining

[Graeme]

Australia’s Renewables Are Driving Down Costs And Keeping Electricity Reliable In Extreme Heat

When heat waves wracked Australia at the start of the year, driving up electricity demand, the presence of wind power in the country actually kept electricity costs 40 percent lower than they otherwise would’ve been.
That’s the conclusion of a new Australian study, which RenewEconomcy flagged today.

In Australia, the electricity market is divided between the wholesale and retail portions. In the wholesale market, major generators — from wind farms to coal plants — sell electricity to major suppliers. In the retail market, the suppliers then turn around and sell that electricity to individual consumers. Wind generation enters at the wholesale market, and once built, its cost of operation is essentially zero. So it never adds to wholesale prices, but does cut them when the wind is blowing.

“In the seven days to 19 January, wind farms contributed around 6 percent of overall supply in [South Australia] and [Victoria],” the study concluded. “As a consequence, wholesale prices were at least 40 percent lower (on a consumption weighted average basis) than they would have been without the contribution of wind.”

There’s evidence that the boom in rooftop and distributed solar Australia saw in the last few years also helped.

Instead of cutting electricity prices at the point of generation, solar allows Australia’s consumers to generate their own power directly. That means they have to buy less electricity from the market in the first place, which lowers stress on the grid. The heat waves that just hit the country were similar to ones that arrived in 2009, yet this time peak demand in the states of South Australia and Victoria remained lower — despite a 7 percent increase in their combined populations since 2009.

In fact, the absolute level of electricity consumption in Australia peaked in 2009 and has been dropping since. That’s likely due to the rise in rooftop solar, a national policy push for energy efficiency, and a general move in Australia’s economy (similar to what a lot of advanced economies have gone through) away from electricity-intensive manufacturing and toward services.
Some of that adjustment has been driven by high prices in the retail electricity market, and opponents of Australia’s renewable energy target blame it for that rise. But the prices are most likely caused by heavy spending on the country’s electricity networks.

The prices in the wholesale market, which drive the prices in the retail market before the network costs are added on, are at remarkable lows. So low, in fact, that EnergyAustralia and other major energy suppliers are starting to close down power plants because of the glut in electricity supply. And thanks to the renewable energy target, virtually all the shutdowns are for fossil fuel power. EnergyAustralia’s profits fell to $18 million in 2013, down from $236 million in 2012, and its written off $445 million in capacity — nearly all of it coal.

thinkprogress

[Graeme]

Australia Solar PV To Hit 23 GW By 2030, Rooftop Solar Leading The Way

Rooftop solar is an unstoppable force in the Australian market that will drive the nation’s total installed solar capacity well past 20 gigawatts, regardless of any attempts by the incumbent utilities to thwart its development, Bloomberg New Energy Finance says.

Kobad Bhavnagri, head of BNEF in Australia, told the 2014 Solar Conference and Expo in Melbourne on Thursday that BNEF expected around 23GW of large, commercial and residential solar PV to be installed in Australia by 2030.

But while the rollout of large-scale solar would be vulnerable to policy changes, such as any winding back of the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target, Bhavnagri said modelling on small-scale PV was “fundamentally sound and really quite unstoppable.”

Bhavnagri said Australia was likely to have 5 million installed commercial and residential PV systems by 2030, with 16GW in cumulative net additions between now and 2030. Australia currently has 1.2 million systems and total capacity of 3.1GW.

cleantechnica

[dixonge]

Today, with lots more than that amount of renewable energy sources online, the renewable energy market share is considerably less than 1%, and still shrinking.

Could you provide a source for that? I'm seeing figures indicating 23% as of 2012...

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/03/nre ... e-sources/

[Graeme]

Don’t be a fossil fool: join the clean energy revolution!

In the last decade, solar technology has gone from fringe to mainstream. According to the Clean Energy Council, over two million Australians have switched to solar – and are saving about half a billion dollars a year because of it. And there’s more to come – Solar Choice say another million homes will use solar energy by the end of this year.

Not only do renewables provide clean, reliable energy sources that help wean Australia off our dirty fossil fuel habit, renewable energy generation has enormous potential for Australia.

Thankfully, the upfront costs of solar panels are decreasing. The Clean Energy Council says solar panels being installed on rooftops today are more than 500 times less expensive to produce than the solar cells of the 50’s, leading to the large uptake of solar panels by families in low-to middle-income suburbs. And those who are unable to go solar shouldn’t feel left out, because renewables are also playing a role in driving down energy prices for all Australians.

greenpeace