Solar Progress - Issue 1 2014 by CommStrat

ISSN: 0729-6436

The RET under threat Renewable energy facts and stats

Storage Solutions Attention and progression

Solar 2014

A Conference and Expo not to be missed

Australia â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the backward country Where to from here?

03/14

issue 1

THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL

Contents Australian Solar Council ASC CEO and Solar Progress Editor

SOLAR 2014: WHAT’S ON OFFER

Positive Quality program

Chapter reports

ASC Membership listing

Solar energy technology Geoffrey Walker and Gerard Ledwich: Optimising grid-connected storage

Front cover: There's life in the lead acid still

Barbara Elliston: PV hot water and more 26 RMIT: Solar concentrators and radiation

Glen Morris: Battery back-up sensible on all fronts

Insights and analysis Giles Parkinson’s industry comments

Steve Blume advocates first-rate renewables policies

Special features RET under threat

ARENA’s CSP for NEM

Sun-grown tomatoes in Port Augusta

RFI’s remote array

Melbourne city embraces solar energy

Around the nation News and views

Si Clean Energy’s curiosity reaps dividends 42 Mark Diesendorf’s Sustainable energy solutions 46 The trip that was – Yingli shines in China

Linked Group’s innovation

Solar products and services Si Clean Energy, SMA, Bosch and Fronius 50

SOLAR PROGRESS is published by CommStrat for the Australian Solar Council (ASC). Solar Progress subscriptions: contact Anna Washington Executive Assistant, ASC anna@solar.org.au or call 0409 802 707

EDITOR Dr Bill Parker Phone: 0403 583 676 editor@solar.org.au CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Nicola Card CONTRIBUTORS: Steve Blume, Michael Dewey, Barbara Elliston, Gerard Ledwich, Glen Morris, Giles Parkinson and Geoff Walker. NATIONAL SALES MANAGER Brian Rault Phone: 03 8534 5014 brian.rault@commstrat.com.au

39 DESIGN & PRODUCTION Annette Epifanidis COMMSTRAT MELBOURNE Level 8, 574 St Kilda Rd Melbourne 3004 Phone: 03 8534 5000

Solar Progress was first published in 1980. The magazine aims to provide readers with an in–depth review of technologies, policies and progress towards a society which sources energy from the sun rather than fossil fuels. Except where specifically stated, the

AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL CEO John Grimes PO Box 148, Frenchs Forest NSW 1640 www.solar.org.au ABN 32 006 824 148

opinions and material published in this

CommStrat ABN 31 008 434 802 www.commstrat.com.au

SolarProgress | 1 Solar Progress is published quarterly. www.solar.org.au

magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or the Australian Solar Council. While every effort is made to check the authenticity and accuracy of articles, neither ASC nor the editors are responsible for any inaccuracy.

Bill Parker Editor

John Grimes Chief Executive, Australian Solar Council

The time for complacency is over. The Renewable Energy Target (RET) is under genuine threat It is time to draw a line in the sand. It is essential that the solar industry fights right now, and wins. And we can win - in the Senate. There are 77 Senators. The 70 existing Senators plus six WA Senators who are to be elected on 5 April To pass legislation you need the support of 39 Senators. If one Green Senator is elected in WA, that bring the Greens tally in the Senate to nine. They will support the continuation of the RET. If ALP gets two Senators elected in WA, they will have 27 Senators. We are confident the ALP will support the existing RET, but much more work needs to be done by the solar industry to lock that in. That takes us to 36. If the Palmer United Party gets a Senator elected, they will have three Senators. Their position on the RET is unclear. The Australian Solar Council will be working very hard to ensure the Palmer United Party understands the value of maintaining the existing RET. If we can do that we get to 39 votes in the Senate and we and can block any changes to the RET – but this outcome is not assured – it is up to us to lock it in. If the Coalition gets two Senators elected in WA, they will have 32. They do not support the existing RET – but we would love for that to change. There will be five Independent Senators from July 1, 2014. They all have varying views on the Renewable Energy Target, but we will be seeking their support on this critical legislation. To see how we are going visit www.savesolar.com.au

At the time of writing, Western Australia, where I live, is facing another election for the Senate (77 candidates); an extraordinary circumstance and one where the outcome will determine the fate of solar research, development and investment. Already there are reports of investors reviewing the Australian clean energy market negatively. After eighteen years of observing the “start stop” policies of various governments I ask whether there is any serious intent to build and keep a viable solar industry. We know that some older industries are changing (motor cars for example) and that closures will mean job losses. We also have evidence that 18,000 jobs and 4500 businesses have been created in the small-scale solar area and with $8.5 billion dollars of private household investment. Australian citizens obviously want solar and will pay for it. Investment in solar means jobs and it means improving our IP bank. And just as importantly it means we are building a new economy. However, no business can survive forever with a threat looming that next Friday or next month the rug will be pulled. And far worse, no lender or financier would look favourably on a business plan that might incorporate elements of uncertainty beyond normal business risks. In this edition we report on an R&D outcome that impinges on PV costs. That is, more electricity for the same area of roof. No one in a technology based business spends more money on R&D unless they can see a reasonable rate of return on the spend. By the time you read this, 1.4 million people will have ticked the boxes and the outcome just might be known. We can only hope that the ensuing politics will be a win for solar. .

Bill Parker

John Grimes

Printed using FSC® mixed source certified fibre by Graphic Impressions Pty Ltd.

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Solar news and views

Solar Leadership recognised in Australia Day Awards

The Australian Solar Council congratulates the following exceptional solar leaders for their Australia Day awards: Officer of the Order (AO): Scientia Professor Deo Karan Prasad - for distinguished service to architecture, particularly in the field of sustainable urban design, as an academic and researcher, and to the solar renewable energy sector. Member of the Order of Australia (AM): Dr David Roy Mills - for significant service to science in the field of applied physics, particularly solar energy research and development. Dr Mills was also inducted into the Australian Solar Council, Solar Hall of Fame in 2012. Member of the Order of Australia (AM): Emeritus Professor Graham Lindsay Morrison - for significant service to science in the field of applied physics, particularly renewable energy and solar thermal technologies

Trina Solar and ANU’s High Efficiency Solar Cell: Highest Efficiency for a Back Contact Silicon Solar Cell Late February marked the announcement that researchers from Trina Solar and the ANU had successfully developed a new high-efficiency solar cell. Trina funded the two year research venture into the laboratory scale Interdigitated Back Contact cell which was developed at the ANU Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems under a research and development contract with Trina Solar. This was in a collaboration contract with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore. The cell was independently tested by the Fraunhofer CalLab in Germany and gained the rubber stamp: an 4 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

Renewable Power The Clean Energy Regulator recently published the 2014 small-scale technology percentage and the renewable power figures, as follows: • Small-scale technology percentage is 10.48% (this equates to 18.65 million small-scale technology certificates, as a proportion of total estimated electricity acquisitions in 2014) • The 2014 renewable power percentage (RPP) is 9.87%, and • The non-binding small-scale technology percentage for the 2015 is 10.10% and for 2016 is 10.32%. The small-scale technology and renewable power percentage determine the rate of liability under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target respectively. Ric Brazzale of Green Energy Trading explained that the STP represents the proportion of an electricity supplier’s sales that it needs to surrender each year as Small-scale Technology Certificates to meet its obligations under the Renewable Energy Target and that the above figures imply that the expected level of liable electricity sales for 2014 is approximately 178,000 gigawatt hours. For more detailed analysis of the data and how it relates to the PV and SHW market visit www. greenenergytrading.com.au

ability to deliver an efficiency of 24.4%, positioning it high on the technology ranking. "This is the highest efficiency independently confirmed for a conventional IBC solar cell to date," said Professor Andrew Blakers, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the ANU Research School of Engineering. "The results mean the laboratory cell technology can now be further developed for commercial solar cells. The work is expected to lead to commercial solar cells with improved efficiency, allowing more power to be generated from a given area of rooftop solar module." (See the next issue of Solar Progress for more insights from Andrew Blakers.) Trina Solar is now developing a commercial version of the IBC solar cell as well as an IBC PV module.

RET check Here’s an interesting little selection of news snippets from mid February that may or may not be related: Morwell’s open-cut coal mine caught fire (burning for more than two weeks, many residents were forced to evacuate to avoid ill effects of harmful fumes); tens of thousands of Victorians were left without power after power pole fires wreaked havoc across the state's electricity grid; and the Abbott government launched a formal review of Australia's 20 per cent Renewable Energy Target. Environment Minister Greg Hunt says the review will focus on “progress towards the target, investment certainty and its impact on electricity prices … [and aim to] take pressure off manufacturing, households, to do anything that can lower electricity prices.” Clean Energy Council deputy chief executive Kane Thornton said scrapping or dramatically scaling back the renewables target would see power prices rise, not fall due to greater use of gas in the energy sector, at a time that gas is soaring in price. He added that $18 billion of investments in renewable energy projects were predicated on the target remaining as is, and they would be hurt it if the RET was dramatically changed. For its part, the Australian Solar Council says solar energy actually saves money and creates jobs. “By 2015-16, all Australians will be better off with the small-scale renewable energy target in place, as the wholesale cost of electricity continues to fall,” CEO John Grimes said. “All Australians will be financially worse off if the small-scale scheme is scrapped or wound back. Five million Australians are already benefitting from reduced power bills through solar hot water and solar electricity.” In response to the review the Australian Solar Council has launched its biggest campaign to date: Save Solar. See pages 2, 8 and 36 for more information.

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Storage solutions

Maximising the value of grid connected storage Storage is the next step in optimising our usage of PV, either as householders or businesses. Distributed grid connected battery storage offers six benefits to the grid ranging from demand reduction and energy market participation to disaster resilience. Geoffrey Walker and Gerard Ledwich explore the emerging story.

As readers of Solar Progress will be well aware, Photovoltaic (PV) modules have seen a roughly ten-fold reduction in price over the last decade in Australia, and grid connected systems have seen exponential growth over that period. Overall rooftop solar PV penetration increased from 7% to 12% in just two years from 2011 to 2013, with over one million PV and hot water systems now installed on Australian dwellings – one in eight homes [1-3]. In the leading states of Queensland and South Australia, approximately 20% of homes (officially “dwellings”) now have PV installations [1-3]. Most of these systems are single phase residential systems, which at the commencement of 2010 were typically 1.5 kWp, but have grown to an average size of over 4 kWp at the close of 2013 [4]. The market is now shifting to larger (10-100 kWp+) Commercial and Industrial (C&I) systems. This influx of grid connected PV systems is presenting technical challenges for the electricity distribution network. In some residential areas with particularly high PV penetration, the minimum demand in the daily load curve may well now occur at midday rather than 3am [5, section 11.1]. The distributor should ensure the voltages seen by customers on this arm of the distribution network and the voltages supplied to a neighbouring heavily loaded commercial feeder

6 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

supplied by the same substation both remain within bounds. This is a “stress test” that was never envisaged when most of the network was designed and built. Customer owned PV is also distorting the economics of traditional energy supply [6], which has to date relied heavily on the sale of energy to cover the capital and maintenance costs of the required transmission and distribution networks.

Storing energy for selfconsumption The recent increase in retail electricity tariffs and the significant reduction or removal of feed in or export tariffs for PV has motivated grid connected PV system installers and buyers alike to consider batteries as a mechanism to store excess PV generation. For residential customers, this stored energy might be used for self-consumption later that day to displace grid electricity consumption at a high tariff. For commercial customers on a tariff which includes a peak demand charge, battery storage can provide guaranteed (firm) peak demand reduction during the day, even as the sun disappears behind the clouds. In both scenarios, the distribution network also benefits. Storage can lower evening peak demand in residential areas, while absorbing (residential) or firming (commercial) PV generation during the day.

Storage batteries now giving way to much more streamlined version.

Based on the case studies we have seen, batteries cannot yet make a convincing business case on a purely financial basis. However, batteries are rapidly descending the performance-cost learning curve just as PV has recently done. We believe grid connected residential and commercial battery systems will likely experience the same exponential growth over the next decade as grid connected PV did in the last. If the distribution network and market operators accept the likely inevitable growth of distributed battery storage, then it is surely in their interests to ensure they capture their benefits by adopting the right mechanisms to reward those who independently invest in them.

Six clear benefits Distributed grid connected battery storage can offer a number of benefits to the grid: • Demand reduction; by reducing peak network loading on the distribution network. This demand reduction extends right from the customer’s terminals on the LV network, through distribution transformers and lines back to substations and beyond. This has the immediate effect of reducing network losses, and reducing network stress and extending component lifetimes (for example by lowering the temperature of lines and transformers).

Ultimately as a portion of the network approaches its limits, firm demand reduction defers or even removes the need for network investment in that portion of the network. • Energy market participation; storage, even without renewable generation such as PV, allows energy to be sold at high electricity market price points. This can be used to reduce market volatility, and overall reduce electricity energy prices. • Enables renewable energy dispatch; Distributed storage could also be used to allow high penetrations of renewables such as wind to be dispatched and stored even when electricity demand is low. A number of studies have suggested that large scale wind and solar do not necessarily need storage to be viably integrated into the electricity grid, however having storage will certainly assist their dispatch. • Frequency control emergency support; In the event of major grid faults such as the “tripping” of major transmission lines or generators, battery storage and their associated grid connect inverters can rapidly respond to stabilise the frequency swings which occur in the network. This could help prevent wide scale black-outs which are sometimes associated with these events. • Inter-area Angle control; A related application is the improvement of transient angle control between different areas in the Australian grid. This can unlock greater interstate energy transfers over major transmission lines. In the future, this could enable the export of excess Queensland solar to Victoria, or excess Victorian wind to Queensland, without the need to build additional interstate transmission lines. • Disaster resilience; If appropriately connected, battery storage could enable at least the owner of the battery to benefit from a reserve of stored power in the event of disasters such as fires, floods or cyclones which impact the distribution network. The addition of local solar generation can greatly extend the autonomy of these systems. The financial reward for each of these benefits if treated in isolation, and on an individual customer basis, generally does not yet justify the capital cost of battery storage. However, the amalgamation and negotiated sale of these benefits across all these domains, on behalf of a large number of customers, improves the economics and will hasten the adoption

Large experimental storage system connected to a 1.2MW PV array. of storage. The aggregator who provides this amalgamation service may be one of the distributors, a telecommunications company, a battery or solar company, an information company (think “Google”) or even a community or “not-for-profit” organisation. The aggregator can present a “critical mass” of these services to the beneficiaries, and negotiate the reward process on behalf of multiple small battery owners. Of course, the aggregator may well take a share of the value produced as profit and must balance the risks associated with for example exposure to market prices. The strategy for the operation of this distributed storage resource will not be trivial, since the different services may well require a co-ordinated approach to their use of the storage peak power and energy capacity. Often the services will not be in conflict: for example, the benefits for peak network loading will often coincide with market price peaks and both needs can be served simultaneously. However, the requirement to always be able to provide peak network load reduction may require a minimum reserve to be held, limiting the extent of market participation. As these markets evolve, so will the optimisations which aim to ultimately maximise the return on investment in the battery system. Communication and information will also play a key role in the evolution of these distributed storage systems. While some services can utilise existing data communication networks, others such as frequency and angle control may benefit from dedicated high speed, low latency communications. This is an area of current research for us. The many different battery technologies will also each have their place. For some customers and services, batteries that are most efficient at slower charge-discharge rates with large energy storage capacities are optimal, for others, a small battery pack with high peak power capabilities may be better. As an example, Redflow’s core

product is a standard 3kW continuous, 8kWh capacity zinc-bromide battery module, which has been optimised for daily deep charge and discharge cycles. This makes its target market the bulk storage and shifting of intermittent renewable energy, both on and off grid. In contrast, Ecoult’s UltraBattery, a hybrid between a traditional sealed lead-acid battery and an ultracapacitor, is optimised for millions of shallow cycles at a partial state of charge (never full or empty), perfect for providing electricity network “regulation” services. In our view, all battery chemistries – old and new – are experiencing intense research and development, with consequent continual improvements in performance and reductions in price. With both new battery chemistries and markets for energy storage opening up, the future for battery storage is strong. REFERENCES [1] I. Frischknecht, "All-Energy Australia 2013 - ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht’s keynote address," presented at the All-Energy Australia 2013, http://arena.gov.au/speech_ presentation/all-energy-australia-2013-keynote/ [2] Tom Willcock, Nhu Che, Caitlin McCluskey, "Energy in Australia 2013," Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE), Canberra, 2013, http://www.bree. gov.au/documents/publications/energy-in-aust/BREEEnergyInAustralia-2013.pdf [3] ACIL Allen Consulting, "Drivers of domestic PV uptake - Characteristics of households with solar photovoltaic systems," 4 October 2013. http://www.acilallen.com.au/ cms_files/ACILAllenSolarPhotovoltaic2013.pdf [4] Johnston, Warwick, “Why solar systems are growing”, 11 Dec 2013, http://www.businessspectator.com.au/ article/2013/12/11/solar-energy/why-solar-systems-aregrowing [5] Energex Distribution Annual Planning Report 2013/14 to 2017/18, September 2013, https://www.energex.com.au/the-network/networkmanagement-plans-and-reports https://www.energex.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0003/167304/DAPR-2013-14-to-2017-18-Volume1.pdf [6] Jeremy Tustin, Guy Dundas, Paul Hyslop, John Soderbaum, "Distributed generation - Implications for Australian electricity markets," ACIL Tasman, 2013, http:// www.acilallen.com.au/cms_files/ACIL_ESAA_2013.pdf

Gerard Ledwich is a Professor in Electrical Engineering at QUT and Theme Leader in Future Energy Systems and Clean Technologies in QUT’s new Institute for Future Environments. He is Chair in Power Engineering at QUT and Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia. Associate Professor Geoffrey Walker has recently joined QUTs Power Engineering group. Together, their shared research interests include energy delivery, control systems, power electronics, transmission and distribution power systems and distributed generation.

SolarProgress | 7

RET review and Save Solar campaign

RET under threat

The Australian Solar Council is staging an extensive national campaign to highlight the low cost, high value benefits derived from the Renewable Energy Target. The RET enables more customers to access the clean energy option of rooftop PV and supports large scale solar and solar hot water. But a shadow now hangs over the industry with the renewable energy target under threat of being abolished or wound back. By Nicola Card.

Another year, another Renewable Energy Target review, or so it seems. As recently as 2012 a panel looked at the RET and decided that the target – at least 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020 – should remain in place. The reasoning then was sound, and remains sound: it prevents damage to market confidence and clean energy investors. There followed a recommendation to leave RET ‘as is’ until 2016. Then there was a federal election. In mid February 2014 the Abbott government announced it was embarking on a review of the RET, claiming the current system (which facilitates PV installations) puts upward pressure on power prices and that the outcome of the RET Review will help … “bear down" on electricity prices. Hmmm. Let’s taker a closer look at some of the facts and figures to gain a better understanding of what is a complex market, bearing in mind that the greater the degree of complexity the easier it is for existing players to fudge figures and lead the community up the garden path in a bid to protect their business profits. The federal government presents clean energy incentives in the form of rebates delivered via the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme or SRES. The RET also supports large scale – and the article by ASC President Steve Blume on pages 36-40 explains why this too is important. It is the SRES that helps drive the take-up of residential solar power by making people’s power stations ie rooftop PV more affordable. Across Australia five million people are enjoying the benefits of PV systems which to date have delivered an impressive 3GW of solar energy across two million rooftops. In so doing this has reduced reliance on fossil fuels and in

no small measure stem harmful greenhouse emissions. So far, so good.

Stats and facts – residential solar Modeling by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) reveals the cost of supporting rooftop solar PV and solar hot water through SRES homeowner rebates on PV installation amounts to just 1.9 per cent of the average household electricity bill; a bit less when factoring in the reduced wholesale cost of electricity. Further, AEMO estimates that by 2015 the SRES will cost just $6.50 in the average quarterly bill of $500. A few years ago the average quarterly power bill was a lot lot less. Now it’s the talking point of every barbecue and dinner party. Well it was till we all got used to the hikes. Behind those near-unpalatable steep increases are the power companies’ wholesale and retail increases, including large costs for marketing – the cost of competition to get and retain customers – and their investment in poles and wires, which combined have contributed a mighty 92 per cent to the energy cost rises. Back to the small scale scenario. The info graphics on the following pages help tell the story of “community solar” and reveal that that by 2015-16 household solar will actually save Australians more than it costs them – all Australians.

More number crunching Detailed analysis by the REC Agents Association reveals the SRES will account for 40 per cent of the total RET impact from 2012 to 2020 and as

a result might account for an average reduction in wholesale prices of $2.70 per MW/h. This is equivalent to 0.27 cents per kWh and exceeds the AEMC’s estimated cost pass through in 2015/16 of 0.24 cents per kWh. These are the irrefutable facts: solar energy reduces expensive peak hour demand, reduces wholesale prices and reduces transmission and distribution costs. Why then a review of clean energy targets and potential winding back of incentives to decimate the rise of clean energy sector? Is the government picking the wrong target in more ways than one? Energy consumers might well ask. The figures above present a compelling argument in favor of clean energy delivered by affordable rooftop solar: the community likes it, it saves money, emissions are slashed. But there’s a whole lot more to the sorry story than meets the eye, as ASC CEO John Grimes revealed. “The anomaly, let’s call it, centres on state government reliance on revenues derived from power companies in a long established and entrenched funding arrangement. Simply put: the higher the household energy bills, the fuller the state coffers,” he told Solar Progress. “But the landscape has shifted massively since 2009. Why so? Ebbing demand for power. For each of the years since 2009 demand for energy has fallen by around 2 per cent, on the back of energy saving household appliances, energy conscious consumers and the contribution from rooftop PV. “Having always assumed demand would continue to rise indefinitely, the power companies invested into the infrastructure (more poles, > continues on page 10

8 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

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RET review and Save Solar campaign

“If the government abolishes the RET it will be harder for regular householders to get solar. That’s why we are urging everyone to take action by talking to their MP.” more wires) but as demand falls they are hemorrhaging money,” he explained. “The state governments themselves are hurting as a consequence and therefore have an incentive to kill off anything that lowers electricity use – that includes trying to constrain people’s power, rooftop solar.” He added that for every PV unit sold the power companies are selling less electricity and are lobbying government, convincing bureaucrats of the need to wind back support for all renewable energy programs.

Power to, or from, the people? John Grimes emphasised the importance of the RET to the community, stating it is the only piece of legislation driving the take up of solar energy today; feed-in tariffs have been wound back dramatically or abolished altogether. “This is the last piece of legislation that supports solar, that is important because when you buy a solar system you are in effect buying 20 years’ worth of electricity up front. “Although you will make your money back in just a few years you need the money upfront and the RET provides the mechanism where you can cash in the value of the renewable energy certificates - that is certificates that are issued for every one MW hour of renewable energy generation - so it’s an incentive program for renewable energy technology. “Cash them in and get a point of sale discount, which is around 30 per cent of the purchase price of the PV system.

“If the government abolishes the RET it will be harder for regular householders to get solar. That’s why we are urging everyone to take action by talking to their MP.” [With the average household PV system costing around $6500 the rebate amounts to about $1200. Variances arise in the value of certificates according to local levels of solar irradiation.]

“This is the last piece of legislation that supports solar ... when you buy a solar system you are ... buying 20 years’ worth of electricity up front.” > continues on page 12

10 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

RET review and Save Solar campaign

Save Solar campaign It is estimated that should the RET be abolished or wound back – highly likely in this instance – up to 6750 jobs could be lost in the solar sector. For these and other good reasons the Solar Council has been actively campaigning in favor of retaining the RET, with CEO John Grimes gaining a high media profile driving home the message to save solar. The action kicked off in early February with the message: “Maintain the Renewable Energy Target in its current form (with) no reduction to the value of small-scale certificates and no wind-back on the current 100 kW maximum size to qualify under the scheme. Maintain incentives for investment in big solar.” The message has been taken across the nation and in particular to Western Australia which goes to the polls for a senate election on April 5. Much hangs on the outcome (a closer look at the numbers appears on page 2).

What next? The ASC’s Save Solar campaign which targets coverage in local newspapers and radio stations across Australia will run for “as long as necessary”. The key messages have been filmed and a hardhitting ASC message will soon be screened on TV as part of the ASC’s campaign to win.

Middle ground solution? The ASC believes the correct answer is not to kill off solar but to change the business model of the power companies and make them clean energy companies: service providers so instead of buying electricity customers will contract for a set of services such as hot water, lighting, heating in winter, cooling in summer and so on – if they went to that model the power companies would have an incentive to provide power at the lowest possible cost and be able to reduce customer churn. They would be the ones providing energy efficient devices for heating, lighting and cooling – and would be making more profit. “That is our life’s work – telling that story.”

Among the chorus “The Renewable Energy Target drives investment in renewable energy. It creates a guaranteed market for renewables using a tradable certificate scheme that encourages projects at large scale… and small scale (for example, solar PV on household rooftops). The truth is Australia cannot meet its 5 per cent emissions reduction target without the RET.” The Climate Change Authority “The RET is low cost and high achieving and must be maintained to finish its job …. and to cut carbon pollution by the amount demanded by the scientific evidence.  ” REC Agents Association (RAA) President Ric Brazzale “The RET has helped five million Australians cut their power bills by installing solar and has created 15,000 jobs and will do so at zero cost to households or the Federal Budget.” CEO of Greenbank Environmental Fiona O’Hehir “Energy can be neither created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed. For the Clean Energy industry, it is the efficiency of that transformation in both electrical and dollar terms that dictates our future … with increased passion, determination and focus, we will transform electrical energy from expensive hydrogenised mush, into a universally affordable nutritious tonic. That is the goal.” Peter Bulanyi of Si Clean Energy

But Grimes is not optimistic. “We are unlikely to change the current government’s mind as they have a pretty fixed view and are somewhat inflexible. But what we can do is encourage those Senators who support solar to block legislation in the Senate which might be used to change the RET.”

Gratitude The Australian Solar Council would like to acknowledge the support of all members and associates who have taken action and subscribed to the Save Solar fighting fund. REFERENCES www.solar.org.au RET Review terms of reference: www.pmc.gov.au www.recagents.org.au

John Grimes is available to speak to the media on 0400 102 396

“We are unlikely to change the current government’s mind as they have a pretty fixed view and are somewhat inflexible. But what we can do is encourage those Senators who support solar to block legislation in the Senate which might be used to change the RET.” 12 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

Polling figures Independent polls have found: • Two out of three of Australians want the Renewable Energy Target increased or maintained. Only 13 per cent of Australians want the RET lowered.  (Essential Poll). And almost two thirds – 64 per cent - of people think the Renewable Energy Target is ‘about right’ or ‘could be higher’ • Only 13% of voters believe the target is too high; 41 per cent of Liberal voters and 40% of Labor voters say the Renewable Energy Target is about right.

Network charges behind higher power prices Regulated transmission and distribution charges amounted to 10.08 cents per kWh in 2010/11, representing 45 per cent of a customer’s electricity bill. By 2015/16 these regulated charges are expected to increase to 15.56 cents per kWh, a 54 per cent increase on 2010/11 levels. At the same time the wholesale price is expected to fall by 2.18 cents per kWhThe cost of the RET (SRES and LRET combined) is expected to increase by 0.46 cents  per kWh; and the retail component is expected to increase by 0.68 cents per kWh. These figures adapted from material presented by the RAA.

We like things to be perfect. Dr. Armin S., developer at Bosch Power Tec

For us it’s the details that make the difference. At Bosch we like to think: What would make your life easier? So our new BPT-S string inverters can be setup easily and fast with a unique RFID “e.Key” card and work with touchless gesture control for easy and reliable operation. The “hard facts” are convincing too: High efficiency rates, up to 4 MPP trackers, and an integrated data logger, just to name a few. Taking it further, we introduce the BPT-S 5 Hybrid. It combines high efficiency inverter technology and lithium-ion batteries to store the power generated by the solar system. That’s technology made by Bosch. Read more at bosch-power-tec.com or bosch-solar-storage.com

Solar 2014

SOLAR 2014

CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION THURSDAY 8 MAY AND FRIDAY 9 MAY 2014 MELBOURNE CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

The Australian Solar Council is proud to present its 52nd annual industry conference & exhibition. Following on from a successful partnership last year the Solar Council has once again joined forces with international organisation AUPVSEE to deliver the premier solar show in Australia – the Solar 2014 Conference & Exhibition. The two-day show will deliver expert industry leaders and showcase the latest technologies from solar and renewables, energy efficiency and the sustainable built environment industries. This free to attend event is expected to attract more than 3000 local and international industry professionals. The Solar 2014 Conference Program will offer three concurrent sessions: • Industry and Policy Stream • Scientific and Research Stream, and • Solar Installer and Designer Professional Development Training

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INDUSTRY & POLICY SESSION The Industry & Policy Session will host a continuous stream of presentations from Industry and Government experts, covering diverse topics including solar policy, market analysis and forecasts, solar project financing and case studies. The opening Plenary Session begins with Councilor Arron Woods presenting on Solar in the City of Melbourne followed by Scientia Professor Martin Green from the University of NSW with The Technology & Price Roadmap for Solar PV. Day one morning presentations include the Hon Mark Butler MP - Shadow Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water before Kobad Bhavnagri from Bloomberg New Energy Finance provides an update on the Renewable Energy Market in Australia. Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Christine Milne opens the afternoon session with other highlights including an update from Ivor Frischkencht, Chief Executive of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Emma Lucia, Business Analyst presenting on the Climate Works Solar Report. The day two Plenary Session kicks off with keynote addresses from Professor Jordan Louviere of the University of Technology, Sydney and Giles Parkinson from RenewEconomy. The morning session follows with Ric Brazzale, Managing Director, Green Energy Trading presenting an Australian Market Update: the outlook for certificate prices followed by Oliver Yates, Chief Executive Officer of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The afternoon session includes Mike Swanston from Energex giving us a Utilities Perspective and Dr Mark Diesendorf from the University of NSW presenting on Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change. This free-to-attend session delivers a well-rounded and up-to-date program with all the latest news affecting the Solar Energy Industry.

SCIENTIFIC & RESEARCH SESSION Now in its 52nd year, the Australian Solar Council’s Scientific & Research Conference will also be held over the two days at Solar 2014 and features approximately 100 peer-reviewed academic papers to keep delegates up to date on technological innovation and development. The Scientific & Research Conference will also host poster presentations during the morning sessions. The posters will also be on display throughout the two days and delegates will have the chance to meet and discuss the poster presentations with their authors. This is the only national conference that brings together and highlights the latest achievements by Australian research scientists and engineers across all aspects of solar energy, energy efficiency and other renewables. A small registration fee of $385.00 inc GST applies for this session. The following discounts are available, Member Rate $275.00 inc GST, Student Rate $165.00 inc GST and RMIT Student Rate $143.00 inc GST.

SOLAR INSTALLER & DESIGNER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING Solar 2014 is once again working with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to deliver Solar Installer & Designer Professional Development Training. This training will be free to attend and delegates will be eligible for CPD points towards accreditation. Day one of the program will begin by spending the morning focusing on the direction of the industry and quality compliance, before the focus shifts to Energy Storage Technologies. The afternoon session includes an Open Industry Forum, before afternoon presentations include System Design and Upgrades and Product Choices. Day two presentations open with Warwick Johnston, Managing Director, SunWiz before moving on to a second Open Forum to discuss issues within the Solar Industry. The morning session focuses on Business Management including finances and quality. While the afternoon session will discuss Our role in the RET Review and Emerging Technologies. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss this important industry program - join in and be kept up to date on current industry news and issues, share your thoughts at the open forums and address the future outlook for the solar industry.

Australian Energy Storage Conference The official launch of the Australian Energy Storage Conference & Exhibition will be held alongside Solar 2014. The Conference will feature more than 30 speakers presenting on topics ranging from energy storage at utility level, case studies of both on and off grid storage, updates on batteries and other storage technologies and storage in our transport infrastructure. The exhibition is free to attend and being held in the same Exhibition Hall as Solar 2014, and all conference rates and registration details can be found at www. australianenergystorage.com.au

Diary Date

Solar 2014

Conference & E xhibition

Special Guest Speakers Christine Milne

Senator for Tasmania and Leader of the Australian Greens Christine Milne, Senator for Tasmania and Leader of the Australian Greens, is one of Australia's most experienced and respected environmental and community activists with a career spanning 30 years. After leading the successful campaign to protect farming land and fisheries from the Wesley Vale Pulp Mill, Christine was elected to the Tasmanian parliament in 1989, and became the first woman to lead a political party in Tasmania in 1993. She was elected to the Senate in 2004 and to the Leadership in 2012 following the retirement of Senator Bob Brown. Christine's vision to address climate change and her unparalleled experience with power-sharing minority governments led to the establishment of the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee and its successful negotiations to design the Clean Energy Future package. The package has placed innovation, opportunity and clean energy at the forefront of the transformation of the Australian economy for the 21st century. > more on page 16

Solar 2014 includes an extensive industry exhibition with over 100 International and Australian exhibitors, providing delegates the opportunity to network directly with policy makers, industry players, experts and consumers. Register your attendance online at: http://solarexhibition.com.au/ register-now/

May 8 and 9, 2014 Melbourne Exh ibition Centre

For more information please visit: www.solarexhibition.com.au

SolarProgress | 15

Solar 2014

SOLAR 2014

CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION THURSDAY 8 MAY AND FRIDAY 9 MAY 2014 MELBOURNE CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE

Special Guest Speakers (Continued) Martin Green Scientia Professor, University of New South Wales Martin Green is currently Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney and Director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics. His group's contributions to photovoltaics include development of the world’s highest efficiency silicon cells and commercialisation of several different cell technologies. He is the author of several books on solar cells and numerous papers. His work has been recognised by major international awards including the 2002 Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, the 2007 SolarWorld Einstein Award and the 2010 Eureka Prize for Leadership. In 2012, Martin Green was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his contributions to photovoltaics and photovoltaics education.

Ivor Frischknecht Chief Executive Officer, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Ivor Frischknecht is ARENA’s inaugural CEO. Before joining ARENA he was Investment Director at Starfish Ventures, a venture capital firm that manages $400 million primarily on behalf of Australian superannuation funds. Ivor’s responsibilities included the firm’s clean technology investment activities. Ivor was previously Director of New Ventures at Idealab, a company involved in developing and investing in renewable energy technology start-up companies. His other previous roles include CEO 16 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

of H2onsite (a company involved in commercialisation of clean energy generation technology) and a senior executive and advisor to a range of venture capital and energy companies. He started his career was a consultant with Bain & Co. Ivor holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Economics with Honours from the University of Sydney and a Master of Business Administration and Public Management Certificate from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

Oliver Yates Chief Executive Officer, Clean Energy Finance Corporation Mr Yates has more than 20 years of global experience in corporate advisory, financial structuring, project finance, debt structuring, equity raising and listings, with extensive experience in clean energy. At Macquarie Bank he was involved in establishing new businesses and growing operations internationally, and leading the Bank's initiatives in wind, solar, biofuels, carbon credits and other renewable businesses. Mr Yates has played key roles in clean energy, terrestrial and biosequestration and other solutions to the climate change challenge over many years. He established BioCarbon, a leading international project developer which invests forestry, land-use and sustainable energy service projects, as a joint venture between Global Forest Partners LP, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Macquarie Group. He is an investor in and has held board positions on a number of innovative energy ventures. He participated in the South Australian Government's Green Grid study to look at unlocking renewable resources on the Eyre Peninsula and the Victorian Government study into carbon capture and storage (CCS) for the Latrobe Valley. Mr Yates holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) with an Advanced Diploma in Mastering the Boardroom.

Ric Brazzale Managing Director, Green Energy Trading Ric Brazzale is Managing Director of Green Energy Trading (GET) and has more than 30 years’ experience in the energy sector. GET is one of the largest environmental certificate creators in Australia and is active across renewable energy and energy efficiency markets. Prior to establishing GET in 2007, Ric headed the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), now the Clean Energy Council, and a leading advocate for renewable energy and energy efficiency markets in Australia. Before this, Ric worked in a number of business development and finance roles with Fletcher Challenge Energy, John Holland and Woodside Petroleum. Ric is also Director of Green Energy Markets and is President of the REC Agents Association and a Director of the Energy Efficiency Certificate Creators Association.

CSP potential

Breaking the

‘Solar Gridlock’ Here we look at the ARENA funded report of the potential benefits of installing concentrating solar thermal power at constrained locations in the national electricity market.

The Institute for Sustainable Futures recently published a report funded by ARENA that analyses the role CSP could play in the National Electricity Market (NEM – all locations except the NT and WA). Using distributed generation or demand reduction options may provide cost effective alternatives to increasing the capacity of a transmission and distribution network system. Continuing to invest (by default) in capacity to meet growing peak demand may be avoided by distributed generation or demand reduction. Increasing the use of decentralised energy options, and CSP in particular, could concurrently enable greater deployment of renewable energy in the electricity system, and reduce total system greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the study was to examine the four states and model the potentially avoidable network investment according to location and expected constraint year. The likelihood of CSP being able to generate during peak load times at different locations and thus derive firm capacities. These two factors were integrated and determinations made of the connection capacity of CSP to supply using different configurations (plant size, storage capacity). Case studies were conducted in constrained locations in the four states.

Calculations Approximately $0.8 billion of potentially avoidable network augmentation was identified across the NEM in areas with suitable solar irradiance for installation of CSP (defined here as average DNI of more than 21 MJ/m2/day). This equates to 533MW of CSP capacity. There is a further $0.5 billion of potentially

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“Increasing the use of decentralised energy options, and CSP in particular, could concurrently enable greater deployment of renewable energy in the electricity system, and reduce total system greenhouse gas emissions.” avoidable network expenditure in areas with DNI below 21 MJ/m2/day. CSP can therefore offer a commercially viable alternative to traditional network augmentation solutions in 72 per cent of the constrained areas examined – i.e. in 48 locations. And if constraints were limited to only those with solar resources better than 21 MJ/m2/day DNI, CSP could avoid the need for augmentation at 94 per cent of locations.

Indicative firm capacity Using the concept of 'Indicative Firm Capacity' the report authors found the probability that a CSP plant would be generating during peak periods by comparing historical weather data to recorded peaks. The modelling showed that IFCs in excess of 80 per cent can be achieved in all seasons and most locations in the NEM.

Ten hours storage is sufficient to reliably meet both summer and winter afternoon and evening peaks in most areas of the NEM. In winter, IFC is less due to the lower solar resource, but high IFCs can still be reached in most locations north of Adelaide with only 10 hours storage.

The role of RE Renewable energy is frequently characterised as a burden on our electricity networks. But what if some forms of solar power could provide important network services, and reduce network costs overall? Concentrating solar thermal power has been in commercial operation at utility scale for more than 20 years, and can be entirely dispatchable, due to inherent thermal inertia and the potential for storage. CSP is predicted to provide 12-17 percent of Australia’s electricity by 2030. While CSP technology is rapidly descending the cost learning curve, it is still currently short of commercial viability in Australia’s National Electricity Market. But rarely is it discussed as a potential network asset, to replace traditional means of meeting network supply constraints. This would require us to rethink how CSP should or could be developed, in terms of when, where and how big. The full report can be found at http://breakingthesolargridlock.net/ index.html along with access to Google Maps files.

“CSP is predicted to provide 12-17 per cent of Australia’s electricity by 2030. “

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Solar greenhouse

Growing tomatoes in an arid environment The ingredients for a successful horticultural industry are simple. Sun, land, fresh water, fuel, nutrients and people. Fresh water is scarce in the Port Augusta area. So it is, at the least, counterintuitive assuming you could successfully set up a commercial greenhouse there to grow tomatoes. Not so, and Sundrop Farms are busy scaling up their 2000m2 pilot venture. Bill Parker traces the history of the project and its implications for Australia’s vegetable growers.

Hydroponically grown tomatoes are not uncommon in Australia. Our supermarket shelves stock plenty of them. Hydroponic tomatoes, as well as other crops, are now grown in greenhouses, one of the largest being at Warragul to the south of east of Melbourne, where the annual rainfall is about 1000mm and the climate temperate. Water, although not needed in such large quantities as open soil grown crops, is in adequate supply. Now take a jump about 1000kms to the north–west to Port Augusta, with about one fifth of the rainfall, and a harsh, hot climate.

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Not the best location for growing hydroponic tomatoes or capsicums? Growing tomatoes in an arid part of Australia, with rainfall at an annual mean of 257mm might seem a counterintuitive idea, but solar powered desalination where the global solar mean exposure is 19.3MJ/ m2 might not. Enter Charlie Paton, a British inventor who saw the potential. At first Paton set up a simple combination of solar energy to provide electrical power using PV and desalination to provide fresh water. Saline water was heated by the sun in a network of pipes above the greenhouse growing area.

The condensate was used to irrigate crops and cool humid conditions were maintained by cooling fans at the ends of the greenhouses to minimise excessive transpiration. A PV system provided electricity.

Substantial investment following ownership change The operation, now owned by Sundrop Farms, is much more sophisticated and incorporates a purpose built desalination plant. All electrical requirements are powered by a tracking parabolic solar thermal system. The 75m trough

system uses oil to bring the saline bore water temperature up to 160°C to drive turbines to provide electricity. Some of the hot water from the process heats the greenhouses at night, while the rest is fed into a desalination plant that produces the 10,000 litres of fresh water a day required for the hydroponic irrigation system. The water from the desal plant is ready for a nutrient mix to be added according to crop. Irrigation is programmed and can be operated remotely by a smart phone app if required. The air in the greenhouse is kept cool and humid by trickling water down pads of honeycombed cardboard placed at the end of the greenhouses – evaporative cooling. Air is driven through the pads by wind and fans. The region is cold in winter and gas back-up is installed to allow for this. The salt is sold into the domestic market.

of three million tonnes of tomatoes and one million tonnes of capsicums with an intended market with major supermarket chains. The benefit to Port Augusta will be the creation of an estimated 200 jobs. However, the operation is not merely technological. Being a closed environment, the growing crops need human intervention by way of pest control and pollination. Every two months, new bees are delivered and the usual pest of the tomato (an aphid) is controlled rather cleverly by introducing a moth grub to feed on the aphids. Organic farming if were not for the lack of soil. (“Organic” status is only granted where soil is involved.)

Scale up

Growing food and creating jobs with solar radiation

Since inception in 2009, the solar greenhouse project has been awarded infrastructure funding from the South Australian government. Last year, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation provided a commercial loan to new owners Sundrop Farms to assist with financing its scale up to 20Ha. The total project upgrade was $60million. The return on investment will come from annual crop sales

The Australian horticulture industry faces a range of challenges relating to water salinity and scarcity, rising input costs, as well as meeting the demand for year-round supply of sustainably sourced fruits and vegetables. Here is a direction that industry could take using otherwise derelict coastal land, or inland saline water bodies.

Further information: http://www. sundropfarms.com/

“A tracking parabolic solar thermal system … uses oil to bring the saline bore water temperature up … to drive turbines to provide electricity. Some of the hot water from the process heats the greenhouses at night, while the rest is fed into a desalination plant that produces the 10,000 litres of fresh water a day required for the hydroponic irrigation system.”

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SolarProgress | 21

Positive campaigns

Positive step,   Positive Quality™

WA Senate Election: Save Solar campaign   “We hope WA will send a message to all Australians that the Renewable Energy Target needs to stay so more households can invest in the solar advantage …” The Australian Solar Council is urging Western Australians to vote to support solar in the forthcoming WA Senate Election. April 5, 2014 is the day they will be asked to cast their vote.  “Solar saves money and creates jobs,” said John Grimes Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Council. “We hope WA will send a message to all Australians that the Renewable Energy Target needs to stay so more households can invest in the solar advantage.”  “We will be talking to families, young people and pensioners about why they should vote for candidates that support no change to the Renewable Energy Target.”    Mr Grimes stated the current policy gives everyone access to affordable roof-top solar so they can save on average half their power bill.  “These saving can make a real difference to the quality of life of Australians. “Western Australians who have already invested in solar, and the 350,000 Western Australian who want to invest in their own solar soon, can demand that candidates say where they stand on supporting the Renewable Energy Target.”    Mr Grimes added that “Everyone has the right to take advantage of solar savings.”

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The Australian Solar Council is proud to announce its Positive Quality™ program.   By choosing solar panels with the Positive Quality™ logo, you can be sure that your panels have been subject to rigorous ongoing testing and audit at point of manufacture.   The Australian Solar Council (ASC) will draw on more than 50 years experience in solar PV, to conduct independent testing to make sure you get the quality panels you expect through our Positive Quality™ Program.   Australian homeowners, Governments, solar wholesalers, and retailers, require peace of mind when investing in solar PV. The ASC Positive Quality™ program has been designed to meet this demand.    ASC will be working through the Positive Quality™ Program with manufacturers around the world, using quarterly audits and inspections, to ensure participating manufacturers provide only the highest quality certification compliant panels shipped to the Australian market.   The Positive Quality regime includes a quarterly verification including: • A 60-point factory check  • Verification that PV panels fully comply with standards, certifications and best practice , and • Assurances that manufacturers are providing products that are consistent with product marketing. • The Positive Quality™ program is a voluntary scheme that will allow quality manufacturers to receive independent, third-party validation of their manufacturing process and standards compliance.   When you see the Positive Quality™ label, you know those solar panels have been subjected to ongoing auditing and testing, and that they meet Australian certification standards.   Make sure you ask your manufacturer to join the ASC Positive Quality™ Program to ensure the products you are receiving meet existing standards and are fit for purpose.   Positive Quality™ panels will be available in the Australian market later this year. Stay tuned for more as we draw closer to the date…

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Remote installation

Doomadgee

sees the light Overcoming a series of challenges associated with remote installation, RFI Solar delivered a 264kW solar farm producing enough energy for 30 households in an isolated township that sits well off the beaten track – about mid way between Darwin and Cairns. Adam Champion spoke to Nicola Card. The tiny township of Doomadgee is about as remote as you can get. To paint the picture: it lies 470 kilometres north of Mount Isa and 140 kilometres east of the NT border. Home to 1200 descendants of the Waanyi and Gangalidda peoples, Doomadgee is one of 39 isolated communities not serviced by any major electricity grid, and until early last year relied solely on its diesel plant for power. If you tap ‘Doomadgee’ into Google earth you will gain a better idea of its location, and once Google maps are updated you should just about be able to make out a new landmark adjacent to the small airstrip: a solar plant housing neatly lined rows of north facing panels. It was early in 2013 when the local landscape took on a new look and purpose with the opening of the 264kW Ergon Energy Doomadgee Solar PV farm, in which industry stalwart RFI Solar played a key role. RFI’s Head of Marketing Adam Champion told Solar Progress that it was vital from the outset to engage with Doomadgee’s indigenous community and fully brief them on all aspects of the project development, whose specifications included the supply, installation, testing, commissioning, and certification of a ground mounted PV power station, to be connected to the town’s diesel grid, and to provide a yearly energy output of >410MWh. To accommodate the plant, Ergon leased a 7.5-hectare site in Doomadgee’s industrial area, which is in the vicinity of the small airport runway. The sizeable block allows for scaling up to 2MW to meet future demand and reduce dependency on the local diesel power plant.

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“When we were awarded the project by Ergon Energy we [RFI] and our building contractor Q Energy Systems spent a lot of time on the ground talking to the local leaders and business people, as well as the police and others. It was vital to consult in depth with all the necessary community … for ‘soft engagement’ prior to embarking on any work,” Champion said. Unsurprisingly the remote location presented several unique challenges, however in many ways RFI was back on familiar turf, the solar pioneer having cut its teeth on remote installations way back in the ‘80s. In the case of Doomadgeee, the main considerations were seasonal tropical downpours, air traffic, and an imperative to integrate the project with the township’s diesel power station.

Air traffic safety Topping the action list was the need to present the Doomadgee Council with evidence that the PV plant’s construction and operation would not adversely impact on the aviation operations of airport runway situated just 380 metres away, receiving two or more daily flights. RFI Project Manager Wally Nguyen explained that unique engineering studies were undertaken to cater for air traffic. So, for those tech buffs among our readers: that meant no infringement of any of the surfaces associated with the OLS (Obstacle Limitation Surface) and PANS OPS (local air navigation procedures). To present such assurances RFI Solar teamed up with AECOM to produce an Aviation Impact Assessment which

“The Doomadgee solar project has showcased solar PV technology as a viable solution to reduce the costs and improve the performance of diesel grids.”

demonstrated, through a sun track analysis, that glare and reflections from the array’s panels were only likely to impact (on plane landings) for a short period of time during a very low angle sunrise. With solar panel reflectivity assessed at around 2 per cent, the array would present no greater risk to aviation than any watercourses might elsewhere. Site topology, flight paths and approach angles studies concluded that there was negligible risk of intrusion into the OLS and that the Horizontal Surface (that extends 2000 metres from the runway) could not be infringed by the array.

Integration with the diesel plant Another challenge was the integration of the solar farm with the diesel power station and mini-grid. Power produced by the solar farm required a control and communication system to properly manage the feed in to the local community and harmonious operation with the diesel mini-grid.

Courtesy of Glen Morris, images on these pages illustrate off-grid PV storage

The answer lay in advanced technology developed by SMA. Solar Farm control system interfaces through the SMA Sunny WebBox, the data acquisition unit centrally connected to all SMA inverters, providing live operating status via a local web portal. The unit also acts as a central control point for the solar farm whereby it can regulate the power being fed into the local electricity network. All communication to the Sunny WebBox is conducted via internet protocols (TCP/IP) allowing easy integration into Ergon Energy’s existing SCADA software systems. Two challenges met – the rest lay in the hands of mother nature.

Project build and weather The Gulf country suffers from a wet season extending from October through to April, which the RFI team needed to factor in to the 20-week construction period. “Because the wet season rainfall can average up to 750mm, the potential for serious disruption to the works was high,” Champion explained. “In particular the road into Doomadgee was very likely to be cut off in the case of heavy rains, potentially leaving the construction crew stranded and unable to continue work. “We worked closely with our subcontractor QES and they decided to commence work in October 2012 which was just two months after we had been awarded the contract.” Needless to report the team kept close watch on local BOM data to schedule appropriate works between the worst showers. Wally Nguyen who oversaw the installation explained that with the project’s fixed date the civil works team involved in fencing and roads stepped around bad weather … the construction crew did suffer a downpour of 117mm in just one day and as other wet weather disruptions but still managed to complete all civil works, followed by plant installation by February 2013. “Well within the contracted project program.”

Doomadgee’s Solar Plant: Tech specs RFI Solar’s system comprises a 264kW solar array with 1056 Trina Honey 250watt solar modules. The array was mounted on Clenergy Solar Terrace III frames, and set onto 352

Krinner earth screws. Sixteen SMA Tripower 17000s inverters completed the inventory.

Due credit Speaking to Solar Progress, RFI CEO Scott Magee CEO emphasised the value of teamwork in meeting deadlines and completing complex projects in remote regions. “The Doomadgee solar installation was a project our team can be rightly proud of. Providing great community benefits, the project proved a great success due to the hard work of all partners involved including of course Ergon Energy. Installing a solar plant in such a remote location came with many challenges but we were able to deliver the project on time and budget. “The Doomadgee solar project has showcased solar PV technology as a viable solution to reduce the costs and improve the performance of diesel grids.” His views were echoed by Champion who commented that the key aspect to making this project so successful project was the successful partnering. “As an example in solar projects you need you need good project management skills, good installations on the ground and input from vendors and suppliers. In this instance for installation we partnered with a local customer in the area, Q Energy Systems and other technical contractors were brought in from Mt Isa. “This partnering aspect is the tried and proven model we use in solar commercial projects. And this specific type of project has an aspect of community engagement which the customer was looking for in the communitybased grid augmentation. “We enjoy the challenge, partnering with customers and delivering relatively large plants like this that make a real difference to remote communities.”

Impact on the local community The Doomadgee solar farm met its projections by generating 434 MWh of clean electricity over the first year, which is enough to power 30 homes. The clean energy solar farm has slashed annual consumption of diesel for generation by around 115,000 litres, thus significantly reduced local and greenhouse emissions in the community. www.rfisolar.com.au

SolarProgress | 25

Innovation: solar hot water

Hot PV – ™

solar PV hot water and much more Barbara Elliston of Easy Warm has devoted time and energy – so to speak – into delivering an all electric solar hot water system for households. Here she tells us why she felt compelled to develop such a device, and how a good idea became a great reality with long-term benefits for users.

Over a cup of tea at morning smoko a number of years ago, a “resilient communities” friend introduced me to an engineer facing significant odds trying to get a single-bladed wind turbine developed and commercialised. Although my engineering and commercial background is from “bigenergy”, the corporate energy world including aluminium smelters, power stations and thousands of kilometres of transmission lines, we all shared an objective: to ensure that our communities were as self-reliant and resilient as possible, under a number of scenarios facing our communities now and perhaps even more so in the coming years. This gathering had been at Otago University, where CSAFE (Centre for Sustainability – Agriculture, Food, Energy and Environment) had coordinated an energy symposium. The relevance of mentioning CSAFE was that it has been carrying out research into consumer energy behaviour, including into their water heating preferences. The research indicated that the desire to use solar hot water was very high, but there were too many hurdles when customers actually wanted to purchase and install the systems. Not only are building consents required for solar hot water systems in New Zealand, one council in New Zealand even requires roof truss drawings before a consent is issued – for systems without any tanks on the roofs. As an importer of evacuated tube solar hot water collectors into New Zealand, I was more than familiar with the barriers to uptake of solar hot water in New Zealand. The smoko discussion included my contention that with solar PV becoming much more affordable, it is better to employ solar PV for water heating, rather than sticking with the old solar hot water technologies that required pipes and plumbing. Installing solar PV water heating was simple in comparison.

Stats and facts A look into energy use statistics shows that electric storage water heating is clearly identifiable as a homogenous (single) technology that is a significant user of grid supplied electricity in both Australia and New Zealand – what this gobbledegook means is that there is a large market out there for substituting PV electricity for grid electricity for the purpose of heating water!

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And solar PV water heating can be installed on people’s roofs to do just that – and with a power station on your roof, other possibilities for self-reliance and resilience will also emerge over time. For example, someone suggested that underfloor heating may also be able to use this same technology. From a self-sufficient, resilience point of view, installing solar PV water heating also means that a large chunk of your power bills going into the future will disappear, because installing the system is in effect pre-paying for your future power bills – this is a huge concern for people who are retired or starting to think about their retirement. Hot PV™ is born – it is our response to the brilliant opportunities available, now that PV has become affordable to many households, to give them back control of their power bills.

Hot PV™ - a patented cool new product on the solar PV market The system consists of a PV array, a special inverter, and an EMU – energy management unit It is an off-grid PV system that is connected directly to your hot water cylinder. This means that you can consume the power you generate yourself, straight into heating your water rather than fed into the grid and get paid peanuts for it. This own consumption helps to reduce your power bill, and means that your array gets to payback faster, especially when the alternative is to earn 8c/kWh feed in tariff (or less). You can think of it as a brand new kind of solar hot water system: but using solar PV panels instead of those collectors that are filled with water or. And just like the old kind, the grid is used to boost the element – but you get to choose when that happens. One of the things about PV panel prices falling over the past few years is that the price is now at a level where it is economic to use PV generated electricity, an all-purpose premium fuel, even to heat water. Hot PV™ is a completely new way of thinking about generating and using your own power.

And unlike the old kind of solar hot water systems using water circulating to your roof, this system has no plumbing or piping involved. So there’s no problem with collector freezing or boiling, distance between your cylinder and your roof – none of the usual technical problems associated with circulating water to the collectors as this system doesn’t use water – the Hot PV™ system is fully electric. The Hot PV™ system is installed on your roof just like any other PV system, and has an inverter as well. The system is connected at the switchboard to the cylinder’s power supply circuit, without having to go near the hot water cylinder.

Special Inverter: VOV™ configuration The special VOV™ inverter converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC), but with a key difference to normal grid-connect inverters: the AC power output is not at 230V. “VOV™” stands for “variable output voltage” – this is the key lynchpin of the system (see image). It is manufactured by Enasolar in Christchurch, New Zealand, especially for Easy Warm. Whatever amount of sunlight is falling on your array, that amount is transferred directly to your hot water cylinder element. During heating by PV power, the hot water cylinder element is not connected to the grid.

• It is an all-electric solar hot water system It is also the kind of system well suited to “Community Solar” because the power supplied by the system is never mixed up with grid power. So you don’t need complicated reconciliation calculations just to measure how much energy has been supplied to the site as none of it is exported.

For more information contact barbara@ easywarm.co.nz www.easywarm.co.nz

Hot PV™ system in operation Below is a screenshot of a Hot PV™ system in operation. The screenshot was taken at 7.30pm on February 15 . The array is located in northern Victoria. The array is just about to switch off, but still outputting 100W – directly to the hot water cylinder that is connected to this system. As the graph shows, it was a very cloudy day!

Are your customers

GIVING AWAY SOLAR POWER ?

Sunsink Solar Storage uses the latest battery technology to collect and store solar PV energy for use when it is most benificial to the system owner. Sun Sink units can deliver power at times when grid power is at it’s highest price. The system comes complete with five years warranty and a full service scheme for the life of the unit. Future-proof design ensures the unit can adapt to future grid demand applications. The units are small, efficient and SAFE. Available sizes: Sunsink 5 - Five Kilowatt hours of Storage (Suits systems up to 3KW, priced from $3000) Sunsink 10 - Ten Kilowatt hours of Storage (Suits systems up to 5KW, priced from $5000)

Key attributes The Hot PV™ system’s main features are: • It is off-grid • It allows you to self-consume your generation • It shortens your payback period • It allows you to install a system and effectively pre-pay your power bills – a retirement hedge • It requires no line company approvals – sell a Hot PV system in the morning, install it that afternoon

Size selection will depend on daytime usage, refer to our website for further sizing data. Systems can be applied to each string, so multiple units can be added to achieve 15-60 KWH of storage. www.SUNSINK.com.au

SolarProgress | 27

Storage solutions

Storage: the American View Giles Parkinson reviews the US focus on the holy grail of solar energy storage. One of the biggest topics for the 20,000 people gathered in San Francisco for the last Intersolar conference was that of energy storage. Solar, and solar PV in particular, is being expanded at breathtaking speed, but the long term value of those installations, both to the consumer and the grid operator, seems to be intertwined with the ability to store that electricity. Storage, it seems clear, is the deal-breaker, or the deal-maker, for both new generation technologies, and the incumbents who operate the grid. Which means there are two key questions about storage that everyone wants to know the answer to: those of costs and of value – which technology will deliver the cheapest option, and what the value of those technologies are for the owners and the operators. To start off, it’s probably worthwhile giving a quick overview of why it is that energy storage is needed, particularly as the global solar PV market surges inevitably to the 100GW annual market by the turn of the decade; and how some of the cost and value challenges are being viewed.

The Four Drivers Ash Sharma, senior research director with research group HIS, said there were four key drivers for energy storage. Self consumption: PV generation does not always align with residential demand, and in some cases the feed-in tariffs have fallen below the retail price. That makes it attractive for home-owners to use as much of the electricity they produce from rooftop solar as they can. Storage helps that self-consumption. The second reason is in the commercial sector, where load profiles actually align with the solar PV generation profile quite nicely.

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But storage can be used to shift consumption around to avoid peak demand charges, which are common in commercial energy rates. And it can be used as back-up power. At the utility scale, storage is invaluable to help control voltage and ramping issues, and in many cases it is a regulatory requirement. In Puerto Rico, for instance, a 2MW installation had to be accompanied by storage for that reason. It can also help balance and strengthen the grid in many instances, particularly in those areas – such as in Australia, Germany and in some suburbs in Los Angeles – where the penetration levels are getting to the point that the grid can’t, or won’t, take more. And, of course, there is the off-grid opportunity. Renewables without storage are extremely variable and any off-grid application that seeks steady source of electricity has to have storage. Because of the costs, this is also the biggest commercial opportunity at the moment. Right now, however, the problem is with cost. Sharma said adding storage to PV installations right now actually diminishes the return on investment – even if it does represent an IRR of around 7 per cent in Germany. But this is expected to change rapidly as the costs of storage come down, and as new incentives are provided that reflect the value of that investment. Some suggest that even now the IRRs can double with those incentives. Sharma says one of the problems is that energy storage is an immature market with no mass production. What it needs is scale. Once it gets that, IHS predicts a fall of at least 40 per cent in coming years, as battery technologies are rolled out, and with the growing use of electric vehicles.

Mark Johnson, the program director for ARPA-E, the Department of Energy program that focuses on new technologies, says that storage needs to come down to the point where it is adding only around 2.5c/kWh to the cost of electricity to make the technology effectively “invisible” to the consumer. To do that however, the cost of storage must come down to around 100/kWh – which he said was less than one-quarter of the best estimates to date. ARPA-e is focused on finding a technology that can deliver a “10 times” step change in costs. Interestingly, the new “giagawatt” battery manufacturing plant proposed by Tesla suggests it will bring down the cost of battery storage to below $150/MWh by 2017 Janice Li, a consultant with Strategem, and a member of the California Energy Storage Alliance (CESA), says energy storage will be a systemwide game changer, but the key lies not in the cost, but in the value to the grid, and the high renewable scenarios are the ones that create the most value. “Storage is much more cost-effective than the way we do things today,” she said. “It’s not just about cost, it’s about value, value, value.” The key, she said, was to reframe the markets that were not geared around the assumption that only fossil fuels could provide a response to demand changes. Energy storage was in fact faster and accurate in its response time, and in the US, market rules and tariffs are being drawn up to recognise and value that. “If you are fast, you get paid more. That is the value proposition for energy storage.” Li argued that in some areas, storage is commercially viable and funded on a merchant basis already. What is needed is long-term contracts to support the up-front cost of financing equipment.

"Renewables without storage are extremely variable and any offgrid application that seeks steady source of electricity has to have storage. Because of the costs, this is also the biggest commercial opportunity at the moment."

“It is clear that with the transformation of the global energy systems, wind and solar will be the two main pillars of these new systems,” said Professor Eicke Weber, the head of Germany’s Fraunhofer Solar Institute. “And to address that, we need to do something about storage. But it is the fastest growing sector and we will see big falls in costs.” But it may be that the cost – and value – are already at grid parity.

The Rocky Mountain Institute Perspective In a new report, the Rocky Mountain Institute, HOMER Energy, and CohnReznick Think Energy released The Economics of Grid Defection: When and where distributed solar generation plus storage competes with traditional utility service <http://www. rmi.org/electricity_grid_defection> . The report analyzes four possible scenarios across five different geogaphic regions in the US: a more conservative base case plus more aggressive cases that consider technology improvements with accelerated cost declines, investments in energy efficiency coupled with load management, and the combination of technology-driven cost declines, energy efficiency, and load management. Amazingly, the report’s authors say that the conclusions of even the base case are compelling, but the combined improvements scenario is especially so, since efficiency and load management reduce the required size of the system while technology improvements reduce the cost of that system, compounding cost declines and greatly accelerating grid parity. The results show that solar-plus-battery grid parity is here already or coming soon for a rapidly growing minority of utility customers. Grid parity exists today in Hawaii for commercial customers, and will rapidly expand to reach residential customers as early as 2022.

That means that grid parity for solar and storage will reach millions of additional residential and commercial customers in places like New York and California within a decade. Imagine that – households in New York and Los Angeles finding a compelling economic case to disconnect from the grid. The RMI-led report said that even before total grid defection becomes widely economic, utilities will see solar-plus-battery systems eat into their revenues. Factors such as customer desires for increased power reliability and low-carbon electricity generation are driving early adopters ahead of grid parity, including those installing smaller grid-dependent solar-plus-battery systems to help reduce demand charges, provide backup power, and yield other benefits. As we have seen in Australia with the results of incumbent generators deflated by the rapid uptake of rooftop solar, these early activities will likely accelerate the infamous utility death spiral—self-reinforcing upward price pressures, which make further selfgeneration or total defection economic faster. This seems to be the biggest economic and regulatory challenge for the grids. Because grid parity arrives within the 30-year economic life of typical utility power assets, RMI says the days are numbered for traditional utility business models. The “old” cost recovery model, based on kWh sales, by which utilities recover costs and an allowed market return on infrastructure investments will become obsolete. Utilities must re-think their current business model in order to retain customers and to capture the additional value that such distributed investments will bring.

Giles Parkinson is founding editor of Renew Economy www.reneweconomy.com.au

neweconomy Tracking the next industrial revolution

Driving sustainability

The greening of Melbourne City The path to solar power has been forged by the City of Melbourne which has established a failsafe financial scheme that could ring in changes to the tune of 1200 commercial solar installations. Scott Bocskay spoke to Nicola Card.

Targeting 1200 buildings for retrofits and in the process driving $2 billion of private sector reinvestment – predominantly in solar energy – and creating 8000 ‘green collar’ jobs are just some of the compelling figures involved in the large-scale, big picture transformation awaiting Melbourne city. Such is the vision of the Sustainable Melbourne Fund which, established by the City of Melbourne back in 2002, has itself undergone an upgrade by introducing the ambitious 1200 Buildings program. In nutshell it aims to slash 383,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually by widespread take-up of solar energy. The innovative 1200 Buildings program (so named for the potential reach) encourages businesses within the greater Melbourne area to turn the tables on air quality; collectively that sector generates 53 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions across the municipality The program kicked off late last year when the CoM hosted workshops for prospective customers, namely building owners and tenants, along with installers and product suppliers. “It was a full house, which reflected the level of increased awareness for commercial scale solar,” SMF CEO Scott Bocskay told Solar Progress. “And our modeling process demonstrates that our Environmental Upgrade Agreement is the best way to encourage and finance such projects.” Under legislation ‘environmental upgrade’ covers all aspects relating to energy efficiency from solar panels to water use, cooling towers, chillers, boilers and trigeneration systems. Many opportunities exist for building upgrades underpinned by a financial agreement.

Figuring it out An environmental upgrade agreement is a tripartite contract between a building owner, bank and the City of Melbourne. Once the retrofit works are rubber stamped, the bank/financier supplies the owner with the loan to fund the project. Loan repayments are collected by the City of Melbourne (vested with statutory power to collect rates, the council is effectively a collection agent) through a rates charge and passes the loan repayment back to the bank. Typical loan payback periods are seven years however the two EUA financiers (banks) signed up are offering loans up to 20 years, which renders the proposition cash flow positive for participants. Thus:

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Both 460 and 470 Collins Street in Melbourne CBD benefitted from the Sustainable Melbourne Fund which encourages retrofits in the bid to slash energy use and emissions. It’s just the tip of the iceberg in the ambitious but feasible 1200 buildings program designed to facilitate project financing.

• A repayment period of 10 years or more is available • The loan stays with the property should owners decide to sell, and * Participants have the option of sharing the retrofit cost with tenants The EUA is keen to encourage more lenders to sign up and generate a greater competitive financial landscape.

The 1200 Buildings program Bocskay explained the project had attracted much interest and that applications were being screened. However it could be some time before the first interested parties receive the green light. “We are in discussion with many groups, but it’s a long cycle taking from 12 to 24 months however the long term benefits are what matter most, and critical to that is the relative ease of accessing finance. “We commenced with commercial offers and city high rises are a logical place to start,” Bocskay explained. “Predominantly these are non residential, larger industry roofs. We are working with the industry steering developments, with the ‘pots of finance’ available for retrofits. Solar systems are likely to range from 30kW to 500kW and the largest could be 1MW, all up there is the potential for a massive 20MW solar injection. Staff are driving home the point too that retrofitting [solar panels] also future proofs against ever increasing utility bills. Bocskay emphasised that the EUA charge would be lower than outgoing utility bills over time therefore tenants could benefit the most under the arrangement. “Such as warehouses with commonly a single tenant … if they wanted solar energy they could approach the building owner about this and instead of paying the utility bill, pay the landlord the EUA charge. “EUA is a great way to fund it all as it is off the balance sheet for them. If they leave the building the charge stays with it, new tenants then pick it up … it’s a compelling argument for tenants in conjunction with their landlords to drive environmental upgrades and improvements to a building.”

Present and future targets We wondered if the target of 1200 commercial building was realistic. It turns out that figure represents about two thirds of the commercial stock; shadowing and available roof space rule out solar installations on some CBD buildings. “Challenges also relate to nature and ownership of the land, government owned buildings [ironically including CoM offices] are barred from participation as are universities, which under the Local Government Act do not pay rates,” Bocskay said. Expressions of interest have been received from owners of commercial buildings in proximity but who unluckily fall just outside the eligibility boundary – some by as frustratingly little as 12 metres. Enough to bar them from participation.

“It’s a compelling argument for tenants in conjunction with their landlords to drive environmental upgrades and improvements to a building."

But it’s not all bad news; budding interest in the proximity demonstrates the opportunity for program expansion. “And that is exactly what we are encouraging the Victorian government to do, because solar panels installations on big roof spaces presents a great opportunity. However the State government would need to pass legislation to enable more local councils to instigate EUAs.” According to Bocskay such a recommendation is contained in the lengthy ‘Plan Melbourne’ blueprint that ushers in widespread changes to the way we think about and use city spaces, mindful of the needs of future populations.

Setting a precedent Established back in 2002 the SMF has overseen $500,000 in loan funding directed toward sustainability projects, a notable example being a program of ‘Solar neighborhoods’ that transformed many residential rooftops. “Our experience with these [sustainability] projects shows that financial aspects involving access to capital are solved … it is now up to the community, industry and project managers to get on board and deliver these projects.”

Healthy projections A greenhouse alliance involving all Victoria’s local governments has allegedly identified the significant potential of EUAs and earmarked investments of around $4 billion, creating 18,000 jobs, many of which would be in the field of solar energy with 67 square kilometers of the state’s industrial roof space covered by solar panels. You heard right – 67 square kilometres. “There is a good reason for the government to change its policy. A great opportunity exists,” Bocskay said.

The Australian Solar Council is pleased to welcome the City of Melbourne as an Institutional Member. MORE INFORMATION http://www.sustainablemelbournefund.com.au/euf http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/1200buildings/Pages/Funding.aspx info@sustainablemelbournefund.com.au

SolarProgress | 31

Master project

Improving the Performance of Solar Concentrators through the use of both Direct and Diffuse Radiation On this page we gain insights into a Master’s project at RMIT University being undertaken by Michael Dewey. Solar concentrators can only collect direct solar radiation; hence, in climates that have a high level of diffuse radiation, concentrating systems do not perform optimally and are usually not viable. If solar concentrating systems are able to utilise diffuse radiation in addition to the direct radiation, their performance and viability will increase. The main questions guiding this investigation were how diffuse radiation can be utilised efficiently without impeding upon direct radiation concentration; what benefit would this play for solar concentrators; and in what circumstances would diffuse radiation play a large factor in the overall amount of energy collected by the concentrator. After examining a range of concentrating and collection methods, it was found that the most effective and efficient way to utilise diffuse radiation in a solar concentrator was through collecting it separately using an optical system comprising ball lenses. A concentrating system was designed that collects both direct and diffuse radiation, based on an array of ball lenses in a honeycomb arrangement. The design consists of ball lenses that focus direct radiation through a reflecting homogenizer onto a high efficiency receiver, in this case a multi-junction photovoltaic cell. A secondary receiver, in this case a conventional photovoltaic module, is then used to collect the diffuse radiation and a small fraction of the direct radiation that passes through the ball lenses.

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Optical simulation software This design was then evaluated, analysed and refined using optical simulation software. Once refined, the performance of the design was evaluated by computer simulation modelling in different climates. Finally, a proof of concept structure was fabricated in order to demonstrate the underlying principles and performance. The performance of the design was compared against four other conventional solar collection technologies (concentrating photovoltaic, two axis tracking photovoltaic, one axis tracking photovoltaic, and fixed photovoltaic systems). Simulations were conducted in three different climates in Australia: Melbourne – high diffuse radiation, Alice Springs – high direct radiation, and Darwin, high – diffuse radiation during the wet season. It was found that the ball lens system significantly outperformed all of the systems in Melbourne and Darwin, but only slightly outperformed the concentrating photovoltaic system in Alice Springs. In summary, diffuse radiation makes up a significant portion of the incident radiation in some climates and cannot be collected efficiently or effectively in conventional solar radiation concentrators. Through using the special ball lens-based concentrator designed at RMIT, diffuse radiation can be utilised effectively in addition to direct radiation in solar concentrators. If implemented in regions of high diffuse radiation, such a system could significantly outperform conventional photovoltaic and solar concentrating technologies and could lead to more efficient and widespread use of solar irradiation collectors.

Pathway to sustainability qualifications

Estimated annual energy production of proposed ball lens design and four other collection systems in Melbourne, Alice Springs, and Darwin

The Australian Solar Council is pleased to welcome RMIT to the fold as an Institutional Member.

Michael Dewey’s project is being carried out under a two-year program (or four years part-time) that provides a pathway for engineers and scientists, or those with equivalent experience, to gain a specialist postgraduate qualification in sustainable energy. The program focuses on developing professional capabilities to implement plans for improving energy efficiency in order to meet regulatory and other requirements; it also involves research, development, commercialisation, design, and evaluation of innovative sustainable energy supply, storage, and utilisation technologies. The program can be tailored to meet individual needs through case-study topics in a range of courses that can be selected to suit personal interests. The knowledge and experience gained will place graduates in a very competitive position to get jobs in local and international industries, as technical specialists, energy managers, project managers and consultants. Further information: www.rmit.edu.au/programs/mc229 Contact Dr Bahman Shabani on 03 9925 4353 or email bahman.shabani@ rmit.edu.au.

THE

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Storage solutions

Solar PV with battery backup – why bother? Glen Morris of SolarQuip surveys the solar storage scenario.

As an “old time” solar installer (built my first one in 1991), I never thought I’d see a market for battery storage systems for homes or business on the grid. Why bother: the grid is the ultimate battery. As a trainer of renewable energy installers – both on and off-grid – I’ve noticed a strong move from grid-connected training to battery storages systems connected to the grid. So why do on-grid homes want energy storage systems?

Because I can! We’ve had our first customer actually disconnect from the grid in preference of a $40,000 stand-alone system. Motivation - because they can! Faced with a decision whether to buy a new car or energy independence, they choose the later.

Because I want to use my own solar! In almost ever part of Australia, solar PV systems exporting to the grid get less for their exported energy than they buy electricity at. This rankles many customers to the point that they’d prefer to spend a whole lot on storage just to not “give away their solar”.

Because I want to save money on electricity! This group may be ahead of the cost/benefit curve but they’re willing to spend up on adding a storage system to their existing PV system – often as part of an upgrade – so that they can maximise their self consumption.

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Because I want energy security! For my company this was the first driver for battery backup systems connected to the grid. Customers who felt that power blackouts were an affront to their right to use energy or a risk to life and limb. Our first battery on-grid customer was frustrated with summer time blackouts due to an overloaded tourist filled suburb during the holidays. “I just want to come home from work and know that I can turn the air-conditioning on”. Our second on-grid with energy storage customer lost their home on Victoria’s Black Saturday fires. No power equals no water pressure for many rural homes. They wanted power to live in their shed till the house was rebuilt, then transition to having a “blackout proof” system. Only problem was when the first blackout did come – the inverter was off – left in this condition presumably by the smart meter installer! Is storage worth it? If you’re the “because I can” type then it’s always worth it. How many BMW owners have to justify their purchase based on cost effective travel. The “I want my solar” folk are a mixed bunch… some think it must be cheaper to store and use your own solar… others would like to stick their middle finger up to the electricity companies – maybe at their own expense – but it feels “worth it”. Customers looking for ways to reduce the cost of electricity and see solar PV captured during the day to be used at peak price periods during the evening need to really do their sums. Let’s run through a couple of scenarios.

Courtesy of Glen Morris, images on these pages illustrate off-grid PV storage

Storage can be costed just as PV generation can: total cost divided by the amount of energy produced and stored. Taking an off-the-shelf 20kWh per day usable storage system rated for seven years service to 50% depth of discharge and only cycled once per day, including battery inverter and battery cabinet. RRP price around $20k. Add say $2k for installation and call it $22k. Energy stored is 20kWh x 365 x 7 = 51,000kWh. Allowing for system losses: wire

and inverter losses of 10% then we can deliver back 51,000 x 0.9 = 45,900kWh. Cost of storage then is $20,000/45,900 = $0.44/kWh Additional is the losses when charging and discharging lead acid batteries, allow another 15% energy input to accommodate for these. You can cost this in to the generation side if you’re feeling kind. If we consider the cost of a 5kW PV system installed in NSW with no shading then the LCOE would be around $0.08-$0.14/kWh. Adding storage to this we’ve got a system that is maybe self using 30% of the solar energy during the day thus offsetting the cost of imported energy.

Case Study 1 – BAU with storage: If we costed imported electricity at a flat rate of $0.25/kWh then the daytime benefit of the 5kW PV system (annual averaged production of 20kWh/day) would be 20 x 0.3 x $0.25 = $1.50. Storing the other 70% of production would be costing 20 x 0.7 x $0.44 = $6.16. So the cost of our 20kWh of self generated energy is $6.16 + $1.50 = $7.66/20 = $0.38/kWh. Now this might seem a bit steep compared to just forgetting about the whole solar

power with storage concept, three factors can make this look a whole lot better: falling storage costs; rising electricity costs; and energy efficiency.

Case Study 2 – EE with storage: By switching to energy efficient (EE) lighting, replacing old inefficient white goods with new efficient ones (as their end of life is reached) and with some clever scheduling of loads to increase the amount of self consumed energy (delayed dishwasher/clothes washer) – significant energy demand reductions can be achieved and a smaller storage system to cover night time use. Lets say we halve the energy use from 20kWh per day to 10kWh per day (with one full day backup). Shift another 20% of the loads to day time use (direct solar power self consumption), and reduce the required PV array appropriately to 3kW and review the above costings. Energy stored is 10kWh x 365 x 7 x 0.9 = 23,000kWh. Cost of storage then is $12,650/23,000 = $0.55/kWh. Stored energy cost: 10kWh x 0.5 x $0.55 = $2.75. Selfconsumed solar energy cost: 10kWh x 0.5 x $0.25 = $1.25 LCOE of our 10kWh per day of self generated energy $2.75 + $1.25 = $4/10 = $0.40kWh. So maybe we’re not quite there yet in terms of adding storage to an existing PV system being cheaper than the grid… unless you’re paying more than 40cents/kWh for power in the evening. Note: these figures have been quoted from products currently available on the Australian market and assume 25% markup over wholesale.

Glen Morris of SolarQuip is a specialist in solar technology and renewable energy solutions. www.solarquip.com.au

Renewable Energy Promotion Fund (REPF) The Renewable Energy Promotion Fund (REPF) aims to promote the application or use of renewable energy through education, information, improved industry practices and proof-of-concept of new ideas. The Fund was reconstituted by the Australian Solar Council in 2013. To be eligible, projects must have: • Potential to promote the application or use of renewable energy (encompassing solar energy, wind, biomass, wave, tidal, geothermal energy, ocean currents and enabling technologies such as energy storage). • Prospective benefits that extend beyond the person(s) or organisation(s) to receive the funding. Applicants may be individuals, companies or organisations that are permanently residing or based in Australia. Projects must not meet commercial criteria that should enable the project to proceed without funding assistance. At the current time, the maximum funding for any project will be $10,000. As much as 50% of project costs may be paid “up front” upon approval of the project. Remaining funding will be paid upon provision of a final project report, summarising what has been achieved in the project and plans to implement or disseminate the results. The proportion of project funding contributed by REPF may vary from 50% to 100%. DONATIONS All donations to the fund above $2 are tax deductible. FURTHER INFORMATION Dr Martin Gellender, Chairman mgellend@bigpond.net.au

SolarProgress | 35

Special report: Insights and analysis

RENEWABLES On the following pages Steve Blume tracks the evolution of energy policies and drivers over recent decades and asks - are we on the verge of a step backwards? Will progress evade us? Read on for insights into the shaping of the landscape ... past, present and future

WHAT'S IN STORE? 36 | ISSUE 1 â&#x20AC;˘ 2014

Australia – the Backward Country

Back to the Future or Looking to the Future? In this extensive, thought-provoking and timely commentary, Steve Blume who is a long-time champion of renewable energy policy reflects on the political landscape that has helped forge the rise of renewables. And ponders the future. The plea I make in this article is that you must take personal action to retain first-rate policies for the solar industry and other renewables. That means supporting any party that supports solar and renewables by leaving the RET untouched: with a 41,000GWh by 2020 large scale target and uncapped for small scale. Or, as the Australian Solar Council says: Save Money, Save Solar!

A History Lesson Too few realise that Donald Horne’s title for his book A Lucky Country (1964) was ironical. The opening lines of his book should have given the hint: ‘Australia is a lucky country, run by secondrate people who share its luck,’ but in one of his last interviews when in his 80s he bemoaned the constancy of the misinterpretation and misuse, willful or otherwise, of the various observations in his best-seller1. Fast forward from the 60s and we see a Labor ad campaign, against a resurgent John Howard heading into his 1996 decisive win against the Keating Labor Government, called ‘Back to the Future’ and based on the 1985 movie of the same name2. Many would claim that the next 11 years demonstrated the truth of that allegory for the Howard government, but for the renewable energy industry a new path was forged under the Coalition Government. The Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) had been in place since April 2001 as a response to

the rising awareness of Climate Change and the impact on global warming of emissions from power generation. The government response to 2003 Tambling Review3 and what is today a remarkably prescient White Paper Securing Australia’s Energy Future4 , resulted in confirmation of the then 9500GWh target.

A clean energy target Following the election of a Labor Government new legislation in August 20095 created the Renewable Energy Target RET. No longer ‘mandatory, but with a mechanism that ensured a $65 MWh penalty for non-participation the market was able to drive the outcomes. This also entrenched a target of 45,000GWh by 2020. In

“It is hard to identify any other industry where public money so effectively leverages private investment with the private investor effectively carrying all the risk.”

2010 the RET was revised to set the large scale target at 41,000GWh and ‘at least 20 per cent’ and uncapping small scale renewables. The RET policy was totally bi-partisan having support of both Labor and the Coalition. It is interesting that the response of the fossil fuel generators to the MRET and then the RET target was their insistence and strong advocacy for the target to be based on generated clean energy output and their strident opposition to a percentage of the overall production in the market. The reason was simple, self-serving and anti-consumer – the estimates at the time were for a business as usual annual growth in demand of a little over 5 per cent. The consequence being that when a fixed output amount was extrapolated out to 2020 the percentage of the newly expanded market would be much less than 20 per cent. The loud and clamouring chorus we now hear is that we must have a ‘real 20per cent’ is for reasons no less self-serving and anti-consumer – demand has fallen by around 2 per cent a year for almost five years resulting in an effective reduction in demand on forecast of around 7 per cent annually! The reductions in demand are real and have been driven by the effectiveness of increased energy efficiency through improved products, consumer awareness and response to the market signal of rising prices and assisted by government energy efficiency policies and programs. SolarProgress | 37

Special report: Insights and analysis

“That great capacity to leverage private investment for a clean energy future is under threat if the RET review fiddles while the Earth burns.” Solar PV too has played a big role with the price drop of >80 per cent in three years coinciding with poorly designed Feed-in Tariff (FiT) schemes (most of which the Australian Solar Council unsuccessfully tried to have improved before implementation) boosting household take-up rate and system sizes. As the Council says: in just four years we have constructed a 3GW ‘Peoples Power Station’ using privately funded investment leveraged by the RET and various FiTs.

Power for the people This ‘People's Power Station’ will still be producing clean energy for at least 10 years and likely 15 years beyond the RET 15 year ‘deeming’ period – at no extra cost to the community and with no risk to the public purse.

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It is hard to identify any other industry where public money so effectively leverages private investment with the private investor effectively carrying all the risk. Of course those investors know that there is no great risk – they have chosen commercially available technology that when correctly installed is a long-term income producing asset. This is no different to those large corporates and governments who invested in and still own fossil fuel generating assets – except with solar and renewables the cost is able to be determined with certainty because there is no fuel cost, just capital, maintenance and depreciation. Fossil fuel generators face those same capital, maintenance and depreciation costs, but have to deal with a highly uncertain and volatile business future from their fuel input costs. That great capacity to leverage private investment for a clean energy future is under threat if the RET review fiddles while the Earth burns. That a major reason why the Australian Solar Council has issued its call to action. It is critical to accept that the primary reason for government support of serious and rapid deployment of solar and renewable technologies is the science of climate change, not simply business as usual industry development. Bi-partisanship has been a feature of the broader policy on climate change with both sides offering emissions reductions policies with similar 2020 reductions targets – the

differences hanging on the means of achieving reductions. But the climate change policies of the major parties federally have never fully been in line with what the science required as a political response. The Greens nationally and the Labor Government in the ACT are the only political parties having MPs in parliaments and policies that match the science. The IPPC 2007 Report, the Australiaspecific Garnaut report in 20086 and his 20117 updates made it clear that Australia’s emissions targets and actions were well below what was necessary to stay below a 2o rise in average surface temperature this century – itself not a ‘safe’ level, but set pragmatically as what might be achievable were suitable emissions reduction actions taken world-wide from 2010. Of course action has not been taken and it seems that we are close to being locked into a 2o rise as a minimum – with ice-melt, sea-level rise, increasingly volatile weather and all the social and economic disruptions that will come as a result.

Where are we now? Which brings me to Australia in 2014 and the RET Review. We have again both major federal parties claiming ‘bi-partisanship’, but as my mother used to tell me, ‘It’s not what they say that matters, it’s what they do!’. True, the RET review is required by legislation, but at the last review in 20128 the Solar Council called on that legislation to be amended to have periodic reviews at no less than four years, but although it accepted that submission the Labor Government failed to enact any changes9 . The Coalition Government elected in 2013 has acted swiftly to effectively diminish or remove altogether the major planks in Australia’s previously climate change response. Labor in Opposition since September 2013 has been all but silent on what Prime Minister Rudd once quite accurately called ‘The greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time’. The Greens have remained consistently supportive, but are marginalised from the mainstream – those who change their votes in an election. The rhetoric from the Prime Minister and other members of the Government have taken us ‘Back to the Future’ – drawing on recollections of a time last seen in the 1950 post-war period when there were no consequences for polluting our air, our water or our soil. Curiously, neither the PM nor any voter

Illustration credit: Kevin Schaffer

under 60 can have any personal understanding of that time – suggesting not so much pitch to the aging demographic profile of conservative voters, but a movie scenario – a call on nostalgia for ‘the good old days’. It is a great irony that the solution to a return to the ‘good old days’ of cheap and abundant energy and of Australia being an energy exporter, lies not in what we dig up and ship out, but in what energy we can capture from our natural solar resources, power from the wind, geothermal energy from the earth, tidal and hydro energy and at least some sustainable bio-energy.

Save Solar campaign Readers of Solar Progress will be well aware of the campaign by the Australian Solar Council to retain the RET – a massive effort by CEO John Grimes and his support team against formidable odds. Make no mistake – a substantive change to the RET will stall the solar industry at all levels and will have a similar impact on other renewable technologies too.

The RET cannot be supplanted by R&D funding, which in any case has been dramatically cut since 2103. The solar and wind industries world-wide and Australian success story has been due to deployment, deployment, deployment and learning by doing while creating long term jobs in the real economy. Research and development funding and programs are as important as ever, but acceptance of climate change science requires urgent and rapid action to deploy clean generating technologies. That means quickly transitioning those with existing grids into intelligent distributed energy grids and those without grids to using clean energy technologies as the first step not as a later one. Your Council’s ‘Save Money, Save Solar’ RET campaign is certainly driven by that old nag self-interest – not the self-interest of a few, but the self-interest of the many. The Council is fighting for the more than five million Australians who already have invested to get solar PV or hot water systems on their roofs,

but also for the vast majority of other Aussies who would love to invest too. There is a third and critically important group of Australians we are fighting for, those who more often than not have lower-incomes: people who rent or whose home or business premises are unsuitable for solar, but who should be able to get the cost saving benefits solar will bring them. This fight under the rubric of ‘Save Money, Save Solar’ is about the democratisation of energy and about consumer choice – the right of any consumer to purchase in the open market technologies which allow them the energy supply they want to run the services they wish to use. For solar PV this choice is increasingly being distorted by seemingly anti-competitive actions by electricity retailers and/or distributors10,11. That right to purchase applies also to the approximately 33 per cent of Australians who need large scale solar to be built – from community based farms of 200kW to 1 or 2MW as well as utility scale from 10MWW and larger. There is no case to try to assuage the householders and AMEs who want to invest SolarProgress | 39

Special report: Insights and analysis

adviser and private sector senior executive, policy creator, change management consultant, business manager and public servant continuing his lifelong commitment to a low-carbon 100% renewable energy world. Until recently Steve was the Senior Adviser Environment & Sustainable Development to Simon Corbell MLA, Minister for Environment & Sustainable Development in the ACT Government.

while killing the industry which can most effectively provide clean power now. The Council has provided information to support our RET position in this issue of Solar Progress in the form of easy to read infographics. As was said by US businessman Bernard Baruch, ‘Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts’ – although the simplicity aids presentation, the graphics are based on solid facts. Solar reduces power bills for those who have it and most importantly by 2016 the RET will reduce the cost of electricity for all consumers.12 Solar is an employment-creating industry with more than 18,500 now working in the industry. World wide and in Australia the solar industry has been growing at around 14per cent since 2008 – virtually the only industry doing so and at the highest rate. The Council’s position is simple – just the status quo – the retention of the 41,000GWh target by 2020 with uncapped small scale solar.

REFERENCES 1. http://www.smh.com.au/ articles/2005/09/08/1125772645916.html 2. http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/6421107 3. http://www.climatechange.gov.au/sites/climatechange/ files/files/mret-response-pdf.pdf 4. http://www.efa.com.au/Library/CthEnergyWhitePaper. pdf 5. http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/ display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22legislation%2Fbillhome% 2Fr4142%22 6. http://www.garnautreview.org.au/2008-review.html 7. http://www.garnautreview.org.au/update-2011/garnautreview-2011.html

Natural conclusions I finish with some reflections on the energy market. Around the world these highly regulated power generation and distribution environments are being challenged by market forces beyond the control of existing players. A business model which has lasted more than 100 years is being turned on its head. First, despite the ostrichlike denial of some, the world is demanding that a price be put on pollution and economies are doing so even where public policy is not in place to mandate that. Banks and insurers are internalising those costs despite an absence of national public leadership in some countries and the lack of any binding international agreements. The finance markets are talking decisive action to hedge and protect against what they assess to be real risks of climate change and the fossil fuel industry. The costs of renewables are already about one-fifth that of any nuclear power technology even if that were able to be deployed with the speed required to meet the emissions cuts the science demands. Those cost pressures are already seen in the competition for new generation in markets that have increasing demand – where for new generation capacity solar and wind compete head-on with gas and are cheaper than coal. Solutions with utility scale storage and systems for managing distributed supply to match demand are widely and successfully deployed, many by innovative Australian companies . At the household and SME level highly competitive 40 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

8. http://climatechangeauthority.gov.au/ret 9. http://climatechangeauthority.gov.au/sites/ climatechangeauthority.gov.au/files/files/Government %2Bresponse%2Bto%2BRET%2Breview%2B21%2BMarc h%2B2013.pdf 10.http://www.accc.gov.au/business/anti-competitivebehaviour/unconscionable-conduct 11. http://www.accc.gov.au/business/anti-competitivebehaviour/misuse-of-market-power 12. http://www.recagents.asn.au/wp-content/ uploads/2014/02/RAA-Impact-of-SRES-on-Power-pricesFinal.pdf

storage solutions are imminent, not five or ten years away, but under two years away with a cost to householders under 20c/kWh allowing plug and play time-shifting of their solar PV system output. The choices faced are simple and clear – make no changes to the RET and keep the system that has been working with great success, or turn Australia backwards and try to fight the clean energy tidal wave. If the latter then instead of being on top and surfing the inevitable clean energy economy that wave will crash over us anyway – and we will then pay much higher costs to try to catch the next wave.

Steve Blume is President of the Australian Solar Council and CEO Owner of NoCarbon which creates partnerships to plan and deliver large scale commercial and community solar and renewables projects. Steve is a former political

“The choices faced are simple and clear – make no changes to the RET and keep the system that has been working with great success, or turn Australia backwards and try to fight the clean energy tidal wave.”

Solar news and views

India turns

State of the

Healthy growth projected for Solar

Big numbers emanate from India, and in this instance we are looking at 26 million … which is the number of fossil-fuel-powered groundwater pumps the government aims to replace with solar-powered ones. The pumps are used by farmers throughout the country to pull in water for irrigation, and they currently rely on diesel generators or India’s fossil-fuel-reliant electrical grid for power. Irrigation pumps have now been identified as the single largest application for solar in the country. Small steps are also important, which brings us right back to a small community in the scenic rolling hills lying to the north of Melbourne …

The Queensland government is ditching the state’s 8c/kWh rooftop solar feed-in tariff at the end of June, leaving solar households with the challenge of negotiating a tariff with their electricity retailer. The move by the government – which will affect 40,000 households, and any new rooftop solar adopters – was expected, and was justified by claims it would “lift the cost burden” from electricity network businesses and put “downward pressure” on electricity prices for all Queenslanders. The State’s Energy Minister blames carbon tax and renewable energy targets for driving electricity prices “much higher than they should be [and that] left unchecked, the 8 cent feed-in tariff would cost Queensland households and businesses an extra $110 million on their power bills over the next six years,” We are uncertain if the Minister responded to questions about rising generation costs and network costs … The ACT solar scene appears more positive and progressive.

The latest Bloomberg prediction for the solar market is growth of 20%+ in 2014, taking installation levels to around 44.5 GW; just a smidgeon below the 46 GW forecast by Deutsche Bank. Tracking nations: Germany (for six years market leader) is expected to install 3.3 GW this year, while China is expected to install 12 GW or more, ahead of Japan’s 10.5 GW and the US’s anticipated 5 to 6 GW. Brazil, Chile, Thailand and Australia are also mentioned as “having made significant progress”. Market analysts state worldwide PV installations are set to rise by double digits in 2014, and on the back of that “solar manufacturing capital spending is recovering, module prices are stabilising and emerging markets are on the rise.”

to the sun

Community Climate Chest (C3) Residents in central Victoria have joined forces to launch a national green power and carbon offsets scheme that provides households and businesses with access to cheaper, taxdeductible green power and carbon offsets, while using the proceeds to back local environmental groups. Participants will make savings on standard GreenPower fees of 25 per cent to 50 per cent, thanks to the C3 scheme’s direct purchasing power, low administrative fees, the fact that GST does not apply, and the tax deductibility of donations. Involved in the co-op are the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group (MRSG), the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) and GreenPower provider ACXargyle.

nation

ACT’s

community solar program

WA Senate election In its Save Solar campaign the Australian Solar Council is urging Western Australians to vote to support solar.  “Solar saves money and creates jobs,” says CEO John Grimes.  “We hope WA will send a message for all Australian’s that the Renewable Energy Target needs to stay so more households can invest in the solar advantage.”  The key message in the campaign that targets families, young people and pensioners could not be clearer:  “The current policy – the Renewable Energy Target – gives everyone access to affordable roof-top solar so they can save on average half their power bill … these saving can make a real difference to the quality of life of Australians … Everyone has the right to take advantage of solar savings.”

In early March Canberrans were provided with a new opportunity to invest in solar power under a community solar feed-in tariff (FiT) from the ACT Government which provides opportunities to people – namely renters and people living in flats and apartments – who were unable to take part in previous feed-in tariff programs. Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Simon Corbell explained that the new Canberra Community Solar initiative will allow households to pool their resources to develop new large-scale solar installations, with a guaranteed income stream; the FiT under the initiative being up to 20 cents per kilowatt hour for 20 years. This is slightly higher than the nation leading price achieved by successful proponents in the Government's successful largescale Solar Auction conducted in 2012-13. "Eighty-one per cent of Canberrans surveyed in 2013 wanted this government to show leadership when tackling climate change; this initiative will assist the community to take ownership of building a stronger, sustainable Canberra,” Corbell said. SolarProgress | 41

Images (l to r): Kings Canyon inverter replacement; Uterne at Alice Springs

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Si’s clean energy agenda – past and future Back in the ‘80s Peter Bulanyi foresaw a cleaner and greener alternative to fossilpowered energy. As the solar pioneer’s interest grew so did his local electronics business evolve and today his company Si Clean Energy is at the forefront of advances - including ‘the next big thing’. Peter Bulanyi spoke to Nicola Card.

Curiosity may have troubled a certain cat, but it drives the business for Peter Bulanyi of Si Clean Energy, who thrives on an eternal quest for knowledge. Of course it takes a fair bit more than an inquisitive mind to build a prosperous and successful business, and happily that character trait is complemented by technical mastery and strategic marketing. Together these have propelled Si’s stellar trajectory as an installer, distributor and manufacturer of solar energy products. Under its belt is a vast array of both grid-connect and off-grid solar installations; commercial projects include the 30kW system installed at Wooli Bowling Club, 60kW North Beach Bowling Club and 136kW PV roof top system powering the Coffs Harbor Council library. Among the larger projects was the integration of a unique hybrid inverter technology into the existing 220kW system at Kings Canyon. For this they deployed two 125kW central inverters with thirteen distributed Multi MPPT DC-DC converters. “The system was originally installed back in 2002 with 33kW string inverters but the owners wanted to trial a central inverter system, and this posed enormous design challenges,” Peter Bulanyi told Solar Progress. “Finding a central inverter system that would efficiently work as a replacement for the low DC voltage string inverters was a challenge, but we succeeded.” Si Clean Energy subsequently supplied and installed two 500kW central inverters and commissioned the entire 1MW Uterne Solar City installation in Alice Springs, which remains the company’s proudest achievement to date.

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“As we gently engaged all the solar panel DC circuits, it was very exciting knowing that no one in Australia had ever switched at first, approximately 500kW, and then 1MW of PV on and off and ramped so much PV power up and down for performance tests in that way,” Bulanyi said. “We had to work it out for ourselves, create the method and execute under the all too usual extreme contractual pressure and all in the intrigued – but positive – presence of the acceptance inspector from the utility!”

Inquisitive nature spawns success Underlying technical competence is a strong inquisitive streak, as explained by Bulanyi: “Curiosity is in our DNA. We want to know what is inside the box, down to the very last transistor. We want to understand how the equipment we sell works, how it is installed, how it is programmed and how it is applied to PV systems for the best yield. The information we gain from this puts us in a unique position in terms of product knowledge and technical support capability. That is our strength. This helps us to help our customers when it comes to sales, service, repairs, consultation, or advice. “We can’t claim to know everything about solar power and solar inverters and we never will, and it is that ongoing challenge that attracts us to this industry. As soon as one technology is commercialised, another is invented. We therefore remain in a perpetual state of engineering curiosity, building the future based on the accumulated knowledge from the past and present. “Innovative and creative engineering is the bridge to the future.”

To this end Si has invested heavily in highly advanced inverter testing equipment from the US, Japan and Europe, which enables the team to put its collective curiosity to the fore and assess performance of potential sales products: quality of the electronic components, the mechanical layout and heat dissipation strategy. Feedback to manufacturers is often incorporated in subsequent technical improvements and revisions. Impressive achievements by any measure, however Si Clean Energy’s success did not arrive overnight; it was a long hard slog for little money over many years that demanded patience and perseverance in bucket loads. Despite his resilient nature, solar pioneer Bulanyi once even considered a career change.

A pioneering spirit Let’s step back to the late ‘80s when the Bulanyi family – Peter, Lee and their two young sons – lived in the remote northern NSW tablelands; their recently purchased farm home, powered by an old, noisy and sooty diesel generator situated at the rather unfortunate proximity of just two metres from the back door. Something less than idyllic.

A sympathetic neighbor eventually donated a welcome alternative in the form of a single solar panel, DC light and battery that transformed the household. It was not Bulanyi’s first encounter with solar energy; five years earlier when working in the field of remote telecommunications in the Pilbara he encountered two RFI* sales representatives selling solar panels, literally from the back of the ute. “Check this out” they said, pointing to a 35 Watt solar panel. It was the mid-eighties when solar energy was very much a fledgling, carving its early path primarily through remote telecommunications applications. Bulanyi later found himself at Coffs Harbour where he established a TV and video electronics repair business, however the occasional customer started bringing in faulty off-grid inverters, which set the business on a new path, with a new name: Solar Inverter Services. Inverter repairs and technical support provided the springboard for the sale of inverters and solar panels, followed by the design, supply and installation of complete off-grid systems. Business was very modest and never in any great volume. “For eight years during the nineties we were quoting on PV installations but rejection was the norm, few if any, took it up,” said Bulanyi, commenting that back then a one kW rooftop PV system carried a price tag of $15,000, and double that for off-grid systems. With no government support, it was a very unattractive proposition. “At one point around 2001, I even contemplated leaving the solar work to join Lee’s burgeoning real estate career as her assistant. However grid-connect solar technology advances coupled with political and a broad community turnaround towards solar power helped change all that.”

Community sees the light Bulanyi marks 2003 as the turning point, with community acceptance of solar energy triggered by a growing awareness of climate change as a

number of environmental “visionaries” became more vocal. By 2005 his business was bustling with strong demand for PV installations and servicing, and company diversification into imports and wholesale distribution of gridconnect inverters and other renewable energy products. The time was right to promote industry awareness of Solar Inverter Services and so, with an already impressive résumé of diverse and profitable ventures in her own right, marketing professional Lee Bulanyi took on the role. Developing a string of unique strategies, she remains instrumental in targeted marketing campaigns and maintaining the company’s high profile with printed, online, multi-media materials and trade exhibitions.

Scope of business Today the 100 percent family owned and operated business employs 37 staff across five business divisions: wholesale (distributing products including Power-One Aurora, SMA and Ingeteam inverters), retail, service, projects, and manufacturing a range of products including offgrid inverters, energy management monitoring equipment and solar charge regulators. The most recent addition to the Si family is their Blue Series off-grid inverters which were originally designed and manufactured by Selectronic for deployment in harsh conditions: “Marine, mining, cattle stations, hot, cold, dry, wet, you name it, and they are well suited to developing countries where owning and operating conventional petrol generators is as much a liability as an asset” explained Bulanyi, adding that his team is further developing the Blue Series range which starts at 200 watts and extends up to 3.6 kW. “The theme of our business is constant improvement and we continue to increase the efficiency and performance of our Blue Series inverters. We can never be idle and accept the status quo – that is what defines a pioneering company.” Which brings us to another pioneering Si venture, and the next big thing in renewable

energy – Electric Vehicles charged by the sun’s clean and abundant output. Si Clean Energy has invested significantly in EV charger manufacturer Ingeteam’s product the IngeREV, Mr. Bulanyi tapping into the direction now being steered by many car companies. “Conventional vehicle manufacturers are now introducing EV technology … if customers can “refuel” a car for eight dollars rather than $120, then that is the future,” he said. “EVs are coming and before too long it is clear they will become ubiquitous. Our EV charger partner, Spanish based Ingeteam is the one to watch, a great company achieving practical, reliable and safe outcomes in this field. New model Electric Vehicles to replace petrol and diesel models are on the way, and it is my belief that it is our industry’s duty to ensure they are refueled with non-polluting clean energy.” Reassuring words from a man who foresaw the rise of clean, renewable solar energy more than three decades ago. www.sicleanenergy.com.au *Solar Progress has tracked down solar visionary Stephen Jaques who back in the 80s founded RFI, the 100 percent owned Australian company that from its small genesis has evolved into a national entity employing a staff of 200. All thanks to those old utes crisscrossing the dusty tracks of the outback.

Hats off to solar pioneers: but where are they now? Among the list of ‘first generation solar entrepreneurs’ are David Christmas (‘DC’), Dave Lambert, Brian England, Sandy Pulsford (from SA), Peter Pedals (of Rainbow Power), and Jock Howard. Solar Progress will attempt to track down each of these to learn about their successes over recent decades.

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Homegrown solar inspiration and innovation Some companies pack a punch in innovation, and with its unique range of homegrown products Mackay based Linked Group Services clearly fits that category. Here company director Jason Sharam sheds light on product development and his plans for commercialisation. By Nicola Card. A 'light globe' moment generally heralds a bright idea but in the case of Jason Sharam of Linked Group Services the metaphor turned literal when he hit on the idea for a solar powered remote controlled mobile lighting plant. The time was right, he felt, for an improvement on existing diesel guzzling models that are noisy, polluting, require constant refueling and maintenance and labor intensive. “I thought why not design a stand alone light tower that we could run off solar panels and communicate with remotely, and that pretty much set the precedent for what we needed to build,” Sharam told Solar Progress “We looked at models on the market but nothing suited all the criteria. Our main task was to make the mobile plants manageable and the in-build possible, knowing the trailer would need to accommodate at least six modules on a titled array. That’s quite a large and cumbersome piece of equipment to move and set up; we needed to make it smaller so the first thing we thought of was installing a single axis tracker.”

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Step one was sorted (and the tracker technology subsequently patented); the next challenge centred on the logistics of communication. The solution lay in a PLC – programmable logical controller – that communicates with a satellite module, which in turn communicates with a server accessible from any desktop computer. The PLC successfully controls functions: turning lighting on and off, mast lifting, and east-west module tracking. Once set up and turned on to “auto” the array links to the satellite to check time of day and accordingly angle the panels towards the sun. Well, they did emphasise remote control …

Tech Specs Lighting consists of four 70w Raylux Fusions that have performed well in trials but the industrious LGS team is keen to record lux levels and generate their own isometrics (light output levels). The modules currently used are Suntech 280W but these will soon to be replaced by Yingli 320W modules.

“Australia’s manufacturing sector has been hard hit but I believe the niche, high end market is probably where Australians can still make ground.” For its part the mast is cable driven via a Linak linear actuator and the array uses a Kinematics slew drive. The unit is powered by Battery Energy Sungels but a LiFePO4 solution is being considered. Charge control is taken care of with a Plasmatronics PL40 due to its robust nature and Australian manufacture. Voilá – LGS has created a self sufficient solar powered, satellite communications enabled portable device that can be used for lighting, power generation and surveillance applications. A device that would not look out of place next to lunar rover Jade Rabbit. Maybe. Although the lighting tower is still in prototype format, LGS has received substantial interest from those involved in marine related applications and has fielded inquiries for rigging up dust motoring devices atop the mast. Potential applications are many and varied but topping the list is roadworks and open-cut mining. Clients will be pleased to know that an app is also on the drawing board, with controls at the tap of a tablet. The next step is to determine the best commercialisation option: self-manufacture or sub-contract out, and from there become sales company or distribute via others, just some of the many decisions to be made.

Habitable dwelling In common with the lighting tower, Sharam’s decision to develop a stand-alone solar powered accommodation unit arose from a perceived gap in the market: an observation based on the company’s significant involvement in the mining and resources sector.

As explained by Sharam: “The Galilee basin for example houses drilling personnel and we were plugging up generators into transportable buildings and hooking up all sorts of electrical supplies necessary to maintain these remote camps. We thought why not develop a self-sufficient building that could be dropped at the required location and immediately used.“ Fast forward to today and as seen in the image on the left the vision has materialised in the form of the solar powered one- or two bedroom Habitat complete with en-suite and kitchenette. Deliverable by tilt tray and catering for a niche market, the unit can also be used as an office block, crib room or safety centre. “Australia’s manufacturing sector has been hard hit but I believe the niche, high end market is probably where Australians can still make ground,” Sharam said.

emphasises the benefits and attractions to those with remote blocks and prohibitive connection costs. The Habitat – which is still in prototype stages – will be showcased at the Queensland Mining Exhibition in May and “once all ducks are in a row” additional marketing efforts targeting mining markets and customers will get underway.

Tech Specs

Linked Solar Isolator

Measuring 3.2 by 7.2 metres, the Habitat features a 3.5 kW solar array and 36kWh per hour battery bank; 3000 litre water storage tank along with grey and black tanks supplying enough for three weeks’ worth of showers; and energy efficient hot water and air-conditioning. “With our daisy chain ability service intervals for water and sewage are increased and also allows a sharing of electricity generation and storage throughout all camp, crib or office layouts,” Sharam explained. The self-sufficient unit can also be installed in metropolitan areas and plugged into mains power and sewerage, however Sharam

We return to Australia to complete the solar snapshot – LGS’s plug-and-play Isolator that has found a ready market. The Isolator with its 304 grade Stainless Steel Cover is designed to protect against UV radiation and water ingress thus extend the life of rooftop isolators. What makes this product unique is the rear placement of MC4 converters, with connections beneath the panel and a full stainless steel panel covering both ends. That means just the face of the isolator is exposed to the weather. “The Linked Isolator is particularly useful in tropical Queensland but the main advantage is the plug-and-play element,” Sharam said. “We at LGS deliver that under quality control, which provides peace of mind over its longevity. That and the time saving on installation are the main benefits.” Linked Group Services was awarded “Innovative Product of the Year” for the Linked Isolator at the North Queensland Master Electrician Excellence Awards in 2013. www.linked.net.au

Power to the Solomons LGS activities extend to philanthropic pursuits. Joining forces with Rotary in 2012, LGS delivered a 1.5 kW solar powered generation system, lights and computer to a small school in a remote part of the Solomon Islands. Goods valued at around $6500 and designed to last up to 15 years include: LATronics inverter, Morning Star Charge Controller/ Ningbo Qixin Solar Modules and the Apollo battery

DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY Established by Jason Sharam and long-term business colleague Peter Shaw just four years ago, LGS soon carved a market presence in the energy and resources sector but underpinning their company agenda is environmental sustainability and a determination to reduce the carbon footprint. Solar energy related products represent about 30 percent of turnover in the electrical services company that employs 30 with core capabilities in electrical, solar and fabrication services, however refrigeration, infrared thermography, fibre-optic installation and testing are carried out by the business whose customers include the mining and resources, construction, agricultural and government sectors.

SolarProgress | 45

Book review

Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change The newly released book written by Dr Mark Diesendorf, with a foreword by Professor Ian Lowe. Review by Bill Parker. If you are interested in the future of sustainable energy you should buy this book. If you are interested in having to hand a compendium of facts and figures about how our future energy production and use might be, you should buy this book. Then, if you are at a social function and the argument starts about “solar doesn’t work at night” or “wind is too intermittent”, you can refute the old chestnuts. You will never destroy myths that easily, but here at least you’ll have the facts. Here are three hundred and fifty pages that cover basic concepts, which technologies are sustainable and the politics of energy and the transition where we are just at the verge of getting very serious. The target audience is wide and if you are not familiar with how solar hot water systems work, the details are here. Or at another extreme, there is a detailed analysis of nuclear power from the science to the politics and economics. In our day-to-day reality we do not see much in–depth discussion of the details of how our energy production methods (whether fossil fuel driven or solar) actually produce electricity and how they are managed. Diesendorf provides a useful summary of conventional power stations and their operation and introduces “intermittent” renewable energy sources (author’s italics) and the challenge of their incorporation into the mix. The three myths of renewable energy: too diffuse, too unreliable, and too expensive are systematically debunked. Turning to examining which RE technologies are sustainable, the next chapter starts on a different track. Saving energy. Obviously using less energy saves money, both privately and publicly as well as contributing to protecting the environment. But it is not so easy and several barriers to implementing energy efficiency policies and counter actions are discussed. Then, plunging into renewable energy technology impacts, the demonization of solar and wind are front and centre. And what comes next is what rarely gets a mention 46 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

– the EROI (energy return on investment). There is not much point in making a fine quality biodiesel if it costs more in energy terms to make than the energy it delivers. But as ever, there is more in the detail. Yet we do not bother with this level of analysis in policy terms argues Diesendorf. Nuclear energy gets a thorough critique, and it is refreshing to see a physicist start this discussion with a disclosure statement. However, the author’s conclusions are straightforward – too dangerous, too expensive and too slow to have any effect on global warming. Transport is scrutinised, and particularly urban transport. Motor vehicles, once a valuable servant, are now are serious problem. Again, it might be helpful to use them less. The rest of the book (about a third) is devoted to policies, strategies and politics. And in the introductory summary, Senator Christine Milne is quoted: “We are now in the midst of a fight between the past and the future.” Mark Diesendorf is to be commended on producing this valuable reference book. Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change By Mark Diesendorf UNSW Press ISBN 9781742233901

The Ultimate Guide to Sustainable Homes… just got better The latest edition of Your Home, Australia’s most comprehensive consumer guide and technical manual for sustainable homes, was recently released by the Department of Industry. The fifth edition of Your Home has been extensively updated with new information, and is a great resource for homeowners, designers and builders alike.The publication delivers practical and comprehensive information about environmentally sustainable design and building to both homeowners and the building industry. Tips featured in the fifth edition of Your Home include: • How to design a house that reduces the need for artificial heating or cooling • Installing solar electricity and hot water systems • How to save money with good insulation, appropriate window types and placement, and low energy lighting • How to reduce water usage; and • How to design a garden to reduce water use and home running costs. Your Home includes user-friendly step-by-step guides for consumers who want to renovate or build an energy-efficient home; as well as indepth technical information. Your Home is a great place to start if you’re interested in designing, buying, building or renovating a truly sustainable and energy efficient dwelling. Visit www.yourhome.gov.au to find the fifth edition of Your Home. The book can be ordered from the website for $35 plus delivery. Downloadable PDFs of the publication are also available for free via the website, or you can read it online. For more information email: yourhome@industry.gov.au

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Study tour

Yingli Green Energy on show In the last issue of Solar Progress we gained an overview of the Yingli sponsored ASC study tour to China which took in a visit to Yingli’s manufacturing facilities as well as those of BYD and Hareon Solar. Here we take a closer took at the operations of major trip sponsor Yingli Green Energy. By Nicola Card. Fact: The Chinese are now the largest consumers of solar panels in the world and recently upgraded their 2014 target to 14GW. Of this, 6GW is targeted for utility scale and 8GW for distributed generation. Large numbers on the back of China posting a record 12GW of solar power installations during 2013. Behind those mighty figures are some mighty PV manufacturers, among the largest Hareon Solar, BYD and Yingli Green Energy who between them employ more than 200,000 people. (Roughly the same as the entire population of Hobart.) As Wayne Smith of Clean Economy Services noted, “These are the companies that will change the lives of

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Australians … transform (our) use of energy in ways we are only beginning to imagine.” Late last year, Yingli, which is recognised as the world’s largest PV manufacturer, invited a group of Australian Solar Council delegates to tour its facilities in China to gain a better idea of the scope of its operations. And so among the 350,000 Australian visitors to China last year were 14 Australian solar specialists on a mission to learn more about the burgeoning role of solar energy. And as Managing Director of Yingli Green Energy Australia Daman Cole said, the trip was important as it enabled Australian businesses to better understand the differences between manufacturers.

“Much of our industry has been educated on the facts and glossy brochures, and a tour to the actual manufacturing facilities provided a level of detail and quality that can only be seen by being there,” he commented, and went on to describe the key benefits for delegates being the chance to understand what’s important in choosing solar equipment, with a view to getting better outcomes and outputs from solar systems. “In this case by visiting the factories, the differences in quality of manufacturing are starkly illustrated so that delegates can understand how a quality solar panel is put together,” he said. “And why and how quality control, innovation, vertical integration and using panels from a Tier

and management expertise, having worked for Phoenix Solar in Germany and Australia and with Origin Energy, First Solar and Mark Group.

Comments by tour participants

1 manufacturer make a real difference to the end solar solution, particularly given the 25+ year lifespan of solar panels.” At the same time the tour enabled Yingli “to present ourselves transparently. Both from the perspective of manufacturing quality, size and scale; and also to present our values and attitude towards the attributes which have helped us achieve the world’s number one status. “Although marketing teams work diligently to build a brand and the comfort which sits around it, a tour to a factory has everything on display, it’s unashamedly raw and real and provides a level of insight from a cultural and technological perspective, which is not shared as openly in the Australian market,” he said. Cole added that Yingli demonstrated its commitment to Australia by establishing a Sydney office in August 2013 and employing six local staff. The most recent addition is industry veteran Christian Bindel who was appointed Technical Manager, overseeing technical product support, warranty, product maintenance and engineering standards in the Oceania region of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands. Bindel brings 15 years of solar engineering

Energy Makeovers Director Roy Zandona who confessed to having limited knowledge of the brand prior to the trip remarked after visiting Yingli’s manufacturing facility “It then became apparent why Yingli is considered Tier 1 … representation at the factory and local representation is very professional and partnership driven.” Managing Director of Linked Group Services Jason Sharam who also previously had little exposure to the Yingli brand was likewise “Very impressed by the high level of manufacturing process and quality control … witnessed in the manufacturing plant… (also) by the story of the company’s origins and how it has achieved its market position to date.” He also commented favorably on the company’s focus and vision for future.” Prior to the trip Solar Inception founder and director Doug Fletcher recognised Yingli as the largest player in terms of supply, and classed as a Chinese Tier 1, but only knew the company for its PV products. After reviewing company statements Fletcher concluded that the company is “a survivor for the long term … with (no) doubts around its size and technical abilities.” He stressed the importance of the company’s Australian based warranties for his business Solar Inception. Geoff Lobban of Design Ecology stated “Prior to visiting the Yingli factory, I had the view that Yingli was one of the better brands in terms of quality. That view has only been strengthened since the visit. I also knew that Yingli had BIPV products but didn't know how to follow them up as no one seems to be stocking them or know anything about them.” Cameron Munro who is EnviroGroup CEO was struck by Yingli’s spotlessly clean, dirt-free manufacturing facilities and visitors and staff

“requiring not just the usual hair nets and gowns but also being blasted with air to clean any loose dirt particles from their clothing and bodies”. He added that on exit visitors walk over sticky mats to clean shoe soles. Munro noted too the high level of manufacturing automation and standardisation … fully robotic processes for cell placement, infrared soldering, framing and joining. And Yingli’s “complete vertical integration … manufacturing Polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells and then module assembly on the same site”. www.yinglisolar.com.au

Technical advances: solar panel efficiency Late last year Yingli announced its cell efficiency roadmap to 2020 which includes higher cell efficiency targets for commercial-scale production of multicrystalline cells compared to previous guidance. Yingli in 2009 achieved cell conversion rates of 16.2% and in 2010 reached 16.5%, followed in 2011 by 17.0%. Yingli has now tracked commercial-scale p-type multicrystalline cell efficiencies from 17.6% in 2013 to 19% in 2020. Behind these and other technical leaps is Yingli Green’s R&D team of 1464; cumulative patents reached 734 in 2013, with 1121 applied for and pending.

The images on these pages illustrate the scope of Yingli Green Energy's operations, as seen first hand by more than a dozen ASC delegates.

SolarProgress | 49

Driving sustainability

New Building Chapter Spreading the good word about low energy housing is retired builder Phil Little, who is garnering support among like-minded people to meet, share ideas and progress the concept.

As many readers will know, the Australian Solar Council is encouraging specialist groups to form chapters without being in specific geographic locations. The theme of this new chapter is building low energy housing in small community groupings. The possibility now exists of building homes that form autonomous communities that are not reliant on expensive infrastructure. The rising costs of infrastructure are making homes less affordable and giving home-owners impossible mortgage burdens. Having each home in a subdivision connected to electricity, water and waste-water services may not necessary, with each home being partially or totally independent. The possibility of selling surplus PV generated electricity from a group of homes now exists or is close to reality via storage. “Designed for solar gain and more” This layout provides 96 homes and a community centre and shop. All homes would enjoy excellent solar gain with all the benefits.

“As designed”. No optimisation of solar gain. Within red line, blocks are too narrow and permit no angular adjustment of house to block. Blocks within green line permit a limited degree of solar orientation assuming houses are angled to face north (and also assumes one builder to achieve the orientation). Houses in pale blue area would be solar ineffective. Houses in solid red are doubly disadvantaged with garage on street side. In total, 9 blocks of the 80 are really suitable to take advantage of solar gain.

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The images left and above show a planning example taken from Derek Wrigley’s 2007 book Climate Change Needs Housing Change.Published by Nature and Society Forum ISBN 095867468 www.natsoc.org.au The chapter is the brainchild of retired builder Phil Little who is based in Queensland. Phil has been promoting the idea to organisations such as the HIA and the MBA who are enthusiastic about the concepts. He has also pioneered ideas such as a revolving house that is always tracking the sun, and of methods of building that are far more efficient than current methods. By using a factory approach, home components can be produced and delivered to site for erection and finishing. The late David Oppenheim won a housing competition in WA with a modular home for the Broome region. The concept was to build components in the wet season and erect in the dry. Needless to say, all such designs would be for passive solar function. As readers will know, one of the major barriers to building passive solar housing as the “norm” is the design of street layouts. One idea the chapter is keen to explore is to offer short training courses via the ASC to town planners and building designers that will impart the scientific knowledge of solar design for the house and the streets as well as aspects of PV and energy storage. * If you are interested joining the chapter or sharing ideas, contact Phil Little on 0424 055 960 or by email: phil.little.design@gmail.com

ASC’s Chapter reports and activities Melbourne Central

Sydney Central

Chapter

In mid March the Melbourne Chapter kicked off in grand style with a healthy turnout of solar devotees turning up for a Bosch presentation introduced by Frederik Troester who heads up the new Bosch Power Tec operations. Fred passed the baton to Technical Service Engineer Matthew Argyropoulos who outlined Bosch Power Tec’s development and sale of electronic power components for renewable energies. Among them, the newly developed string inverters of the BPT-S series with touchless gesture control, RFID-card operated set-up and innovative LED status display concept. Also covered was Bosch Power Tec’s new BPT-S 5 fully integrated Hybrid energy storage system designed to increase owner consumption of locally generated PV power to as much as 75%. Future Directions Guest Speaker Gary Riddell of Rainbow Solar complemented the Bosch presentation. Gary told the group how company founder Abhi Sharma ‘morphed’ from city restaurateur to Managing Director of the successful solar energy installation company, which among its 5000 projects has completed work on and off-grid in India and Sri Lanka. Once again the Melbourne Chapter enjoyed the generous catering provisions of Rainbow Solar, coordinated by Abhi Sharma.

Convenor Noel Barton wrote that the program of activities commenced in 2014 with a talk by Jürgen Peterseim of the University of Technology, Sydney, entitled Hybridisation of CSP Plants with Nonconventional Fuels. The talk was based on Jurgen’s near-complete PhD thesis at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures, in which he systematically investigated the potential for hybrid CSP in Australia. We often hear about the brain drain from Australia, but here is an excellent counter-example, of brain gain if you will, with a first-rate German-educated engineer now resident in Australia. Our Future Directions presenter was UNSW undergraduate Nicholas Thomson (photographed), with a terrific talk on his hopes and aspirations for a better society. The essence of his carefully prepared address will appear in the next edition of Solar Progress. Other speakers confirmed for 2014 include Glen Morris, Vice President of the Australian Solar Council, Shannon Everley of Sungevity, and Amanda McKenzie and Andrew Stock of the Climate Commission. One further activity in our plans is to have a display stall at a half-day Renewable Energy Symposium at UNSW on Tuesday 15 April. Speakers at this event include Amanda McKenzie, Keith Lovegrove, Ketan Joshi, Muriel Watt, Steve Schuck, Iain MacGill and Mark Diesendorf. Certainly a starstudded line-up, and a good opportunity to promote the good works of the Australian Solar Council!

COMMITTEE EXPANSION The Melbourne Chapter welcomes two new volunteers to the committee to assist in planning branch activities: Frank D'Amico of Frank D'Amico Consulting (past CEC officer) and Lyle De Sousa, Lawyer & Engineer. They join committee members Paul Scerri, Nicola Card, Fowzi Dahan, Andrew Wilson and Russell French. Next meeting: Wednesday April 9. Stay tuned for news of the guest speakers. Note: The Melbourne Chapter is on the look out for more great presentations. Do you have an interesting story or innovative project to relay to the solar assembly? If so please email Nicola.card33@gmail.com

Perth Central Chapter During February and March the Perth Central Chapter had to contend with the all-important Senate re-election. It was a busy time for the committee, particularly for chapter convener Travis Hargreaves who runs a bustling PV installation business. As the election date grew close the strength of the campaign grew, with Travis spending most of his time on the phone organising meetings. The committee held one meeting earlier in the year and decided in general that the chapter would promote shared gatherings with the Sustainable Energy Network and other like bodies to enable solar presentations to reach a wider audience. Once the senate election is over, efforts will be made to co-ordinate a timetable of future meetings and possible site visits. SolarProgress | 51

Solar products services

SOLAR PROGRESS ADVERTISERS’ SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

Use your PV Solar Power day AND night Bosch brings its innovative li-ion integrated storage system and brand-new string inverters to Australia. What if you could use your solar power late into the night? The Bosch BPT-S 5 Hybrid stores the electricity generated by the photovoltaic system during the day and feeds it into the household network when it is needed – even during the night. The storage unit can provide more than 75 percent of a household’s total consumption – and even more during bright, sunny summer months! The use of the BPT-S 5 Hybrid means real independence with self-produced solar energy. Bosch Power Tec’s fully integrated energy management systems are designed to increase own- consumption of locally generated PV power. The BPT-S 5 Hybrid is a combination of a transformerless 5 kW inverter, a lithium-ion battery with a capacity from 4.4 kWh up to 13.2 kWh and a management system with a colour touch screen display. Safety – peace of mind at home A safety certification for the full system and the use of industry proven and reliable components provides highest peace of mind. The BPT-S 5 Hybrid is entirely component certified with particular attention paid to the safety of the batteries. The innovative software for monitoring of each individual battery and the high quality construction of cell casing make this system unique in terms of safety. The highly efficient lithium ion batteries have already been in use in aircraft and vehicle manufacturing for years. Sub-sub head: New String Inverters – Gesture control, RFID card set-up and intuitive status LED concept In addition to its energy storage system, Bosch Power Tec in 2014 is bringing its new string inverters to the market. The BPT-S string inverter series will set new standards in terms of ease of use and analysis opportunities. Features like integrated data logger, multiple MPPs, high efficiencies, low weight and a sleek design are combined with industry innovations like touch less gesture control, set-up via RFID card and intuitive LED status display.

The inverters will initially be available in power classes ranging between 3 and 4.6kW (single phase) and later in classes between 12 and 20kW (three phase). These inverters will be accomplished by a whole accessory portfolio called e.World which includes a design software (e.Designer), an online monitoring portal (e.Web), a monitoring app (e.UserApp), a temperature & irradiation sensor (e.Sensor) and much more. Bosch Power Tec in Australia is working together with distributors and installers to make the products available to its commercial and private customers. Bosch Power Tec conducts regular product training courses for its customers. For more information contact Bosch Power Tec: info.BoschPowerTec@au.bosch.com. http://www.bosch-power-tec.com/ http://bosch-solar-storage.com/ Bosch Power Tec, which was founded as a 100% subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH in January 2011, opened its operations at the Bosch Oceania headquarters in Clayton in January 2014. It develops and sells electronic power components for the use of renewable energies. The portfolio includes highly-efficient solar inverters, pre-fabricated inverter stations, system management solutions and pioneering electricity storage technologies. Extensive service and maintenance contracts for every product group enhance the Bosch Power Tec product range. www.bosch-solar-storage.com

Opinions expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of the Australian Solar Council or the publisher. 52 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

The SMA Fuel Save Controller successfully commissioned for the first time in APAC A PV diesel hybrid system with the SMA Fuel Save Controller has been successfully commissioned on the island of Vava’u, Tonga. The Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM) strives to meet the target to supply 50 percent of the Kingdom’s power demand from renewable energy sources by the year 2020 and in an effort to reduce costs and offset carbon emissions, the island of Vava’u has now integrated photovoltaics into its diesel power generation system. The project was developed by Abu Dhabi based renewable energy company Masdar and is financed through a grant provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development. The new solar farm includes ground-mounted photovoltaic panels and battery storage technology that is fully integrated with the island’s diesel power station. The 500kW system has the capacity to produce 873 MWh of energy per annum and is projected to offset an average of 225,000 litres of diesel each year. The system comprises 21 SMA Sunny Tripower 20000TL inverters, 15 SMA Sunny Backup 5000 inverters and the SMA Fuel Save Controller. Vava’u is the island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean. The main island of Vava’u covers an

area of almost 90 square kilometres and is the second largest island in Tonga. Traditionally Vava’u relied on diesel generators for their electricity needs, but in an effort to reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions, the development of a PV diesel hybrid system was initialised. This is the first system in the region that features the SMA Fuel Save Controller. SMA has been developing scalable hybrid solutions for the electrification of off-grid regions for more than 30 years and now SMA has designed a technology that is able to reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions in industrial applications. The SMA Fuel Save Controller is a key component in PV diesel hybrid system solutions. As the link between diesel generator, PV system and load, the SMA Fuel Save Controller takes on all demand-based control of PV feed-in depending on the load and generation profiles. Maximum reliability is guaranteed while fuel costs and CO2 emissions are reduced. The island’s energy tariffs have recently increased from 92.74 Seniti per kWh to 94.45 Seniti per kWh, which is approximately AU$ 56.75 per kWh. The PV diesel hybrid system will offset up to 70 percent of Vava’u’s electricity demand during the middle of the day and approximately 13 percent of the annual electricity demand of the Island. Now, the island has significantly reduced its dependency on fossil fuels and this represents vast savings for the island’s 15,485 inhabitants.The solar farm was installed by Ingenero who began work on the project in March 2013. The system comprises a total of 1,680 photovoltaic panels, 21 SMA inverters, 15 SMA battery inverters and 120 1000Ah batteries. “The project incorporates the new SMA Fuel Save Controller which, when combined with the SMA string inverters, battery inverters and automatic switch boxes, provides a state of the art integration solution for the PV with the diesel power station – without compromising reliability or fuel efficiency of the power station,” explained Rodger Whitby, General Manager Generation of Ingenero. For his part SMA Australia Managing Director Mark Twidell said “SMA is proud to be an integral part of the system at Vava’u and help the Tongan government to eliminate its fossil fuel dependency. “This is a great example of our long term commitment to the island nations of the South Pacific.” The Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM) strives to meet the target to supply 50 percent of the Kingdom’s power demand from renewable energy sources by the year 2020. For more information: Wilhelm van Butselaar, Manager Hybrid Energy Systems, SMA Australia Pty. Ltd. 02 9491 4203 Wim@SMA-Australia.com.au www.sma-australia.com.au

Opinions expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of the Australian Solar Council or the publisher. SolarProgress | 53

Solar products services Design flexibility with Fronius Symo Si Clean Energy Si Clean Energy has always taken the conservative approach towards inverter specifications and solar system design, and as one of Australia’s longest established solar companies (see separate story on pages 35-36) take great care in the selection of all solar products. Si has learned from experience exactly what makes an inverter and solar power system efficient, reliable, serviceable and suitable for the Australian market. Si technicians have repaired inverters of all shapes and sizes throughout Australia and the south Pacific region during these years and their expertise includes Grid-connect, Off-Grid, and telecommunications equipment all the way through to utility scale Central Inverters. The highly trained service and repairs division provides real time assistance for all customers and products. Their team of engineers and technicians operate a fully equipped centralised service facility, offering their wholesale distribution and retail customers a multi-level technical support for most products and installations. Centrally located on the Mid North Coast of NSW at Coffs Harbour, Si Clean Energy’s Head Office is equipped with one of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced solar inverter repair facilities in Australia. The Si service team of electronics engineers and technicians have years of clean energy experience, maintaining some of the largest PV systems in Australia, providing regular onsite management and diagnostics via site visits and remote communications. With significant resources devoted to national warranty provision, which greatly reduces repair turn-around time, offering loan units in case of complex repairs ensuring minimal inconvenience to all customers in case of a product failure. Technicians are available to assist with specific technical enquiries, offsite and on-site, project management and general support. Well known for their willingness to help when the going gets tough, Si Clean Energy encourages their customers to use the Si “phone a friend” option. Many solar companies are searching for ways to lower costs and compete with the ever-growing competition in the market with labour efficiency a key factor when installing solar systems. Even the best installer can be stumped by a cryptic inverter diagnostic screen encountered on a job creating a need to return to the site, only to find it could have been fixed then and there with a call to the Si service team. Si Clean Energy welcomes your enquiries and look forward to the opportunity to supply your company with “Quality Products, Quality Engineering, and Quality Support”. Service – 1300 767 761 service@sicleanenergy.com.au www.sicleanenergy.com.au

Various configurations in PV system design put partly contradicting demands on the MPP tracker characteristics of inverters. Typical east/west oriented systems require inverters with symmetric power distribution between the two MPPT and high input voltages. An asymmetric power distribution on the other hand is beneficial for shaded systems or generators with a small residual system. The Fronius Symo combines both requirements and is therefore universally applicable. It also provides maximum yield in shaded conditions thanks to an optimized MPP tracking algorithm. The three phase Fronius Symo inverter series is equipped with two MPPT in the power range from 3-20 kW. The DC voltage window and the current capability of both MPPT are chosen in a way that both symmetric (typical east/west systems) and asymmetric (shaded systems, small secondary system) systems can be realized very easily. The minimum input voltage is in the range from 150-200 V and the maximum input voltage is 1000 V. The diagram shows a comparison of the Fronius Symo series and other inverters with multiple MPPT available on the market and a variation from highly asymmetric systems (power ratio of 10/90 for both generator parts on the left hand side) to symmetric systems (power ratio of 50/ 50 for both generator parts on the right hand side). E.g. the Fronius Symo 5.0 can handle power ratios from 50/50 down to 30/70. In general it can be seen that in the area up to 10 kW most inverters can deal quite well with symmetric systems whereas asymmetric connections become difficult or impossible. Above 10 kW rather asymmetric designs are possible. In contrast the Fronius Symo series is able to deal with symmetric and asymmetric systems over the whole power range. (Note: All calculations are based on systems with typical 6”-cell modules of around 240 W.) Other features of the Fronius Symo include an integrated energy management relay, WLAN datamanager with webserver, AS/NZS 5033 compliant DC isolator and an extremely light weight design which makes for quick installation and easy servicing. www.fronius.com.au

Opinions expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of the Australian Solar Council or 54 | ISSUE 1 • 2014

Watt Test plugs the hole in solar industry confidence Opened three and a half years ago, Watt Test’s $3 million stateof-the-art Laboratory situated on the Gold Coast is an Australian “power house” specialising in inverter servicing and repairs. With NATA Accreditation Watt Test’s facility is well equipped to test and issue Certification to AS 4777 Standards inside Australia. Watt Test’s clients range from international inverter manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and installers to individual solar consumers, Senior Technician John Gorman explained. “We also specialise in assisting manufacturers with crucial data from their repaired and serviced inverters which enables them to improve their product manufacturing to cope with Australia’s harsh climate. I think we have repaired or serviced just about every brand of inverter that is currently sold inside Australia, so our experience is vast.” Watt Test now offers premium warranty coverage ‘Total Care Promise’ on fully installed solar systems for retailers and consumers. With annual coverage starting from $39.95 – less than paying for a cup of coffee once a month – demand for coverage has gained momentum. “In today’s market, solar investors want to ensure that their solar investment is professionally covered. Watt Test fills that space in the industry, to the delight of general customers and solar retailers who have had a tough time with expensive repair and replacement issues,” Gorman said. “There are many reasons why inverters fail and not all are manufacturing problems, surges from electrical storms are one example which should neither be covered by the manufacturer or the retailer but the problem is that unless the inverter is professionally tested then retailers and installers assume that it’s a product warranty claim against the manufacturer.” The ‘Total Care Promise’ premium service covers all problems whether manufacturing or some sort of failure; basically if an inverter has failed it is covered. Storm, flood, fire damage, safety shut-downs and reconnections are all covered. Nationwide coverage is available through Watt Test’s network of CEC Accredited installers. Retailers and installers have the confidence to “fit it and forget it”, if the solar system fails the customer deals directly with staff at Watt Test to solve the problem. This benefits retailers, installers and customers so the Total Care Promise premium warranty service is a winner for all involved. For more information on Watt Test visit www.wtest.com.au

r the publisher. SolarProgress | 55

ASC Corporate Members Diamond Member Hareon Solar

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Harelec Services HCB Solar

iLite Electrical Pty Ltd IN2Solar (Qld) Pty Ltd Independent Power Systems Pty Ltd Industrial Air (S.A.) Pty Ltd Inphinity Pty Ltd iSolar

J McMicking Electrics Jet Electrical Solutions JNS Electrical Jones Redmond pty ltd

Kangaroo Valley Solar Know How Technology P/L Kurta Electrics

Lanczont Adam Laser Electrical Goolwa Leadsun Australia Lekcom Liberty Saver Light Touch Electrical Lightning Built Electrical and Plumbing Pty Ltd Linked Group Services Local Power Log-On Electrical (MyPowerMP) LP Electrical Australia Pty Ltd

M M|Power Madison Australia Pty Ltd Mannix Airconditioning and Solar Mark The Spark Martin Taylor Matt Hatty Electrical Maurie Morrisson Electrical Meyerburger Mighty Mouse Solar Mode Electrical MPV Group Pty Ltd MV Solar

Naked Energy NATEC Navitus Solar Negawatts ELectrical Nelson South Electrical Contractor Neolec NeuTek Energy Pty Ltd New Direction Solar Newman Mundy Electrical Pty Ltd Nigel Griffin Electrical Noble Electrical Services NoCarbon Pty Ltd NuWay Solar

Olaire Onshore Designs Opulent Electrical Services Outback Energy Supply Outback Solar Solutions Pty Ltd

Pesce Pty Ltd Peter Elliott Peter Lyons Philip Cheesman & Associates Pink Building Services Pty Ltd PJ Electrical Pty Ltd Platinum Solar Polyglot Group Profx PSE Communication & Electrical

Qelec Queensland State Solar

Rainbow Solar REA Global Pty Ltd Red Phase Electrical Services Regen Power Renewable Energy Traders Australia Rescue the Future Pty Ltd Rising Sun Electrics RJ. Cord Enterprises Pty Ltd RK Solar & Consulting Services P/L RMIG Electrical Robert Bosch (Australia) Pty Ltd RolaSolar Pty Ltd R-U-Zapt Electrical Pty Ltd

Selectronic Australia Self-Sufficiency Supplies Seymour Solar SGS Australia Pty. Ltd. Shamash Australia Pty Ltd Smart Electrics Snapfrozen Sola Connections Australia Solar 4 RVs Solar Access Group

Solar Backup Solar Business Services Solar Connections Solar Creations Solar Daily Pty Ltd Solar Distributors Pty Ltd Solar Energy Options Solar Gold Vic Solar Parks Australia Solar Pty Ltd Solar Pumping Solutions Solar Quotes Solar Reaction Pty Ltd Solar Wise Wagga Pty Ltd Solar2020 SolarGods SolarHub Solaris Sustainable Homes SolarWorks Solazone Pty Ltd Solis Australasia Pty Ltd Solvation Pty Ltd Sondase Pty Ltd Space Solar Service Pty Ltd SR Energy Pty Ltd Starr Electrics / Solar Choices FNQ Steve Hopwood Electrical Steven Zilm - Solar & Electrical Contractors Structured Electrical Sunday Energy / Ecofficient Pty Ltd Sunfusion Pty Ltd Sungevity Australia Sunjuice Solar Sunspark Solar Suntech R&D Australia Pty Ltd Sunwire Sunwise Solar Systems Sunwiz Sustainable Energy Consulting Sustainable Impact

TechSafe Australia The MGA Electrical Trust The Solar Power Pro The Solar Professionals Thirroul Solar Pty Ltd Tiger Solar Tintagel Systems Pty Ltd Top Notch Electrics pl Total Energy Systems Townsville Solar Solutions Pty Ltd Track Energy

Urban renewables p/l

VIP Solar Voltmaster Electrical Contracting

Warren Smith & Partners Wesglo Electric West Coast Solar nrg West Coast Sustainability West Moreton Electrical Pty Ltd Westsun Solar Wildy Airconditioning and Electrical

York Electrical Service

DATE 09.04.2014

10.04.2014

15.04.2014

16.04.2014

13.05.2014

14.05.2014

19.05.2014

20.05.2014

TRAINING SCHEDULE OUT NOW!

LOCATION

Newcastle, NSW

Port Macquarie, NSW

Canberra, ACT

Launceston, TAS

TOPIC

SMA Communications & Monitoring

SMA Inverters Intensive

DATE

28.05.2014

29.05.2014

LOCATION

TOPIC

Sydney, NSW

SMA Introduction

SMA Communications & Monitoring

Sydney, NSW

SMA Communications & Monitoring

03.06.2014

Orange, NSW

SMA Communications & Monitoring

16.06.2014

Sunshine Coast, QLD

SMA Off-Grid Systems

SMA Communications & Monitoring

SMA Off-Grid Systems

04.06.2014 17.06.2014

19.06.2014

20.06.2014

Orange, NSW

Sunshine Coast, QLD

Gold Coast, QLD Gold Coast, QLD

SMA Communications & Monitoring

SMA Off-Grid Systems

SMA Communications & Monitoring SMA Off-Grid Systems

SMA Off-Grid Systems

SMA Communications & Monitoring

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