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  • Great graphs of PV Supply Stack in 2013
    Great graphs of PV Supply Stack in 2013


    PV Competitive Dynamics in 2011 and Beyond: The Battle Resumes : Greentech Media
    www.greentechmedia.com
    When you look at cost, efficiency, bankability, and performance, how do companies like First Solar, Trina, REC, SunPower, Suntech, Sharp, and Solar Frontier stack up in 2011 and beyond?
  • Pre-filled form how-to-vote Solar onto the CEC Board : http://www.sunwiz.com.au/...
    Pre-filled form how-to-vote Solar onto the CEC Board : http://www.sunwiz.com.au/CECBoardProxyForm.pdf


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  • Dear Solar Industry Member, Did you know: The solar sector is Vastly under-repre...
    Dear Solar Industry Member,
    Did you know: The solar sector is Vastly under-represented on the CEC board. Solar companies make up ~75% of CEC members, but carry only ~50% of votes at the AGM. Our board representation could fall as low as 23%, but your vote this week could strongly change this. With your vote solar representation on the CEC board could exceed 70% of seats. We've made it easy to vote

    At the AGM, there will be a vote on a special resolution (Resolution C) aimed at reducing the number of Board members from 13 to 9 (over two years) and removing the automatic place on the Board for one Network and one Associate member (the membership categories most solar companies fall into). We should focus on improving the effectiveness of the CEC before considering limiting the representation on the Board. If 25% of votes are against this resolution, there will be 7 new Board members (of 13) elected at the AGM but if the resolution is past, there will be only 5 (of 11).

    You’re encouraged to attend in Melbourne on the Thursday 17th of November at 3pm. Otherwise, if voting by post, you’ll need to ensure that your form arrives at the CEC at least 48 hours ahead of the AGM. So make sure its sent by Monday 14th November at the latest. Post it to Ms Hannah Coffey of CEC at Suite 201, 18 Kavanagh Street, Southbank 3006, or fax on (61 3) 9929 4101. Completed Proxy Forms may also be hand delivered, or scanned and emailed to hannah@cleanenergycouncil.org.au

    With this in mind, SunWiz (in consultation with other solar industry members including the solar roundtable) suggest that you vote in the following way.
    1. Jeremy Rich, Energy Matters
    2. Oliver Hartley, Q-Cells
    3. John Susa, Trina Solar
    4. Steve Rust, Panasonic (Sanyo)
    5. Martin Jones, CSR
    6. Peter Cowling, GE

    Note that the relative order of the first three candidates is not important, nor of the second three. We recommend you place Associate Member Steve Rust (Panasonic) in position 4, 5,or 6 to take advantage of the automatic seat should the special resolution fail to pass. Email me for a a pre-filled proxy form, or fill in your own at http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/dms/cec/_membership-docs/2011-AGM-docs/Notice-of-Meeting-Explanatory-Notes-Proxy-Form/Notice of Meeting Explanatory Notes Proxy Form.pdf



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Summary of 2011 Activity

Your Summer Solstice Gift - Christmas Reading from SunWiz

    To celebrate the longest day of the year, SunWiz has collated the past year's reports that we've authored (or been involved in) into one location. Read on for our conference presentations, articles in Climate Spectator, SolarAustralia, SolarProgress, EcoGeneration, and Renewable Energy world.

    Highlights of 2011 for SunWiz

    Being honoured with AuSES' 2011 Industry Contribution Award for Support Advocacy and Leadership (shared with Nigel Morris)

    SunWiz-designed Metricon stadium winning awards at ATRAA, EcoGen, and NECA

    Presenting at the NSW Solar and Renewable Energy Summit II (link to speech and presentation)

    Being involved in setting the STP target for ORER (with Green Energy Trading)


    Happy Summer Solstice. I look forward to seeing you in 2012!
    SunWiz will re-open on 9th of January 2012

    (Read on for presentations, documents, and articles)

    award winning solar conference presenter

     

    Conference Presentations (many of which are also on SunWiz's  website)

    Clean Energy Week / ATRAA 2011: Solar Economics and Metricon Stadium

    EcoGen 2011: Metricon Stadium

    All Energy 2011 AuSES Sideshow: New Market New Opportunity

    AuSES National Conference: Big Sun - Big Challenges

    all new energy market

    Climate Spectator (with Giles Parkinson)

    6/5/11 Multiplying Solar's Problems

    16/5/11 Robbing Solar to Pay Power Retailers

    17/5/11 A solar Policy of ill repute

    13/7/11 Australian Solar's Race to the Edge

    14/12/11 It's time for a smarter grid

    16/12/11 2011: A solar FairyTale

     

    Solar Australia Magazine

    27/4/11: How performance-based PV RECs could transform the solar industry

    1/8/11: Changing Solar Economics

    1/1/11: Solar’s new power:  PV in 2010 and beyond (with APVA)

    30/11/11: Getting PV Forecasts Right (with Nigel Morris)

    1/11/11: Insights from Pioneers of Large Solar (with contributors)

    (many of which are also on SunWiz's  website, with images)

    Solar Progress

    1/7/11: Building Integrated PVs

     

    Renewable Energy World

    28/1/11: Australian Flood Waters Cause Trickle of Solar Funding to Dry Up

    12/2/11: 2011: Which of these Risks is the Australian PV Industry Unprepared for?

    28/3/11: Will Australian Solar's Exponential Expansion Collapse into a White Dwarf?

    29/3/11: Australian Solar Industry Installs More Small PV than Germany in 2010

    12/7/11: Australian Solar's Gigawatt Valley of Death: Worth Dying For?

    23/10/11: Big Solar: Big Deal?

    24/10/11: Changing Solar Economics

    25/10/11: Integrating Solar PV - Solar on Every Surface

    17/11/11: Australia's 800-MW PV Market: How Long Can it Last?

    (many of which are also on SunWiz's  website, with images)

     

    Australian PV Association

    Modelling of Residential and Commercial PV and Electricity Prices The APVA releases 2 more modelling reports on PV and Electricity price for the Residential Sector in Australia [.pdf 837kB] and Commercial Sector in Australia with funding support by the ASI - released 30th November 2011.

    Large-Scale Price Modelling in Australia APVA Report Modelling of Large-Scale PV Systems in Australia [.pdf 734kB] is an indepth APVA report on PV costs and electricity prices for large installations with funding support by the ASI - released 28th November 2011.

    APVA Submission to IPART Solar FiT reviewAPVA submission to IPART Solar FiT review [.pdf 980kB] recommends for the creation of a distributed energy services market within the NEM and net metering with a 1:1 tariff in the interim, on the basis that this more equitably reflects the market price for PV generated electricity - released 19th September 2011

    APVA Response to Productivity Commission Report APVA has significant concerns with assumptions and calculations used by the Australian Productivity Commission report "Carbon Emission Policies in Key Countries" May 2011. APVA response to the report - released 15th June 2011 [.pdf 472kB]

    APVA PV Status Report 2010 APVA launches the Australian PV Status Report for 2010 [.pdf 741] and accompanyingsummary presentation [.pdf 1.7MB] with significant growth in jobs and installation capacity last year - released 2nd June 2011

    APVA Feed-in-Tariff Solution for NSW APVA briefing paper recommends a rational basis for a FiT that is equitable and protects PV industry jobs and household investors in solar energy - 20th May 2011 [.pdf 135kB]

    Transitioning to an Unsubsidised PV Market APVA calls on policy certainty and provides a briefing paper on a strategic approach to regulatory arrangements for Retailers and Network Service Providers to ensure the future growth of the Australian PV Industry. Read more [.pdf 541kB]

    National Online Seminar - Helping Ensure Safe PV System Installations - Top PV experts share how you can best meet forthcoming standards, prevent house fire, wind damage and related risks, pass government inspections, avoid loss of ability to create RECs and avoid loss of accreditation. Read more and register for recorded version. [.pdf 341kB]

     

    Clean Energy Council

    Clean Energy Australia Report 2011

    The Clean Energy Australia report provides a snapshot of the industry for 2011. It includes information on all renewable technologies including installation, investment and employment data.
    Click here to download (PDF, 8053 KB)

    Review of the Australian solar PV industry 2011 (members only - link)

    The Australian solar PV industry has gone through an enormous period of growth with an estimated 380MW of capacity installed in 2010 alone. The CEC commissioned Solar Business Services and Sunwiz Consulting to examine the current status of the market in Australia and review the trends, economic impacts and the policy settings. The report also explores the outlook for the industry over the next decade.

    Modification of the Solar Credits Multiplier Final Report

    The Clean Energy Council engaged Intelligent Energy Systems (IES) to investigate the impact of potential changes to the solar credits scheme on the overall Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) market over the period from 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2014.

    Click here to download (PDF, 422 KB)

    Value of Generation from Small Scale Residential PV Systems (members only - link)

    The CEC comissioned SKM MMA to conduct this detailed analysis of 'fair price' for exports from residential solar PV systems. The report is focused on NSW but relevant to the discussion nationally about how 'one for one' schemes should work.

 
NSW Solar and Renewable Summit

NSW Solar Summit Visuals

 
EcoGen - Carrara Stadium

Check out Warwick Johnston's presentation on the Metricon Stadium BIPV Solar Halo

Carrara Stadium

 
Clean Energy Week Presentation (ATRAA)

ATRAA Presentation

 
Multiplying Solar's Problems

Multiplying solar's problems


Thursday's government announcement of a further reduction in levels of support for residential solar power has been met by general acceptance from the solar industry. Unfortunately, industry implosion cannot be ruled out as the lower STC multiplier and depressed STC price combine with the end of feed-in tariffs in three states this year.

Regardless, the multiplier reduction is supported as a reasonable medium-term solution by many within the industry. Frustratingly, all acknowledge that it is unlikely to have an impact in the timeframe required, with 28 million STCs to be created by July 2011 but not needed until St Valentine’s Day, 2012.

The best thing the government did today was to provide greater certainty for the market – this translates into lower risk and thus (hopefully) more rational STC prices. Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Mark Dreyfus expressed a definite commitment to the scheme; to keeping the clearing house price at $40, to increasing next year’s STC demand to levels that would (eventually) absorb the excess STCs, and to complementary measures. These factors, when combined with a reduction in the excess that will be created at year’s end, have today lifted spot prices higher.

But a rising STC spot price is likely to be driven by sentiment rather than market forces, and it may not be long before the annual STC oversupply again becomes apparent, which would again send the STC price diving at the same time the number of certificates drops by 40 per cent.

It is unfortunate that the government has few adjustment options other than the coarse levers of its multipliers, and that it missed the opportunity to apply the multiplier to 2.5-5kW residential system sizes akin to those deployed in the rest of the world.

Further action may be necessary to stabilise the market and to ensure its continuing function. Once 2011’s STC requirement is surpassed mid-year, liable entities will trade against next year’s liabilities, which the regulator needn’t officially establish prior to 31/3/2012. Forward contracts against liable entities’ Q1 and Q2 (2012) liabilities are used to underwrite sales and business viability of PV retailers, to ensure systems may be profitably installed later this year. Risks associated with these liabilities' quanta and timing will reduce the price on offer. It is thus important that the regulator (as instructed by the Minister) establish 2012’s STC demand well in advance, conservatively over-estimating (rather than underestimating) STC creation to the end of 2012.

Meanwhile, insufficient attention is being paid to the behaviour of electricity retailers and distributors, who deflect blame to PV for power price rises in an attempt to hide gold-plating of the network and over-inflated retail margins.

In the STC market, PV retailers are dependent upon early STC sale for cash flow, while deep-pocketed liable entities attempt to obtain the lowest possible STC price, safe in the knowledge that they can pass on a $40 price to their customers. Further hurting the STC market by using their market power, liable entities have together deferred 10 per cent of liabilities until the end of the year, and regularly engage in market obfuscation, while quietly obtaining windfall profits from PV power export to the grid. Such actions allow them to gain market share of their own PV sales, which they have recognised as the cheapest way to meet their own STC liabilities (and gain a retail electricity customer along with the deal).

If one thing has been constant in the PV industry internationally and in Australia – other than ever-changing policy – it is the continued underestimation of PV attractiveness to the consumer. The solar industry continues to deliver beyond government expectations in every major market in the world, and Australia is no exception.

It is common to refer to the STC imbalance as ‘over supply’, when equally it could be considered ‘under-demand’. In the first four months of 2011, Australia has already installed at least 200 MW and quite possibly 300 MW, compared to the 358 MW in 210 and approx 80MW in 2009. 28million STCs equates to approximately 300MW, begging the question whether the government wants to truly support the growth of a home-grown PV industry or whether it wishes to pay the environment lip service while continuing to subsidise fossil fuels well into the future.

It seems only Christine Milne, who also addressed the conference, can communicate a vision for the future, demonstrating true leadership in calling for a 100 per cent renewable energy mix. If only all politicians could look above the horizon in their search for power.

This article first appeared at the Climate Spectator on 6 May 2011

 
Robbing Solar to Pay Power Retailers

Robbing Solar to Pay Power Retailers

The electricity pricing regulator in NSW has recently revealed that utilities are making windfall profits from the Solar Bonus Scheme. As the NSW government retrospectively robs one third of solar system owners’ promised entitlements, it is clear that electricity retailers are charging back to the customer at rates up to 40c/kWh of electricity that was freely generated from the sun.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recognise that utilities are making windfall profits from the Solar Bonus Scheme. “The Solar Bonus Scheme is currently structured so that [electricity] retailers receive a financial benefit,” IPART says. The organisation goes on to suggest that requiring the electricity retailers to pay back some of this financial benefit would reduce the “amount of funds … foregone by taxpayers”. This financial benefit arises because taxpayers fund the payments made to solar power generators, which means the solar electricity itself is provided to the retailers for free. The vast majority of the electrons generated by the solar power system then flow back into the house, only after electricity retailers record them, and charge the customer up to 40c/kWh.

The Australian PV Association (APVA) has revealed that IPART’s indented electricity price rises would deliver a further windfall profit to the utilities. IPART’s draft decision would allow electricity retailers to pass-on the cost of complying with the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme at a rate of $40 per certificate. However, Small-scale Technology Certificates can currently be purchased at $25 – a price low enough to enable vast windfall profits to accumulate in retailers' pockets.

In its presentation to the Solar Summit, the NSW Office of Resources and Energy acknowledged utilities’ windfall profits and suggested that electricity retailers contribute to the costs of the Solar Bonus Scheme. Instead, the NSW government is attempting to short-change pensioners, baby boomers, and low-income households, while continuing the practise of serving up profits to electricity retailers at taxpayers’ and consumers’ expense.

Analysis by the University of NSW showed that most owners of solar power systems had household income of less than $70,000, and that the majority of recipients were over 60 years of age. Over 120,000 NSW households now own a solar power system, most of whom made an investment decision upon the basis of seven years of legislated entitlement of 60c/kWh for generated solar electricity. The government now seeks to cut by 40c/kWh entitlements of those most impacted by electricity price rises, while allowing electricity retailers to make windfall profits from taxpayer and electricity consumer alike.

Unfortunately, the flow-on effects of this action don’t stop there. By reneging on legislation, the government will undermine the public’s confidence in making any future purchase of a solar power system. This sets a dangerous precedent that will reverberate nationwide, and seriously threaten the ability of the solar power industry to home-deliver clean energy and protection from electricity price hikes. It also puts thousands of jobs at stake.

More broadly, this action undermines trust in governments nationally, especially as the lip service they pay the environment is underdone, and then undone. As Nigel Morris of Solar Business Services ponders, “Is every piece of legislation able to be thrown out on a whim? Will I potentially have to give my First Home Owners Grant back?”

It is no longer ironic that the NSW government threatens the entire solar power industry over a $41 annual impact upon electricity bills when it ignores windfall profits to utilities and subsidises the coal industry by $1 billion each year. It’s an outrage.

NSW Solar Chart


The figures above show the uptake of solar power systems in NSW by age group and household income level. They are taken from Bruce, A. W. (2009). Who Buys PV Systems? A survey of NSW PV Rebate recipients. Proceedings of Solar 09. Townsville: Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society.

NSW Chart

The figure above relates postcode-level installation data provided in mid 2010 to the Solar Bonus Scheme Statutory Review, correlated against individual taxable income levels at the 2006 census. It demonstrates that uptake has predominantly been in low-income areas.

This article first appeared at Climate Spectator.

 
Integrating Australian PV - Solar on Every Surface

Integrating Australian PV – Solar on Every Surface


Picture if you will, an antipodean solar engineer’s dream world. Every roof faces north with a pitch roughly equal to the local latitude angle; building-block homes all in a row. Unfortunately, centuries of homebuilders and decades of town planners did not consult a solar engineer before scattering homes without regard to optimal solar access. The resulting urban environment is more aesthetically pleasing and arguably more liveable, but constantly faces solar designers with suboptimal outcomes.

Fortunately, while many retired engineers insist on their own solar power system being optimally oriented, most roof-owners are prepared to accept that the cost of optimal azimuth rarely justifies the gains in solar yield. In most Australian locations, losses are kept to 10-15% for roofs oriented 90° either side of north, and the cost of side-pitch mounting typically adds more than 10% to the project cost. Panels mounted parallel with the roof pitch have the key benefit of achieving maximum power density, with what is lost in sub-optimal orientation is typically far exceeded by gains in total energy yield. Regardless, sensible solar array placement can be quite a sophisticated artform, and Australia has many highly capable designers to choose from.

By way of comparison, integrating solar power into the building fabric adds volumes of complexities. The solar designer must integrate with the design and construction team to be able to successfully integrate solar panels into a buildings walls or roof. Installations are invariably sub-optimal, and shading is often unavoidable. This makes Building Integrated PV (BIPV) a specialist design area with highly stimulating, innovative projects, unique challenges, and thoroughly satisfying outcomes.

Application and Product Selection

BIPV is not a typical retrofit solution, and consequently BIPV projects are invariably new buildings. The detailed façade engineering that is required typically means that the project must be a minimum 10kW to be practically viable, which requires vast areas of glazing that instantly excludes most of the residential market. Commercial projects aiming for Green Star accreditation can benefit from the demand reduction and emissions-reduction benefits of solar power, with façade integration necessary once the rooftop is filled with a standard solar array.

The BIPV technology choice depends upon the application. When visibility isn’t critical or glazing is distant from bystanders, as occurs in the Metricon Stadium  and Varsity Lakes train station , it is acceptable to use crystalline silicon cells sandwiched between glass panes. Such product is available from a growing number of manufacturers, though the invariable need for high-strength glass in custom sizes typically dictates sourcing from BIPV specialists. Some degree of transparency is key for functional windows, with Schott Solar’s ASI-Thru  providing 10-20% transparency in single or double glazing and taking on the appearance of a fly-wire screen (see picture). Pythagoras Solar also recently launched its high-transparency, high-efficiency PV window . Both products can significantly reduce glare and thermal gain, thereby reducing air conditioner size and running costs.

In some applications, opaque appearance is preferred - such as on the Tullamarine-Calder Interchage Solar Noise Wall  – while innovative Building Integrated Solar Thermal and Building Integrated Hybrid PV-Thermal applications are also possible with Heliopan . An alternative to façade integration is roof integration, in which the solar panels form part of the roof membrane. Australian designed PV Solar Tiles  are one noteworthy product, and Solon has recently introduced a roof-integrated module into Australia .

Azimuth

Involve an architect in a building design and expect a fantastic appearance, to come at the expense of ideal solar orientation. Windows are invariably vertical for good reason, and a 30° sloped façade can add extraordinary amounts to standard building costs. For example while a vertical façade may suffer 40% performance loss, its financial outcome may be superior to that of a 30°-sloped array that costs at least twice as much for the same architectural function – this was part of the reason for a vertical solar noise wall in Victoria. The Metricon Stadium is visually magnificent, though its 270 different azimuths presented significant challenges, especially as solar performance in every moment is limited by the least illuminated panel. The BIPV engineer has to be able to gently influence an architect towards a practically achievable outcome, but ultimately be able to work with the situation that is architecturally-driven.

Shading

Shade is the nemesis of solar performance. Whereas one usually has the luxury of placing retrofit roof-mount solar arrays in the least shaded location, BIPV invariably encounters unavoidable shade. BIPV facades are more affected by nearby shading obstacles from the built and natural environment. Although a lot of energy can be spent articulating the need to avoid shade, for functional reasons projects will encounter shade from trees, light poles, entrance canopies, and flashing (waterproofing) – all of which were overcome at Ballarat University . Inevitably a BIPV design will take account of known shading obstacles, but must be robust enough to handle surprise shade. In an ironic example, the Solar Noise Wall design specifically ensured that the shading effects from overhead wayfinding signs were contained to a small section of the array, but fortunately shade-tolerant amorphous silicon panels coped well with a last minute unavoidable surprise placement of an emergency phone (complete with its own solar panel) in front of the array.

Technical Issues

To achieve a sophisticated BIPV design, one of two approaches can be taken. The easiest, optimal-performing solution is to use a micro-inverter or power optimiser. However, power optimisers’ reliability is not yet fully proven, and the customised BIPV panels often have electrical characteristics that preclude the use of off-the-shelf devices. The second approach is to group onto the same string panels with similar performance – clustering by same orientation and by similar proximity to shade. By similarly grouping together poorer-performing parts of the solar array, the system yield is less compromised. The use of multiple smaller inverters, multiple maximum power-point trackers, and multiple strings of fewer panels can also produce a robust design. Even considering the internal wiring configuration of the panels can improve yield – the characteristic of the shading pattern can determine whether one cell is curtailed or whether the entire panel is bypassed.

The system design is only one part of the overall project, and much more could be said about the construction phase. A successfully implemented project requires that attention be given to facilitating ease of connections and integrating wiring runs into the building structure, and that the system can be easily erected and maintained, particularly as working at heights on a platform is often involved. Metricon stadium was able to be quickly erected by performing panel inter-wiring on the ground, and lifting full bays of 14-18 panels into place by crane.

Each BIPV project has its unique challenges, and the design typically involves considering the relationship of each individual panel to its surroundings, in the context of the string, input, and inverter to which it is connected. Design becomes part science and part art form, though project success requires excellent teamwork between the various disciplines involved. However, through each exciting, innovative project the vision of covering every surface with a solar panel grows one step closer. Then we’d truly have a solar engineer’s dream world.


This article first appeared at Solar Progress, the official journal of the Australian Solar Energy Society.





 
More Articles...
  • Changing Solar Economics
  • Australian Solar’s Gigawatt Valley of Death… worth dying for?
  • Big Solar: Big Deal?
  • Australian Solar's Gigawatt Valley of Death - Worth Dying For?
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