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Feed-in-tariff for LARGE SCALE SOLAR and small
The anecdotal research on PV PANEL QUALITY
Reminder about the 100,000 kW Feed-in-Tariff cap
Beyond Zero Emissions Zero Carbon Plan vs Algae from Coal-fired power stations
LARGE SCALE SOLAR THERMAL
The Victorian Government has been reliant on the Federal Government to do the heavy lifting on climate change policy, but with the pushing of a carbon price out to 2013 Mr Brumby has clearly felt the need to fill some of the policy void in advance of the State election. Last week the State Government announced a target that 5% of Victoria’s electricity will come from large scale solar thermal, via a Feed-in-Tariff. This is a start to the re-powering of Victoria from sources that the BZE report (see below) is referring to. It is exciting to witness the beginning of the BZE plan finding a modicum of policy support in the real world. In tandem with the recent announcement of the proposed closing of two turbines at Hazelwood after some clever campaigning, such announcements suggest that unlike the likely outcomes of the ‘Citizen’s Assembly’, citizens can actually achieve the odd significant thing or two.
AND SPEAKING OF THINGS FEED-IN-TARIFF…WHAT DO YOUR BILLS LOOK LIKE, NOWADAYS?
It has taken a long time for the electricity retailers to get their collective acts together regarding domestic solar and the State’s net Feed-in-Tariff. As an example, ‘Red’ Energy initially sent out contracts to customers that did not comply with the legislation. BREAZE has spent a large amount of time consulting with members about what they should do re the F-i-T, particularly for people with electric heating, hot water etc where going over to the Premium Feed-in-Tariff could actually cost you money. Over the past few months one of the most common questions BREAZE has had from people dropping into the office, emailing or phoning has been, “When will I get the Feed-in-Tariff?” Certainly it took me 6 phone calls over 8 months of increasing crescendo to finally get results. But finally, the F-i-T arrived and this bill showed I was $500 in credit over the course of 6 months, after all consumption had been taken into account. As a result of this I thought that I should extend my 2 kW and add another 2 kW which I have recently done, with interesting results…
SOME PANELS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS…
There are many cheap PV panels on the market at the moment but just because they all look the same, are they the same quality? I have been wondering a lot about this and decided to put things to the test. The 2 kW installed under the initial Beyond Building were of the el-cheapo Chinese variety so this time around I decided to buy the Conergy ‘Power Plus’ 220 watt panels that BREAZE supplies. They are probably the best quality panels going around (German made and each panel individually tested) and over the course of the 15 years of the Feed-in-Tariff they should pay themselves off and then go on to keep on producing well after others have fallen by the wayside. The 2 systems are as follows:
2040 watts of el cheapo Chinese panels with SMA 2300 Inverter at 26.5 degree incline
1980 watts of Conergy ‘Power Plus’ panels with Fronius IG 30 Inverter at 29.5 degree incline
I thought that the Conergy panels would outperform their Chinese brothers, but not quite as well as I had imagined. At peak capacity the Conergy panels are outputting at 400-500 watts more than the cheap panels. The first day the Chinese panels produced 5 kWh over the day and the Conergy produced 8 kWh. A big difference! Here is a photo of the two systems side by side.
FEED-IN-TARIFF ALSO HAS 100,000 kW INSTALLED CAPACITY CAP, SO YOU MAY WANT TO GET MOVING…
Lots of people seem unaware that the State Govt F-i-T will have the line ruled under it when the installed capacity of PV systems in Victoria reaches 100,000 kW. Any systems installed after this figure is reached WILL NOT RECEIVE THE FEED-IN-TARIFF. Powercor reckons this 100,000 kW cap will be reached probably sometime in 2011. But given that schools, community groups and domestic homes are installing PV at a rapid-ish rate of knots, this figure may come sooner rather than later.
NOT EVERYONE HAS FALLEN ASLEEP, HOWEVER…ENTER THE BZE ZERO CARBON ACTION PLAN
It was interesting to attend two different presentations in nightly succession. One was the launch at Melbourne University of Beyond Zero Emissions Zero Carbon Stationary Energy Action Plan: Stationary Energy. It was attended by many hundreds of people and is the work of volunteer engineers that have worked on ‘mythbusting’ the idea that renewable energy cannot supply 100% of our national energy needs. In the process it totally kicks the chair out from under the whole baseload rationale for carbon capture and storage and shows why you wouldn’t spend a single cent on coal’s last crazy toss of the dice. The plan looks at using commercially available technology such as concentrated solar thermal baseload power, as seen in Spain and California. Inspiring stuff, both for expertise and the volunteer spirit that animates the whole enterprise. The Saturday Age’s Paddy Manning has summarized it below in his regular ‘G-Biz’ article in the Business Age and the full BZE report can be downloaded at the second link.
Paddy Manning ‘G-Biz’ article: http://www.theage.com.au/business/zero-carbon-plan-better-than-two-zero-credibility-choices-20100723-10os6.html
BZE Plan: http://beyondzeroemissions.org/
AND THEN THERE IS…
Presentations like the one BREAZE members attended the next night about the myriad of useful things that could be created as by products from the algae that can thrive on the concentrated carbon dioxide from coal-fired power stations. This algae can be used as a substitute for plastic, fuel, meal for animals, fertilizer etc – all to the good. However, it is also entirely dependent on the concentrated carbon dioxide from coal and if this process can convince enough politicians of its side benefits, it could see coal fired stations prolonged rather than retired. And unlike BZE, which receives no commercial or government funding, this process is backed by big $$ - in the form of government taxpayer money and from sources like Anglo-American coal. At the presentation, the process was trumped up as reducing Australia’s national emissions by up to a quarter whereas in reality it simply sequesters fossilised carbon dioxide for later, inevitable release into the atmosphere. The spin has begun. Expect to hear more about it.
Nick Lanyon
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