Tagged with solar

Australia set to run on 100% renewable energy within 15 years

Australia is set to reach its target of 100% renewable energy by the early 2030’s, provided current uptake of renewable energy options in the residential and commercial sectors remains strong.

The Australian renewables energy industry will install more than 10 gigawatts of new solar and wind power before the end of 2019 and if that rate is maintained, Australia would reach 50% of its renewables target in 2025.

The reduction target, set under the famed Paris Agreement into global climate change, forms part of a commitment made by Australia in 2015 to cut carbon emissions nationwide by up to 28% of 2005 levels by the year 2030.

It represents reductions of around 52% in emissions per capita and around 65% in the emissions intensity of the economy between 2005 and 2030.

Homeowners and industry have embraced the renewables challenge so well that it now seems possible the nation will reach the equivalent of 100% renewables for its electricity supply well before then.

A report by the Energy Exchange Institute at Australian National University, says merely keeping up the current rate of renewable energy deployment – roughly divided between solar photovoltaics (PVs), wind farms and rooftop solar PVs – would meet the country’s entire emissions reduction task for the whole economy by 2025.

That doesn’t take into account recent announcements at State level to make solar a more attractive option to consumers.

 

Australia is on track to reach its Paris Agreement renewable energy target by 2025

Federal initiatives

In 2015, the Senate passed a Renewable Energy Target (RET) which aims to have more than 23.5% of Australia’s electricity derived from renewable sources by 2020.

The scheme is split into two areas – large-scale for the establishment and expansion of renewable energy power stations with a target of 33,000 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity generation by 2020; and small-scale which includes financial incentives for households, small businesses and community groups to install systems such as solar hot water heaters, heat pumps and solar PV systems.

The RET is supported by the Australian Renewables Energy Agency, established in 2012 to promote and fund researchers, developers and businesses which demonstrate the feasibility and potential commercialisation of their renewables energy technologies and projects.

According to some reports, “surging numbers” of commercial and industrial projects are applying for accreditation under the RET.

By contrast, the Turnbull government’s National Energy Guarantee struggled to find favour with the states and the coalition from the moment it was proposed last year.

Under the proposal, power retailers would have been required to meet minimum reliability and pollution standards as part of efforts to cut Australia’s carbon emissions.

But WA and the Northern Territory – neither of which are connected to the national electricity market – rejected the National Energy Guarantee, and opposition snowballed from all corners until the idea was unceremoniously dumped last month, in much the same way that Turnbull was a short time later.

Originally Published by SmallCaps.com.au – read full article here.

What’s wrong with big solar in cities? Nothing, if it’s done right

Many of us are familiar with developments of big solar farms in rural and regional areas. These are often welcomed as a positive sign of our transition towards a low-carbon economy. But do large-scale solar installations have a place in our cities?

The City of Fremantle in Western Australia is considering a proposal to use a former landfill site for a large-scale solar farm. The reportedly 4.9 megawatt solar power station on an eight-hectare site would be, it’s said, Australia’s largest urban solar farm. The initiative is part of Fremantle’s ambition to be powered by 100% clean energy within a decade.

The proposal is facing some community opposition, however. Residents are reportedly alarmed by the potential public health consequences of building on a rubbish dump, which risks releasing toxic contaminants such as asbestos into the environment. Other concerns include glare from the solar panels, or excessive noise.

Similar complaints about solar panels in cities are being seen all over the world, with opponents generally of the view “they do not belong in residential areas”. So what are the planning issues associated with large-scale solar installations in cities? And should we be concerned about possible negative impacts?

What is large-scale solar?

According to the Australian Clean Energy Regulator, large-scale solar refers to “a device with a kilowatt (kW) rating of more than 100 kilowatts”. A kilowatt is a measure of power – the rate of energy delivery at a given moment – whereas a kilowatt-hour (kWh) is a measure of the total energy produced (so a 100kW device operating for one hour would produce 100kWh of electricity).

Device here refers to not only the photovoltaic (PV) panels – the actual panels used in solar energy – but also to the infrastructure “behind the electricity meter”. So interconnected panels may still constitute a single device.

By this definition, there may already be large-scale solar installations in Australian cities. In Sydney for example, the recently opened system on top of the Alexandra Canal Transport Depot is by all accounts a large-scale solar system. It combines around 1,600 solar panels with enough battery storage for 500kWh of electricity.

But this is not Sydney’s largest solar installation. That honour is presently held by the Sydney Markets in Flemington, among Australia’s largest rooftop solar installations, which generates around 3 megawatts (that’s 3,000kW). To date, there have been no publicly disclosed complaints received about these facilities.

Large-scale solar (sometimes called “big solar”) can also refer to solar arrays that use mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto solar PV panels. This is different to concentrated thermal solar, which uses mirrors to focus sunlight onto the top of a tower to heat salt, oil or other materials that can then be used to generate steam to power turbines for electricity generation.

What’s the problem with solar in cities?

Internationally, there is increasing recognition cities could be ideal locations for large-scale solar installations due to the amounts of unused land. This includes land alongside freeways and main roads, flood-prone land, and rooftops on factories, warehouses and residences. And locating big solar in cities can also reduce the energy losses that occur with transmitting electricity over long distances.

Australia’s combined rooftop solar installations already supply the equivalent of enough power for all the homes in Sydney. And even former landfill sites – which have few uses other than parkland and are often too contaminated to sustain other land uses such as residential development – can be a good use of space for solar farms. But such sites would need to be carefully managed so contaminants are not released during construction.Large-scale solar installations can present some challenges for urban planning. For instance, mirrors can cause problems with glare, or even damage if they were misaligned (problems thus far have been in solar thermal plants). Maintenance vehicles may increase traffic in neighbourhoods. Installing solar panels could cause temporary problems with noise and lighting. And views could potentially be disrupted if adjoining residents overlook a large-scale solar installation.

Originally Published by The Conversation, continue reading here.

Green homes give glimpse of renewable hydrogen future

Imagine a house where all the electricity is generated by rooftop solar.

Now imagine that, in addition, the stove, hot water and heating systems are all powered by the leftover energy.

It sounds like an emission-free pipedream, but the technology may be one step closer with the launch of a $3.3 million pilot project in Perth’s south.

Canadian gas giant ATCO is building a micro-grid at its Jandakot base, which will convert solar power into hydrogen fuel.

The micro-grid will use 1,100 solar panels to produce electricity, which will either power ATCO’s buildings or be diverted into battery storage.

Any leftover electricity will be used to power an electrolyser, which splits oxygen from hydrogen using water and an electric charge.

The oxygen is released, while the so-called “green” hydrogen is captured and stored.

The micro-grid will then divert the hydrogen in two ways — into a fuel cell for back-up power or into the reticulated natural gas network, to create a “greener”, lower-carbon fuel.

Blended natural gas and hydrogen fuels are already used in other countries and ATCO plans to test different blends at its operations.

‘A very local’ solution to energy storage

ATCO Australia managing director Pat Creaghan said the micro-grid offered the potential for large-scale recycling of excess solar power.

“It is a mixture of different technologies that we’re bringing together from some existing technologies to get a sense of how we operate in the future,” Mr Creaghan said.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) contributed $1.5 million in funding towards the project.

ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said blending hydrogen with natural gas could help solve the challenge of energy storage.

“If you think about having a system that runs completely on wind and solar, which I think we will within a few decades … there’s going to be a big storage requirement and we need that across a variety of different storage mechanisms,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“If you have a lot of rooftop solar, for example, the electricity network can’t deal with a lot of rooftop solar being fed into it.

“You could potentially, on a very local level, turn some of that electricity into hydrogen and store it.”

While blended natural gas and hydrogen fuels are used overseas, it remains to be seen whether Australia’s gas pipelines will be able to transport them.

“Some of the existing natural gas lines are ready for it and some need some work before they will be,” Mr Frischknecht said.

The micro-grid is expected to produce its first hydrogen by the first quarter of 2019.

Originally Published by ABC, continue reading here.

New Tech Could Turn Windows Into Solar Panels

See-through solar cells have been created which could turn windows into small-scale power plants.

Researchers at Michigan State University have developed thin, transparent, plastic-like material that can act as an energy-generating coating on windows, and provide additional power when coupled with a rooftop solar installation.

New Tech Could Turn Windows Into Solar Panels

Photo: article supplied

While the technology has existed in its early stages since 2015, it is only now developed enough for projects of scale.

The technology works by utilising organic molecules within the transparent film that absorb ultraviolet and infrared lightwaves – which are invisible to the human eye – and converts them into electricity by directing these lightwaves to small photovoltaic cells at the edge of the screen, while letting visible light through.

The film itself is less than one-thousandth of a millimetre thick.

Currently, the technology is recording energy efficiencies of more than 10 per cent, while traditional solar panels are between 15 and 18 per cent efficient.

“Highly transparent solar cells represent the wave of the future for new solar applications,” Michigan State University professor of chemical engineering and materials science and developer, Richard Lunt, said.

“We analysed their potential and show that by harvesting only invisible light, these devices can provide a similar electricity-generation potential as rooftop solar while providing additional functionality to enhance the efficiency of buildings, automobiles and mobile electronics.”

The technology can be used to improve existing solar panels efficiency levels by creating an additional layer of energy collection without interfering with conventional photovoltaic cell operation.

The application of the solar film exists for small-scale electronics, such as mobile phones, e-readers and wearables, and has been put forth as a way to extend battery life.

“That is what we are working towards,” Mr Lunt said.

“Traditional solar applications have been actively researched for over five decades, yet we have only been working on these highly transparent solar cells for about five years.

“Ultimately, this technology offers a promising route to inexpensive, widespread solar adoption on small and large surfaces that were previously inaccessible.”

This was originally published by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Click here to read the entire article.

The 2018 National Sustainability in Business Conference will be held on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 March 2018 at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane.  The 2nd annual conference will explore sustainability best practice within organisations, creating resilience in business and ways to implement change.

Conference speakers and partners will provide insight into how  they are interweaving sustainability practices within their organisations, navigating change and the differences they are making within national and  multinational companies and small business.

Register to secure your spot today!

German Battery Giant Teams with Australian Solar Tile Maker to Take on Tesla – Again

German battery storage giant and major Tesla rival, Sonnen, has opened up competition on yet another front in Australia, with the announcement this week of a partnership with a local roofing company that is set to launch its own version of an integrated solar tile.

Sonnen said on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with Australian company Bristile Roofing to be the national supplier of solar powered energy storage systems for homes using its new solar tile, which is due to hit the market in September.

Image: One Step Off The Grid

Under the deal, Bristile will offer the Sonnen AC Coupled modular battery storage system to the builder market, as well as its new Sonnen DC Hybrid range.

The storage system includes an inverter, battery modules, and an energy management system with built-in smart appliance control. The systems have a 10-year guarantee, but are designed for a 20-year life, according to Sonnen.

Bristile, which is a part of the building materials group Brickworks, says it expects to target the estimated 102,000 new-build homes throughout Australia in 2017-18, with a number of builders the company deals with “looking to offer integrated solar systems” as a standard feature of off-the-plan homes.

Sonnen, which launched its battery line in Australia just over a year ago, has since claimed that it is its biggest market outside Europe, and says it could soon be its biggest market in the world.

Article originally published by One Step Off The Grid.

Read the entire article here.