Solar Progress Spring 2012

ISSN: 0729-6436

Solar Capital ACT embraces Big Solar Harnessing the power of algae Pilbara ponds perfectly positioned Solar Council’s Golden Jubilee conference All the speakers and events Solar Financing Overcoming barriers

10/12 Spring

proudly

celebrating

T h e O f f icia l J ou rnal of t he Aus t ra lia n S ola r C OUN C IL

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Contents SOLAR PROGRESS is published by CommStrat for

16

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 Contributors: Janis Birkeland, Steve Blume, Hugh Byrd, Lyndon Frearson, Nigel Morris, Chem Nayar, Jenny Sharwood and Tristan Simons.

Contributing editor Nicola Card National Sales Manager Brian Rault Phone: 03 8534 5014 brian.rault@commstrat.com.au Design & production Annette Epifanidis CommStrat Melbourne Level 8, 574 St Kilda Rd Melbourne 3004 Phone: 03 8534 5000 Australian Solar COUNCIL CEO John Grimes PO Box 148, Frenchs Forest NSW 1640 www.solar.org.au ABN 32 006 824 148 CommStrat ABN 31 008 434 802 www.commstrat.com.au 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 opinions and material published in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or AuSES Ltd Trading as 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.

Solar Progress is published quarterly.

Front cover: Designer’s impression of the 20 MW PV plant destined for ACT

26 29 Solar Council Review of solar landscape by ASC CEO and Solar Progress Editor

Special features 2

Solar Council’s Golden Jubilee Conference

18

East Solar Expo and Conference

26

ASC state branch activity

44

ASC corporate members

48

Steve Blume reviews solar funding sources

8

Exergy and Auckland city

12

The Pilbara taps into algae, by Bill Parker 22 Part 3 of Janis Birkeland’s Real Eco Buildings

32

News and views

Solar advances

Local and global solar developments

4

First Solar, Big Solar in WA

10

DKA turns four, by Lyndon Frearson

14

Pacific atoll Tokelau goes solar

16

Nigel Morris reflects on 20 years of solar evolution

36

Power walk for SOLARdarity

38

The power of hybrid applications in remote locations, by Chem Nayar

24

ACT embraces Big Solar

29

Solar storage research: zinc oxide batteries, by Tristan Simons

40

Products and services Solar Inception 35 RM Solar and Electrical, Si Clean Energy and RFI

45

SolarProgress | 1

Bill Parker Editor

John Grimes Chief Executive, Australian Solar Council

As we celebrate our 50th anniversary conference, it is a great opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.

We are now approaching one million homes with solar PV. Even more successful, over a million homes have solar hot water.

Big solar has been born (after a long and painful delivery) with 10 MW operating in WA, and 20 MW to be commissioned in the ACT late next year.

And there is a popular groundswell of interest in sustainable housing, solar passive design, and building materials.

These are all fantastic achievements. We can all take pride that our mission ‘solar for a sustainable future’ is quickly becoming a reality.

But we should not take our success for granted.

The Renewable Energy Target (RET), the main driver of renewable energy in Australia, is under review. Plenty of detractors – with their own vested interests – are calling for the RET to be wound back or abolished.

This would be disastrous for solar.

How the federal government responds to the review is crucial to the success of solar in Australia.

And then there is next year’s federal election. We need to make sure all parties have strong solar policies, which take us forwards, not backwards.

Now, more than ever, we need to capture the support of ‘solar citizens’ and harness the enormous public goodwill for solar.

Given our history I know we will be successful.

50 successful years. Many more than 50 still to come.

The first time I attended what was then an Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society conference – “Under one Sun” – was 20 years ago in Darwin. My experience of those three days can be summed up as inspiring and pleasantly surprising.

Surprising because I did not expect camaraderie like that. I have attended every annual conference since and with no exceptions always walked away with the same inspired feeling.

From my own perspective, I presented a paper at that 1992 conference on the ‘Solar Energy Information Centre’ in South Perth. The centre was a showroom filled with solar technologies and on hand expert advice. The conclusion about interaction with the public was that solar was badly wanted. At the time, people were seeing PV panels for the first time and some asked where the water pipes and tanks were, or why the galvanised iron was painted blue.

Two decades have passed and a solar industry based on photovoltaics has emerged – a quantum leap from the odd kilowatt on some early adopter’s rooftops to a national tally of 350 megawatts as at June 30 this year and climbing. Without the dedication and talents of the members of this organisation, it is unlikely that we would have seen such success. Let’s celebrate that too.

In the same time frame, I was invited to become editor of this magazine, a job I took on a little reluctantly at first, but it grew on me as have the friendships that grew from it. So it is with pleasure that I will attend Solar 2012 and expect to find the camaraderie once again. Never mind social media (that’s a misnomer if there ever was) just jump in the car or onto a plane and head for Swinburne at Hawthorn in Melbourne’s east. If you are coming by bike, even better.

Bill Parker

John Grimes Printed using FSC® mixed source certified fibre by Printgraphics Pty Ltd under ISO 14001 Environmental Certification.

2 | SPRING 2012

News and views

Victorian solar atlas In early October the Victorian Government released a map of solar energy resources across the state to help investors and developers make decisions about the best sites for solar projects.

Time-series data measured at one minute intervals from three ground stations is covered, along with hourly solar and climatic data for five kilometre grid sections across Victoria.

The Solar Atlas data is based on satellite measurements originally sourced from NASA, whose data was calibrated and fine-tuned based on information from the ground stations.

The Victorian Solar Atlas is described as “a powerful tool” that will help attract solar investment and jobs and encourage the development of new renewable power sources to provide investors, developers, researchers and communities with up-to-date information about what amounts to some of the world’s best solar resource regions.

The data will allow users to better predict the potential energy generation of all types of solar energy technology, including solar photovoltaic power stations, solar thermal power generation and solar hot water.

For more information visit www.dpi.vic.gov. au/solaratlas

SunPower’s savvy investment In mid October SunPower Corp took a 42% stake in privately-owned, alternative energy project developer and clean electricity retailer Diamond Energy, in a partnership that will foster commercial and utility solar power.

SunPower and Melbourne based Diamond Energy are poised to deliver affordable, renewable electricity services that cover everything from the generator to the household electricity meter.

Diamond Energy Managing Director Tony Sennitt says the venture will result in the world's most efficient and reliable solar technology being provided to a broad range of households and businesses throughout Australia at affordable prices.

For his part, Nigel Morris of Solar Business Services declared the development “Big news … a solar power company taking a stake in an electricity retailer to [help] set the goalposts.”

4 | SPRING 2012

Solar Systems site’s $10 million injection Big Solar has been making big news in Western Australia and in the ACT, but Victoria is also recording a series of impressive advances in the state’s warmer north west climes.

The Victorian State Government recently pumped $10 million into the next stage of the Dense Array CPV Solar Systems project, which will see 2 megawatts of demonstration capacity, with an additional 1.5 MW facility being built at Mildura.

This latest development is the precursor to the Stage Three 100 MW CPV Solar Power Station in Mildura.

“This funding takes Solar Systems one step closer to its planned development of a large scale solar power plant in Mildura that could provide enough electricity to power more than 35,000 households and create high skill local jobs,” said State Energy and Resources Minister Michael O’Brien, whose Government has committed $50 million to the project.

Completed in mid, 2012 Stage One saw a 600 kilowatt capacity solar generating plant built at Bridgewater. The next stage will see a plant sporting 40 concentrating photovoltaic dishes.

The unique advantages of this Solar Systems’ ‘Dense Array’ CPV solar conversion system technology includes the use of advanced ‘triple junction’ solar cells currently capable of operating at over 40% conversion efficiency – approximately double the efficiency of today’s best silicon-based cells. Also the use of active cooling maximises power output and lifetime performance from the solar cells.

CEO of parent company Silex is Michael Goldsworthy who anticipates the development of additional large-scale solar power stations the USA and the Middle East; already a demonstration facility is under construction in Saudi Arabia.

More information: www.solarsystems.com.au and www.silex.com.au

Kangan TAFE launches solar training facility In early October Kangan TAFE in Broadmeadows proudly celebrated the launch of its solar training facility, and central to the development is the installation of four rooftop 1.5kW solar arrays.

Equipped with a test mode function, the panels can be switched from grid connected to test and learning mode in the classroom.

The workstations can be isolated individually, so when not in training they are feeding back to the grid with four position switch control isolating the power with effective automatic AC and DC isolation.

Each panel is independently wired through some intelligent PLC controls into the classroom and set up with 24 test ports on 12 workstations all independently supplied at ELV levels “At the launch we were able to demonstrate some very powerful applications that provide real considerations for the quality installations of Solar PV,” said Tony Devlin of Smarter Green.

The Kangan TAFE Solar Training facility will be delivering various interactive courses to electrical and solar installers through real-time measurement in any and all weather conditions.

News and views

Looking sunny in the US The US Solar Energy Industries Association reports positive news: the US solar industry recorded its second-best quarter in history and is expected to install as much solar power in 2012 as the ten years before 2010.

The industry tally came in at 772 megawatts of solar electric capacity in the second quarter of 2012 which is a sizeable 125% increase on the same period last year.

Dramatic cost reductions contribute to the rise in installations – with systems costing 70% of those installed last year, or US$32,400 for an average-sized rooftop PV system.

The sunny southern states of California, Arizona and Colorado account for more than 70% of installations.

A first investment The first investment by the Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund under the Australian Government’s Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund is being used to boost advances in solar technology in a bid to significantly increase the efficiency of solar panels.

An initial investment of $1.5 million, as part of a total $2.5 million commitment, has been pledged to Queensland based Brisbane Materials which plans to commercialise its high-performance anti-reflective coatings for more cost-effective, effective solar panels.

A quote that caught our attention “The Sun's energy isn't only cleaner and safer than gas, it is also 100 per cent free and that probably won't be changing any time soon.”

Sarah Hanson-Young, SA Greens Senator (speaking at the press conference at the conclusion of the power walk from Port Augusta to Adelaide).

6 | SPRING 2012

Notable PV installations Townsville RSL In late August the Townsville RSL Stadium gained a solar makeover, with 1800 PV panels installed on the rooftops that collectively supply two-thirds of the stadium’s energy requirements.

The $2 million clean energy “power station” generates around 1400 kilowatt hours a day which could otherwise meet the daily energy requirements of 75 homes.

The solar system is described as the largest of its kind in North Queensland, and is part of the Townsville Solar City Program which to date has overseen more than 1 megawatt of solar PV installed in Townsville, cutting carbon pollution by 64,000 tonnes.

Sun shines on Perth Zoo Meantime, the Solar city of Perth has flicked the solar switch on its zoo, which now boasts a 146.5 kW PV array atop a 100 metre long pergola.

The system is described as Perth’s largest.

All up installations across eight zoo buildings – including the conference centre, elephant barn and reptile house – will add about 91 kW and take capacity to 237 kW which will trim the zoo’s annual power bill by $100,000.

Bunbury’s South West Sports facility goes solar Still over in the west, the largest evacuated tube solar heating system in the southern hemisphere was officially opened in mid September at Bunbury’s Sports Facility.

The Royalties for Regions funded project consists of 240 solar units, the equivalent of 7200 tubes, which have been installed on the roof to heat the indoor pool's 2700 cubic metres of water, with the evacuated glass tubes generating about 550KW of energy per hour once installed.

The circular design means the tubes can harness the sun’s energy throughout the day.

The tubes convert solar energy as well as UV light, enabling panels to be in use during overcast days.

The evacuated tubes are said to be up to 80 per cent more efficient than flat plate solar collectors which are more commonly used in Australia.

The Royalties for Regions funded project has already been shown to reduce pool water heating (gas) costs by 34% over the winter months, and based on performance figures system installer Supreme Heating expects the cost of the project to be recouped in just six years.

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Special feature

Financing Big Solar – overcoming the barriers

In this, the first of a two part series, Steve Blume who is ASC President examines the ways in which the growing solar industry can overcome the financing issues it faces.

Australian businesses in new industries have always struggled to obtain finance – and getting finance for a solar project is no different. At one level the challenges faced by proponents of large scale solar generation are identical to any business – they must be able to show an investor a sufficiently robust business plan that would bring the investor on board.

This is so for any proposal to generate electricity whether it proposes using coal or gas as fuels, or plans on using wind, solar or some other renewable resource as the input. But large solar generation proponents, whether PV or CSP technologies, confront greater barriers than their fossil fuel competitors.

Why is it so?

Solar generation at utility scale is new. Worldwide the growth has been staggering, but commercially operating plants, with a few ‘demonstration plant’ exceptions, have been commissioned only in the past five years. PV technology has been ‘proved’ to those of us in the industry who are aware of the long trackrecord of R&D success, the huge volumes of commercial arrays on rooftops and on-ground in the last 10 and more years and the quality of engineering which has allowed the rapid deployment of the past three to five years.

Investors need more. A utility scale power plant, regardless of fuel type, requires large capital investment, typical periods of 20-25 years and an economic life of around 30-40 years. Those numbers indicate significant risk to investors – when greater risk is apparent because the technology has no long–term operational history then two things happen, 8 | SPRING 2012

either a premium is charged for the capital, or the capital is directed to a ‘safer’ alternative.

The former creates a higher bar for proponents in developing their business model, the latter, in this case, means the capital moves to gas or wind generation.

So what can big solar proponents do to countering this capex barrier? For new industries, all fossil fuels for example, governments around the world have provided great support during start up phases. A recent US report by Nancy Pfund and Ben Healey found that as a percentage of inflationadjusted federal spending, (a) nuclear subsidies accounted for more than 1% of the federal budget over their first 15 years, (b) oil and gas subsidies made up half a percent of the total budget (0.5%), and (c) renewables have constituted only about a tenth of one per cent ie 0.1%. That is to say, the federal commitment to oil and gas was five times greater than the federal commitment to renewables during the first 15 years of each subsidies life, and it was more than 10 times greater for nuclear.

The pattern in Australia is not much different and here, as in all countries, there is massive continued support for the mature fossil fuel industry – the world’s most profitable. So there is a solid argument for government support of solar and other renewables. The Australian Solar Council has been advocating for retention of the Renewable Energy Target, but has also been fighting for increased support through Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

There are other ways for big solar proponents to improve their chances of getting finance

in Australia. One option is to partner with others who already are participants in the National Electricity Market (NEM) and to offer a value-add component to an existing fossil fuel generator. This is the model used in the Kogan Creek Solar Boost project on the Darling Downs in Queensland. Another path was recently taken by SunPower Corp’s investment in Diamond Energy – this is a move to vertical integration with an existing utility already well established in the NEM, and mimics the vertical integration of the ‘big three’ utilities. One world-leading PV manufacturer has partnered with one of the big three so gaining access to the finance resources to back its push into the large scale market – this has had some success.

Nation’s capital moves forward with reverse auction The financing model being used by the ACT Government offers some lessons for deployment of big solar – initially PV, but this could support any renewable technology. The ACT’s ‘reverse auction’ process creates the circumstances for proponents to develop a business plan for investors with ‘bankability’. The basis of the ‘deed’ offered to a successful bidder is an effective ‘contract for difference’ which allows proponents to build a financial model offering a secure return to debt or equity participants for the 20 year finance period on a project with a likely economic operating life of at least 25 to 30 years. This protects taxpayers too, as payments are capped to a maximum, can vary down to zero, but not above the maximum, and in any case are only made for power produced and sent to the grid. The Deed for

One simple disruption that could work

Opposite: Greenough River solar farm, south east of Geraldton WA has 150,000 panels.

Right: Aerial view of the 10 MW Greenough River Solar Farm the first 20 MW plant was won by FRV Royalla Solar Farm Pty Limited which will build a facility at Royalla in the South of the ACT. A further 20 MW will be awarded in 2013 with further tranches to follow.

The regulatory and commercial environment The biggest barrier to large scale solar financing in Australia remains the current regulatory and commercial environment which has a small number of players all of whom are following the Paul Keating maxim quoting Jack Lang: ''In the race of life, always back self-interest - at least you know it's trying''. The existing players in a mature industry are doing what all incumbents do when seeing a business threat – fighting the intruders. In this case, as in all such contests where disruptive innovations challenge the status quo, they will lose, but many new entrants offering a renewable alternative will fail in the meantime.

Big solar is coming here: it is already wellestablished in the EU and still expanding; it is

growing apace in the USA; India and South Africa are booming; and China is simply way out ahead of the pack. Australia, with among the best solar resources in the world, is playing catch-up. The finance models already exist to take us to the front, and with ARENA and the CEFC the Australian Government has established the tools to realise the potential. The Australian Solar Council will continue to push for strong R&D for the solar industry, but most critically we argue for rapid deployment of the full range of solar technologies we have seen successfully deployed overseas.

The reasons are fundamental – the need to move rapidly to a low carbon economy by reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of which Australia is the consistent per capita leader. A further critical reason to deploy solar at utility scale and on rooftops, is that it costs less to act sooner than later and the evidence is clear that even during the GFC, clean technologies were net job creators.

There is one disruption our energy markets that could transform the whole industry, not just the electricity market. It requires no more than a simple “business 101 change” to how we deal in energy. Worldwide companies make a profit by selling the raw products that none of us need or use those products to create energy sources: coal and gas to electricity and oil to petrol, and so on. What if those products were made inputs to the services we actually use – to heat our homes and our hot water, run our cars and other machinery? The answer to that forms the basis of my article in an upcoming issue of Solar Progress.

Further information http://www.dblinvestors.com/documents/WhatWould-Jefferson-Do-Final-Version.pdf http://kogansolarboost.com.au/ http://www.environment.act.gov.au/energy/ solar_auction http://simoncorbell.com/2012/09/05/big-solararrives-in-canberra/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_ innovation http://blogs.hbr.org/winston/2012/09/ignoringgreen-energy-is-bad-b.html

Solar advances

The birth of

Big Solar

in Australia The launch of Australia’s first large-scale solar project attracted the attention it deserved. Solar Progress editor Bill Parker was among several who made the nine hour round trip by car from Perth to Geraldton to hail the event.

Wednesday October 10 marked a significant day in solar PV installations in Australia With an audience of some eighty guests, The Hon Peter Collier, WA’s Energy Minister energy officially cut the ribbon on the Greenough River Solar Farm, a 10 MW first stage of what is expected to be 40 MW when complete.

The solar farm owned equally by Verve Energy and GE Finance was built by First Solar with investment from the WA state government, GE Energy Financial Services. First Solar will run and maintain the farm.

“As the largest photovoltaic solar plant in operation in Australia, the Greenough River Solar Farm demonstrates that renewable technologies can contribute to meeting Australia’s future energy needs on a sustainable, cost-competitive basis. This is a positive first step in validating the bright future that largescale solar represents in Australia,” said Jason Waters who is CEO of Verve Energy.

“With this landmark project now complete, partners Verve Energy and GE Energy Financial Services are now evaluating the possibility of expanding the plant to up to 40-megawatts to satisfy growing demand for renewable energy.”

The 10-megawatt plant's output will be purchased by the WA Water Corporation to help offset the energy requirements of its Southern Seawater Desalination Plant at Binningup south of Perth.

10 | SPRING 2012

This project marks GE Energy Financial Services’ first renewable energy investment in Australia, adding to the company’s global portfolio of more than US$8 billion committed worldwide for projects generating power from wind, solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal and other renewable sources.

“GE is one of the world’s largest renewable energy investors and the Greenough River Solar Farm is just one example of the significant projects we can help turn into reality,” said Matt O’Connor, Managing Director at GE Energy Financial Services. “We see incredible investment opportunities in Australia and look forward to expanding on this successful project and applying our expertise to help the country’s renewable energy market grow.”

In addition to supplying over 150,000 of its advanced thin film PV modules and

engineering, procurement and construction services for the plant, First Solar will provide operations and maintenance services for the next 15 years.

“First Solar is helping make large-scale solar power a reality in Australia,” said Mark Widmar, First Solar’s Chief Financial Officer. “This landmark project provides a strong foundation for the long-term adoption of large-scale solar projects in the Australian power market. We are delighted to have partnered with local suppliers and contractors to deliver this project and to lead the development of a large-scale solar industry in Australia.”

Western Australian state-owned power utility, Verve Energy, and GE Energy Financial Services each own 50 per cent of the Greenough River Solar Farm, with the WA Government having provided A$20 million in funding, including A$10 million from the WA Royalties for Regions program. No debt was raised to fund the project.

Although there are plans for a further 40 MW at the Greenough River site, the actual construction will depend on a power purchasing agreement, as well as possible State government finance, and the WA Premier Colin Barnett is not supporting the LRET. Balance of system costs will drop but world–wide experience indicates that government support in one way or another is required.

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Special feature

Exergy and the city Do Auckland’s roof tops have the potential to displace the need for oil based transport with PV? Two researchers at Auckland University think this is possible and take the argument further into expanding the normal paradigms of town planning in the future. Hugh Byrd and Anna Ho review the solar potential of the city and its implications on urban policy.

Exergy is synonymous with the availability of energy and, in the context of this research, is the availability of energy generated by photovoltaics (PVs) mounted on roofs across a city.

The research was carried out on Auckland city with the aim of answering the questions: 1) How much energy could be produced if a city fully used its rooftops in a practical and efficient manner?

2) If any excess energy is produced, how could this best be used? and 3) What implications will this have on the shape of cities?

The purpose of looking at the full potential is that it provides a starting point from which to predict the impact of PVs as they increase penetration into the building stock.

The study took a large sample – namely three million square metres of floor area – of various types and uses of buildings from high rise city centre developments through to low density suburbs and everything in between.

Figure 1 illustrates the sample that was analysed, and from which the performance of the entire city was extrapolated.

Figure 1 Three million square metres of roof area sampled for study The first stage of the research was to establish the amount of energy available. This involved an analysis of rooftops in order to filter out the optimum orientation and tilts for solar collection.

Figure 2 illustrates a solar protractor for Auckland that measures the percentage efficiency based on tilt and orientation. For the purposes of this study, only roofs within 95% of the optimum angle were selected.

12 | SPRING 2012

Figure 2 The Auckland solar protractor High rise buildings performed worse with little available roof area, and vertical surfaces that are relatively inefficient.

The roofs are cluttered already and PVs on vertical surfaces can reduce daylight; a more valuable form of solar energy for commercial buildings.

Industrial buildings tend to have the most appropriate roof forms but the overall area of these in the city is much smaller than suburban roofs which, although more complex in shape, offer the largest potential surface area.

Figure 3 illustrates a simplified version of the analysis which shows (in green) the potential energy available from rooftops across the whole city.

The ‘detached dwellings’ category, which is predominantly suburbia, is the largest collector of energy.

The ‘attached dwellings’ category, generally compact and higher density housing, is disappointingly low due to the smaller roof areas, and also due to the assumption in the study that households would choose to install solar water heating prior to PVs. (In Auckland, solar water heating offers greater energy savings as around one quarter of energy used in a typical household goes toward heating water.)

Figure 3 The potential energy and energy demand across Auckland’s buildings

Having established the city’s power generation potential, this can then be compared with energy demand of buildings. From data relating to energy demand of different building types and uses, a profile of both daytime and night-time electricity use was established. This is illustrated in figure 3 with the brown bars measuring daytime electricity use and the blue, night-time use. The interesting revelation of this chart is that the excess electricity generated by suburbia is almost the same as the electricity demand, during the daytime, of the rest of the city. In theory, suburbia could power the city.

Figure 3 is effectively a ‘net-metering’ chart and can be used to map net metering spatially across a city. This is demonstrated in figure 4 where the orange areas of the city indicate equal supply to demand (zero net energy), the blue areas have a net demand and the yellow areas have a net supply. Not surprisingly, yellow is suburbia and all the compact development is in various shades of blue with little contribution of energy to the city.

Figure 4 The energy regions of Auckland (net zero – orange) Having established the spatial distribution of energy generation by PVs and the magnitude of the supply, the next question is how to best use the surplus generated in the suburbs. New Zealand does not have a subsided feed-in tariff (FiT) and internationally they are likely to be phased out. Therefore, this study did not take account of FiTs. In many cities the logical step would be to use excess electricity by feeding in to the grid and thereby reducing electricity demand from conventional sources. This would also have the benefit of reducing the quantity of greenhouse gases produced by conventional electricity generation.

78% is for recreation, shopping, social visits, education and other activities that frequently occur outside peak PV generating times. Cars could be left at home during the day provided there were reasonable alternatives for travel to work.

Energy use for travel was then related to the net density of housing which, in turn, is related to the distance from the city centre. Figure 5 shows the relationship between travel energy and city density.

The green curve was produced by Newman and Kenworthy in their comparison of travel energy and different density (gross density) cities. The blue curve is Auckland’s relationship between travel and net density using internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). The red curve illustrates travel energy in Auckland based on a grid charged EV fleet (noting EVs are approximately four times more efficient than ICEVs). However, if EVs were charged by PVs, surplus energy is still available after all travel is accounted for. Hence the orange curve becomes negative.

Figure 5 The relationship between travel energy and density

Technical synergies

Displacing transport fuel with PV?

Clearly the combined actions of PVs, EVs and smart meters could reduce New Zealand’s dependence on oil. Furthermore, in the case of Auckland, a compact city is not necessarily energy efficient or low carbon. Finally, policy decisions on urban form should be based on the technologies of the future and not those of the past or present.

In New Zealand, about 75% of electricity is generated from renewable sources such as hydropower, geothermal and wind. Most carbon in the city is produced from the internal combustion engine. Auckland is a car dependent city and with almost half of the country’s total energy use being oil for transport, displacing the use of oil would be a preferable option for PV generated electricity.

The next stage of the study was to investigate the energy required for transportation within the city and evaluate the contribution that could be made by electric vehicles (EVs) charged by PVs. Extensive data on travel patterns in Auckland was analysed.

Interestingly, in Auckland, the commute to work comprises just 22% of a vehicle driver’s average travel in major urban areas. The remaining

Co-authors Hugh Byrd has recently been appointed Professor of Architecture at the University of Lincoln, UK, following three years at the University of Auckland where he coordinated the ‘Solar potential of Auckland’ project.

Anna Ho completed her architectural degree at Victoria University, Wellington and after working in the profession for a few years returned to the University of Auckland to complete a Masters in Sustainable Design. The authors acknowledge the support of Professor Harvey Perkins and Charlotte Sunde and are grateful to The University of Auckland which funded this study through the ‘Transforming Cities’ thematic research initiative.

The Solar Centre of Australia Desert Knowledge Australia: Bringing credible solar data to the world – downloadable and free of charge.

Lyndon Frearson provides the background.

On October 1 this year, Australia’s pre-eminent solar test and demonstration facility, the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre celebrated its fourth birthday. The Solar Centre is located in Alice Springs at the Desert Knowledge Precinct, a 73 hectare site that it shares with Desert Knowledge Australia, the CRC for Remote Economic Participation, CSIRO, the Centre for Appropriate Technology and the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.

With funding provided by the Australian Federal Government, the Solar Centre opened in 2008 with 16 different solar installations, live and online, for people around the world to analyse and assess. The site included some critical firsts, including the first use of Deger Energie Trackers, the first public installation of Trina Panels, and the first use of First Solar panels in Australia.

Since that time, the industry has rapidly and substantially changed and so too has the Solar Centre.

Over the last four years the Solar Centre has grown from 16 installations to 33, with four more being commissioned over the coming weeks and another eight due for completion in early 2013. This will bring the overall size of the Solar Centre to over 220kWp, a large system in its own right.

A unique website It is not just the size or number of the installations that matter though; one of the unique aspects of the Solar Centre is its website, where all the data is available for viewing in real time as well for download, free of charge.

It is the availability, and credibility, of the data that makes the Solar Centre so important to the Australian PV industry. The database is one of the largest publicly available sources of

14 | SPRING 2012

information of PV system performance both in breadth – number of technologies and variables collected, depth – the data points are all based on one second samples, with five minute averages sourced from calibrated class 0.5 metres, and length – the oldest system is now four years old and there is a commitment to keep the database operational for at least 15 years. There is also a separate data stream collecting instantaneous power, voltage, temperature and radiation at one second intervals for high resolution analysis.

The extent to which the data is valued can be understood by looking at how much it is used: • There are around 20,000 people accessing the live data each month; • There are over 4000 academics, researchers, engineers, investment bankers, venture capitalists, utility staff and policy makers whom have registered to access the detailed historical data; • There are around 300 significant downloads (greater than 10,000 records) of data each month; • The data is being used by people from more than 80 countries In an example of how the data can be used, CSIRO has just released a nationally significant report on the impact of intermittency from PV systems on large grids – their conclusions, although surprising to many of the old guard in the electricity industry, reinforces the view of many of us, that PV can contribute a very large amount of energy to our energy supplies, notwithstanding the intermittency. Importantly, a lot of the data for the project was derived from the Solar Centre in collaboration with CSIRO. The facility has also been recognised with a number of awards, including an Engineering Excellence award for Research and Innovation.

Expanding collaborative research The future of the Solar Centre is no less exciting: over the coming three years a number of related research activities and project will be commencing at the Solar Centre with the support of the Australian Solar Institute. In a partnership between CAT Projects, Power and Water Corporation and DKASC, an array of weather stations across the Alice Springs Region will be installed with a view to building advanced predictive control models for integrating high penetration solar PV into constrained networks; CAT Projects, the DKASC and other national and international partners will be undertaking detailed assessments of the relative merits and reliability of spectral characterisation of PV system performance. This will involve test facilities in Alice Springs, Newcastle and Colorado being linked in order to build a detailed understanding of Cell, Module and System level performance characterisation with respect to spectral influences.

These projects will result in new monitoring hardward being installed at the Solar Centre, including Spectral Radiometers, new Pyronometers installed on the plane of the array and on trackers as well as panel mounted temperature probes.

The Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre is a joint initiative of Desert Knowledge Australia and CAT Projects. See www.dkasolarcentre. com.au

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Solar advances

Image courtesy of IT Power

Island in the sun

Tokelau may be a tiny dot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean but it is making a big splash in solar power, courtesy of a $7.5 million project being implemented by Powersmart Solar in partnership with IT Power.

Fancy a two-day 500 km cruise departing north from Samoa in the sunny South Pacific? It’s a nautical path well trodden – er, sailed – by staff involved in Tokelau’s transition to solar power.

The project, which is nearing completion, came to fruition with the aid of the New Zealand government, the brains of IT Power and the muscle of New Zealand-based solar integrator Powersmart Solar.

And so it was that in July 2012 the atoll named Fakaofo first flicked the switch on its solar plant. Nearby and nearing completion is a standalone 1152 x 230 Watt solar panels (265 kW) power system on Nukunonu Atoll and completing the solar equation is the installation on Atafu Atoll, which will take total capacity to almost 1 MW. Thus Tokelau which is but a tiny dot on the globe will soon boast one of the world’s largest standalone power system, meeting almost 100% of the nation’s power needs. The plan is for the balance to be derived from coconut oil.

Tokelau elder Foua Toloa proudly reported "Probably by the end of the year we will be the first country in the world to meet our needs from renewable energy.”

Given the island’s limited infrastructure, the logistics of shipping materials for the PV plants presented a challenge. “There are no wharves so unloading shipments of solar panels and building materials was something of a feat,” said IT Power Managing Director Simon Troman, adding the project was financed through a grant provided by New Zealand Aid. Speaking at the East Solar conference, Troman listed the benefits arising from the solar plant, including the provision of a reliable power supply, with predictable electricity pricing no longer subject to changes in the

16 | SPRING 2012

international oil price. These benefits lead to economic growth for the people of Tokelau.

Further benefits of the project include environmental outcomes, such as far less diesel being imported in 200 litre drums, and the associated waste.

He also revealed that a popular after-hours activity for staff involved in the Pacific island project is snorkelling among the three colourful coral reefs. Unfortunate it is that nearby on the seas floor lies an ugly series of empty, rusting diesel drums, a relic of the island’s erstwhile power source.

Aussie expertise As Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes pointed out, much of the solar technology used in projects around the globe was invented in Australia and “With a small investment we [Australians] can make a disproportionate impact both on the industry and the lives of the people in the Asia Pacific region.” Indeed.

Tonga too takes to solar Tonga has also turned its eyes to the sun. In mid 2012 King George Tupou VI unveiled a 1 MW solar facility called Ma'ama Mai or ‘Let there be Light’. IT Power was not involved in this project, whose 6000 solar panels will generate 4% of electricity used on the main island, saving the country at least $NZ15 million in diesel over the 25 year life of the PV plant. (The island nation was consuming 13 to 15 million litres of diesel a year, or one litre every two seconds.)

For more information: www.itpau.com.au Editor’s note: We hope to bring you more details on Tokelau’s landmark development in the next issue of Solar Progress.

Did you know?

The history of the tiny island – whose three atolls occupy less than 11 square kilometres and hover just two metres above sea level – dates back 1000 years.

The Polynesian word Tokelau translates as ‘North Wind’.

Tokelau is a territory of New Zealand with a population of around 1400 and Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.

The government – whose annual revenues clock in at less than US$500,000 against expenditures of US$2.8 million – relies on subsidies from New Zealand.

Tokelauans are currently drafting a constitution in preparation for selfgovernment.Brian and Pam’s son James and his partner Kirsty also installed a solar PV system at their property on the outskirts of Colac.

Time lines 1765: Commodore John Byron discovered Atafu and named it Duke of York's Island.

1863: A dark year for islanders, with 253 men kidnapped by Peruvian slave traders.

In 1877 the islands were included under the protection of the UK. In 1920 Tokelauans were recognised as British subjects.

1926: The island nation’s administration transferred to New Zealand and its British subjects gained New Zealand citizenship.

30 December 2011: A day wiped out as Tokelau shifted time zones by hopping across the International Date Line at midnight on 29 December to more closely align with New Zealand and Samoan clocks.

Golden Jubilee Solar conference

Australian Solar Council's

Golden Jubilee Solar 2012 Conference

Solar specialists from across Australia are invited to join in celebrations that mark 50 years of solar advances and achievements in industry advocacy.

When: Thursday December 6 and Friday December 7 Where: Swinburne University, Burwood Road, Hawthorn, Victoria This ‘Golden Jubilee’ conference puts the spotlight on the length and depth and solar research, showcasing real solar projects that are delivering cost effective, emission-free residential and commercial electricity.

Being held at Swinburne University on Thursday December 6 and Friday December 7, Solar 2012 will feature a multi-stream format enabling delegates to select the topics of greatest value to them.

As a key member of the International Energy Agency PV Power Systems Program, AuPSVEE will also be presenting a stream of expert speakers in a special sub-program.

As President of the Australian Solar Council, Steve Blume says: “This special 50th anniversary event will showcase how far the sector has come in Australia and give insight into what the future holds … the conference also presents an excellent opportunity for academic, industrial and government delegates to mix with their peers and expand their networks.”

For more information visit www.solarconference.com.au

18 | SPRING 2012

Celebrating 50 years of solar minds and achievements There are few organisations that can claim a half century and longer of promoting the science, the technology and now the major commercialisation of solar energy. This year we celebrate with a special event that has been held every year since 1962: The Australian Solar Council’s annual conference this year is its 50th.

The ASC had its origins as the Australian and New Zealand Branch of the Association for Applied Solar Energy, an American body with the purpose of commercialising solar technologies.

Australian solar experts were involved and eventually the organisation grew into the International Solar Energy Society.

During these years, the technical emphasis was on capturing the sun’s heat for generating hot water (in particular), space heating and air-conditioning.

By the late 1960s, public awareness of the environment had grown. Pollution was becoming significant and solar experts – our members – were well placed then to show the non-polluting, ‘clean’ values of solar technologies.

This came into particular focus with the oil crisis of 1973. That event spurred an increase in membership of the ANZ branch that researched the broader areas of photovoltaics, and small scale wind turbines.

As measured by the number of issued patents, Australia fared well in solar thermal technologies, and importantly, it was ANZ Branch members who drove the research and commercialisation.

“Solar” was a buzzword but it did not stay that way. Changes were underway in energy supplies and as crude oil prices reduced and gas became available, so did the focus on solar and renewable energy diminish.

In the late 1980s, the ANZ branch of the International Solar Energy Society developed into an international body in its own right: the Australian New Zealand Solar Energy Society. In later years and on friendly terms, New Zealand went its own way.

But where did all the research and development effort go? Even though the public perception of the need to move permanently to renewable energy had gone, the ethos of this solar organisation did not.

Significant world–class work was being conducted in PV, large scale solar thermal, solar radiation data collection and low energy buildings – the complete spectrum of technologies and applications of knowledge.

Things changed with increased awareness of global warming.

The Australian public again saw solar as a way forward. The change in public attitude was quite dramatic and the demand for roof top PV brought far reaching changes and the birth of significant solar industry.

In retrospect, the ideas and motivations of our early pioneers are coming to fruition now – all within the same body of people.

ASC member-driven Milestones It is worth listing some of the remarkable achivements of ASC members, among them: Efficient photovoltaic cells; Solar thermal dish collectors and build of the “big” dish at ANU; Compact linear Fresnel technology for power generation; Knowledge base on low energy building design; Publication of Australian Solar Radiation data for designers and builders; the First crossing of Australia (west–east) by solar powered car; and the World Solar challenge series.

A truly remarkable list of pioneering projects!

Keynote speakers at Solar 2012 Following is a snapshot of some of the many high-profile speakers who will be presenting insights at Solar 2012 Scott Frier – “Yes, we can!”

Scott is Chief Operation Officer for Abengoa Solar Inc. and was involved as a senior manager in all 10 of the only large-scale solar thermal power plants built and operating in the world before joining Abengoa. He will give a “Yes, we can!” themed presentation. Abengoa is now constructing its 20th large scale solar thermal power plant, with seven under construction (two in Spain, one in Abu Dhabi, two in the US, and two in South Africa); six troughs and one tower, three with super heated steam energy storage, and two with molten salt energy storage, as well as natural gas hybrid options (Spain) and fully-integrated natural gas superheating (Abu Dhabi).

Min Gu Min Gu who holds a string of fellowships was appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor for International Research Collaboration (IRC) at Swinburne in 2009.

In 2000 he was appointed as Professor (Chair) of Optoelectronics and Foundation Director of the Centre for Micro-Photonics at Swinburne University of Technology. He has been a Node Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Ultrahigh-bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems since 2003. He is also the Director of the Federal and State-Government funded Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility that he initiated and established in 2010.

Professor Gu is a pioneer and an internationally-leading authority on three-dimensional optical imaging science, with more than 800 publications in nano/biophotonics. His inventions in five-dimensional high-density optical data storage, nanoplasmonic solar cells and nonlinear optical endoscopy have led to the establishment of six spin-off companies and industrial joint R&D projects with international leading companies.

Keith Lovegrove Dr Keith Lovegrove is the Head – Solar Thermal for the UK based renewable energy consulting company ITPower. He has 24 years of experience in Solar Thermal Energy research combined with 15 years of teaching experience in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Energy Systems and Systems Engineering. Keith was previously the leader of the Solar Thermal Group at ANU, in which role he was the lead inventor and design and construction team leader of the 500m2 hence world’s largest - Generation II Big Dish solar concentrator that was recognised with a Light Weight Structures Association of Australia 2009 design award and a 2011 Highly Commended citation from the IEAust ACT Engineering Excellence awards.

Keith has authored or co-authored two book Chapters, over 100 research papers and 29 Engineering Technical reports and has been an invited or plenary speaker at 25 conferences and forums.

He has had a long involvement with the ANZ Solar Energy Society, a section of the International Solar Energy Society, serving as Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Chair of the 2006 conference committee.

Monica Oliphant Monica Oliphant runs her own Consultancy, “Monica Oliphant Research Scientist; specialising in Residential Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy”.

Monica is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of South Australia in the Sustainable Energy Centre and is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Flinders University of South Australia and Charles Darwin University, in the Northern Territory. She worked as a Principal Research Scientist for 18 years at the South Australian Electricity Utility, ETSA, undertaking end-use monitoring, energy analysis and renewable energy projects.

Monica has participated on many Australian Federal and State Government Committees: Australia’s Mandatory Renewable Energy Target Review, Board Member of the South Australian Premier’s Round Table in Sustainability, Renewables SA and the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship.

She won the Ecogen 2011 Award for the “Most Outstanding Contribution to the Clean Energy Industry” and in 2012 was awarded the World Renewable Energy Network Pioneer Award. Monica was President of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES) 2008–09.

Stephen White Dr Stephen White leads CSIRO’s solar cooling research. His interests include sorption cooling, refrigeration, energy efficiency and low grade heat utilisation. Dr White leads a team of scientists and engineers designing solar cooling systems, undertaking simulation modelling, prototype development and testing. Current projects include developing novel desiccant materials, prototype testing of residential solar air conditioning systems and demonstrating solar cooling technologies for use in rural cool stores in India.

Stephen is the Chairman of the Australian National Committee of the International Institute of Refrigeration, and Chairman of the Australian Solar Cooling Interest Group. He is also a member of the A$340million New South Wales Climate Change Fund Ministerial Advisory Committee.

Stefan Preuss Stefan leads the Resource Efficiency Division at Sustainability Victoria. As Acting Director he is responsible for the delivery of resource efficiency programs and expert advice in the areas of business, industry, buildings, local energy supply and households.

Holding Masters Degrees in Architecture and Environmental Design, Stefan is also a leading advocate of best practice sustainability in the built environment combining technical expertise with practical experience as an architect in Australia and Europe. He has taken a lead role in a number of award winning buildings and contributed to the development of building rating tools.

Stefan is the technical expert for sustainability on the Victorian Government Architect’s Design Review Panel (VDRP), an experienced evaluation panel member, a building assessment chair, the Victorian representative on the Steering Committee of the National Australian Built Environment Rating System and the Australian Executive Committee Member in the International Energy Agency ECBCS program.

SolarProgress | 19

Golden Jubilee Solar conference

Specialist presentations An additional program on Wednesday December 5 will focus on the solar and renewables training professions, aimed at enhancing understanding and liaison between TAFE and secondary educators, installers and industry. Among the topics to be covered are: Photovoltaics, Solar thermal, Built environment and sustainable development, Energy efficiency, Public policy, Grid and off grid systems, and other renewables.

Annual General Meetings The Australian Solar Council will hold its Annual General Meeting on Thursday December 6. More details will be posted on www.solar.org.au For more information visit www.solarconference.com.au In conjunction with the conference, the Australian PV Association will also be holding its AGM.

Site visits Excursions to key, large scale renewable energy installations within southern and central Victoria are planned for Saturday December 8.

Details of the day trip will soon be available on the website www. solarconference.com.au and interested parties are advised to book early as places will be limited.

Rather conveniently situated is the new Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility (VSASF) at the Swinburne Hawthorn Campus, and it is anticipated that tours of the facility will be possible.

Awards dinner Included in the registration fee is admission to the ASC’s Annual Awards Dinner on the night of Thursday December 6 where the annual 'Wal Read' Memorial Awards will be presented to under-graduate and postgraduate students submitting the best academic papers for presentation to the Conference.

Accommodation The campus is a short walk from Glenferrie station. The Belgrave, Lilydale and Alamein trains from the city whisk passengers to Glenferrie station in just 10 minutes. Within easy reach of Flinders St Station are numerous city centre hotels suiting all budgets.

Costs Students and seniors can attend the full two-day event for just $290; the cost for ASC members is just $250.

The Solar 2012 price for full delegates is $450 for ASC members and $590 for non members.

20 | SPRING 2012

“Australian graduates continue to lead world's best research departments and projects, and we continue to train the best and brightest in solar and renewable technologies.”

A word from ASC CEO John Grimes “We stand for solar and renewable excellence."

How fitting it is that Australia has just this year recorded two major milestones: the commissioning of Big Solar in Western Australia and the nation’s capital the ACT planning to turn the turf to make way for a sea of PV panels in what will be a mighty 20 MW plant. The line in the sand has been drawn and we are on the road to a bigger, better and brighter solar future.

With the nation now notching up $4 billion in solar sales and recording some of the world’s highest levels of PV installations, we have much to celebrate. Many of today’s highest profile solar scientists spent their formative years or were educated in Australia and our ‘home grown’ expertise has been exported across the globe.

We now invite solar specialists from all endeavours to join us in proudly celebrating half a century of stellar solar achievements. You all – we all – deserve to recognise and applaud Australia's early adoption of renewable, sustainable energy and all the triumphs and successes that have been recorded over five decades.

For more information visit www.solarconference.com.au

Solar hybrid power generation system

for rural applications

Chem Nayar explains how smart hybrid energy systems, which link renewable energy technologies with diesel generators, inverters and batteries, can provide cleaner and more cost efficient grid quality power to remote locations.

There are two general methods of supplying electricity to remote areas: grid extension (which can be very expensive) and the use of diesel generators (often the most viable option).

However, remote areas with relatively small communities generally show significant variation between the daytime peak loads and the minimum night-time loads. Diesel powered electric generators are typically sized to meet the peak demand during the evening but must run at very low loads during “off-peak” hours during the day and night, which results in poor fuel efficiency and increased maintenance.

Other problems stem from the high cost of electricity due to increasing fuel and transportation cost, and air and noise pollution.

During the past decade, diesel prices have more than doubled which has translated into tremendous increases in the cost of energy generation.

By contrast solar and wind power technologies are clean, affordable, readily available, sustainable and can replace or supplement generators in both residential and commercial applications.

Hybrid energy systems integrate these renewable energy technologies with diesel generators, inverters and batteries to provide grid quality power in remote areas not connected to a utility grid. Such an isolated grid is known as Remote Micro-Grid and is widely recognised as the remote area electrification technology for the 21st century. A 21% increase in capacity for the remote micro-grid market is forecast by 2017, from 349 MW to 1.1 GW with a projected total revenue of more than $10 billion.

A conventional diesel generator consists of an engine connected directly to a synchronous alternator to produce electricity. As the electricity must be produced at a fixed frequency, normally 50Hz or 60Hz, the engine must rotate at a constant speed (typically 1500 rpm for 50Hz or 1800 rpm for 60Hz), no matter what the power demand is. Previous Hybrid Power Systems were based on constant speed diesel generators in combination with battery storage, bidirectional inverter/charger, solar panels or small wind generators coupled either to the DC side using charge controllers or to the AC side using grid feeding solar inverters.

Using this concept Regen installed one of the largest solar hybrid power systems in Western Australia at the ‘Eco Beach Wilderness Resort’

near Broome. In the turn-key solution Regen Power was responsible for the design, engineering and project management of the 48kWP renewable power installation generated by rooftop photovoltaic (PV) system with a diesel generator backup. Commissioned in April 2009 at a cost of $1.2 million, the installation is innovative in that the PV system is AC-coupled to a mini-grid via grid-feeding inverters.

Capturing solar power in the Maldives to Vietnam, Singapore and more Two years earlier Regen was involved in the design, engineering and installation of solar installations on three remote islands in the Republic of Maldives.

Regen Power has come up with an innovative solution to save fuel in a diesel generator by running the engine at variable speeds in response to the variation electrical load demand. Two types of variable speed diesel generator systems marketed as HybridGen were developed: one using a Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) system, and the other a Brushless Alternator.

HybridGen, which maintains constant voltage and frequency while adjusting the engine speed to power demand, can benefit such applications as: staff accommodation on oil, gas and mineral exploration sites; construction sites where electrical demand fluctuates day and night; remote villages, islands, houses, cabins, and mobile telecom towers.

Some of the recent projects undertaken by Regen Power using Hybridgen are: Telecom BTS projects implemented in India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Singapore; Remote Micro-Grid Test Bed Facility in Pulau Ubin Island off Singapore; and in WA a 6 kWp Solar/Diesel Hybrid Power Supply - Meentheena Station Veterans Retreat; also Solar Hybrid system for the 60 kilometres of haul road between BC Iron Nullagine Iron Ore project and FMG's Christmas Creek.

Regen Power director Prof Chem Nayar has more than 30 years extensive experience in remote area renewable energy electrification.

SolarProgress | 21

Special feature

Solar fuels and more Can Australia develop a viable solar industry using waste carbon dioxide, algae and large areas of under-utilised coastal land in WA? One recent study says “maybe” the other says “yes”.

Story by Bill Parker.

22 | SPRING 2012

If you have ever flown over a coastal salt works, the landscape is remarkable. The large interconnected ponds are often red or green as the seawater moves over long periods of time from the sea intake to the crystallisation ponds and the salt harvest. That colouration is caused by algae and the pigments they contain.

In the mid 1980s, the red colouration present in the algae growing in the brine was exploited at a location on the WA coast at Hutt Lagoon.

There, the value was in the pigment: beta-carotene. That plant, now about 470Ha (and said to be the largest in the world) is still producing beta-carotene.

However, the world is also looking for fossil fuel alternatives, especially in air transport, but also of concern is the security of supply and cost of diesel for land–based transport. Our agriculture and industries depend on diesel. Can this demand be met by the biodiesel that can be produced from the lipids extracted from algae? Even with a commercial production track record and some considerable algal biotechnology know-how in Australia, we are yet to take the potential and turn it into actual.

In early September, WA Ministers Norman Moore and Brendan Grylls issued a media

statement ‘Pilbara algae industry has potential’.

This forward–looking statement related to an economic diversification of the region and was based on a report by Worley Parsons relating to the area which is already known for its solar salt production. The Worley Parsons report examined the basic tenets of using algae as a lipid source for biofuel production.

This leads to the question as to whether commercial scale algal ponds can produce biodiesel at a competitive price. There is also a fundamental technology question at play here. Are large open ponds a better option technically and economically than closed reactors? The Worley Parsons report does not address this issue in depth, instead focussing on the requirements of open ponds and their operational logistics. However, there is an argument around the globe as to the relative benefits of each approach. Worley Parsons’ focus was on large ponds.

Ideal landscape There are four elements that appear to be essential: large flat land areas adjacent to the sea, waste CO2 and low population density.

The Pilbara area has all four and according to the Worley Parsons report, the Dampier Peninsula produces about 10 tonnes of CO2 annually.

At first pass, the Pilbara has the ideal climate. This is exemplified by the existence for some years of local algal biotechnology projects and investment in infrastructure.

The biodiesel numbers stack up; there is far more local demand than supply. The Pilbara also has a ready supply of seawater. On the negative side, Worley Parsons identify several constraints including the infancy of the emerging industry, complicated land negotiations due to the required acreage, high labour costs, lack of skilled labour, a cyclone prone area, environmental issues of seawater intake and outflow, and negotiation time to finalise project sites and construction.

The husbandry of large ponds is indeed a skilled task but has proven protocols to mitigate against things like rotifer infestation. The potential for unacceptable contamination from polluted seawater cannot be dismissed considering the potential for bio-accumulation and the known rigorous demands of customers purchasing “nutraceuticals” such as Omega3 fatty acids.

The adjacent placement of large ponds, actually ecosystems, is something that should be avoided, even though Worley Parsons consider shared infrastructure.

As there is some concern about the transmission of genetically modified

SolarProgress | 23

Operations in Karratha

“Biofuels should only be subsidised if they lead to

There are two operational algal ventures at Karratha. Historically the area had been considered as a potential location as long ago as the mid 1980s but nothing eventuated until 1998. The area is regarded rightly as a mining and resources centre but it has also been home to large sea salt operations for decades.

substantial greenhouse gas savings and are not produced from crops used for food and feed.”

Muradel Pty Ltd Muradel is remarkable for having constructed its first micro-pilot on a budget of just $2000, using the resources of the University of Adelaide and Murdoch University (hence the name ‘Muradel’). Some $3.3 million in funding was subsequently awarded for a fullscale pilot plant, which was constructed in Karratha. Muradel Pty Ltd was incorporated in December 2010 as a joint venture between Murdoch University, Adelaide Research, Innovation Pty Ltd and SQC. The company has already achieved production rates of 50 tonnes per hectare per year in South Australia (over half of which is converted to oil). These high production rates are expected to increase at the new pilot plant due to the better climatic conditions in Karratha. In 2010, Muradel indicated that it had brought biofuels production costs to under $4/kilo and the aim is to go less than $1/kilo.

Aurora Algae Pty Ltd In the Karratha area there has been history of algal biotechnology. Aurora Algae ( a United States based company) has now completed its first major facility in Karratha WA, at a cost of $10million and supported by a $2million grant from the WA Low Emissions Energy Development fund.

Aurora believes the climatic conditions at Karratha are economically right for its operations. It uses a proprietary pale green algae (Nannocholoropsis) optimising light penetration and is located close to seawater and has access to waste carbon dioxide. The build of the ponds is progressive and the aim is to have 400hectares. The first phase will come on-line next year.

The company separates the protein and carbohydrates from the salt water and lipid soup and according to their patent, propose to strain or centrifuge the algae to reach a 10-40 per cent concentration, then use a solvent to separate out the proteins and carbohydrates from the lipids. There are three products; biodiesel, a trans-esterified end product of the cells lipids; omega 3 fatty acids and a protein rich biomass which has a market in aquaculture.

Get regular updates at: http://www. biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/ 24 | SPRING 2012

crop pollen to non-GM farms, such cross contamination could be significant here, particularly if one firm is using highly selected strains of algae. The avoidance of seawater intakes that might contain chemical residues or heavy metals is critical.

In reality, we might be seeing the advent of three algal biotech industries, and possibly although not necessarily in the same corporate structures: fuel, fine chemicals and biomass.

They are not mutually exclusive, but the ‘husbandry’ optimisation for one product may not suit operational parameters for the others. Pond size was seen as critical – 5000Ha considered optimal. That is, of course, ten times the size of the world’s largest betacarotene plant at Hutt Lagoon located in WA. Ambitious indeed.

A further report by algal specialists, one of whom was involved in the Hutt Lagoon venture, have taken a more scientific approach and studied the WA coastal areas north of Lancelin using geographic information systems (GIS) techniques. Their conclusion is that coastal Pilbara is ideal.

However, the overall viability of a business may depend on selling products into more than one market. Which one of these end products would dominate is probably guess– work although Worley Parsons suggest the high value ‘health foods’. Aurora Algae – a US based company with established operations at Karratha – takes this view.

The SWOT analysis for the various Pilbara sites was disappointing. Certainly, the constraints of distance from the sea and CO2 sources are fixed entities, but to suggest that the entire possibility of an algal biotechnology industry in the Pilbara (Onslow, Port Hedland and Karratha) is “uneconomic” is to ignore some realities of history and fact (see insert).

As a footnote it must be acknowledged that algal sources of fuel and fine chemicals, whether via ponds or bioreactors, does not impose competitive pressures on land that might otherwise be used for crop production. And the European Union is said to be imposing a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate-friendly than initially thought and compete with food production. The plans include a promise to end all public subsidies for crop-based biofuels after the current legislation expires in 2020. In short, biofuels should only be subsidised if they lead to substantial greenhouse gas savings and are not produced from crops used for food and feed.

Further Information Worley Parsons Report http://www.rdl.wa.gov.au/royalties/r4rpilbara/ Pages/Key-Focus-Areas.aspx Murdoch University – University of WA Report http://media.murdoch.edu.au/suitable-algae-tobiofuel-locations-identified

The potential of algae as fuel, fine chemicals and by-products Algae are present everywhere. The consideration here is to grow salt tolerant species in large ponds adjacent to the sea in areas of high solar radiation.

Existing “wild” species, or selected strains can be grown. Work has been underway (especially in the USA) to develop optimum technologies and methods of growth. As well as large ponds, algae can be grown in a variety of purpose–built reactors rather than ponds.

The commercial objective is to harvest the algae for some or all of three essential products: biodiesel, fine chemicals and biomass. The production of fine chemicals (pigments) has been commercial for several

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Biodiesel – converting the algal lipid by transesterification produces a cleaner diesel with far less CO2 emissions and pollutants. It has the reputation for longer engine life. A by–product of the lipid conversion is glycerol which can be used as a pharmaceutical or food ingredient.

Fatty Acids – algae are a source of Omega3 fatty acids and other valuable lipids.

Biomass – the bulk of the algal cell may be used as fish food in aquaculture or as a feedstock generally for animals.

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Solar council

Updates and insights at East Solar The Australian Solar Council secured 50 top solar identities and 200 exhibitors to present a world class Expo and conference. Here we present some brief snapshots into the two-day event which saw 1600 delegates walk through the doors.

By Nicola Card What better way to kick-start a conference than stating the industry has hit a high of $4 billion annually. Such was the announcement of Australian Solar Council Chief Executive John Grimes and hot on his heels was the announcement that ACT was moving to Big Solar – one giant and very welcome leap for Australia.

ACT Attorney General Simon Corbell was on hand to outline ACT’s strides toward big solar and clean energy (see pages 29 and 30 for more details).

Kobad Bhavnagri of Bloomberg New Energy Finance compared the dynamics of solar versus wind power: relative costs, investments, and respective futures. He noted that Tier One sites for wind power are on the decline, and areas of stronger wind resources seldom coincide with populace.

He presented a thought-provoking retrospective of key emerging industries and players: back in 1903 the US sported 500 vehicle manufacturers, today just three remain, and fewer players tends to produce better economies of scale. In the years to 2015 as utility scale PV production rises, so will costs reduce, he said.

Ending on a bright note, Bhavnagri noted that small scale PV is the sweet spot, and he suggested Australia would “easily” reach 5 GW. Addressing PV Market Intelligence, Nigel Morris said “the industry surprises and delights and is aggressive”.

26 | SPRING 2012

Morris highlighted that in 2011 the island nation was the number one country for sales quantity for systems ranging up to 10 kW: all up 392,000 totalling a mighty 785 MW. The average size (of rooftop PV) is 2.4 kW but rising.

Government now believes that PV will be the cheapest energy source by 2030, and both BREE and ABARE forecast the slashing of PV prices.

Morris also spoke of industry developments that have seen a vast increase in numbers of accredited installers with a collective capacity to install up to one GW annually. Although industry margins and revenues are on a knife edge, the future holds enormous promise “and if our leaders had the fortitude to courageously lead on solar PV, Australia would be the world’s first nation at solar grid parity,” Morris concluded.

Ric Brazzale echoed Nigel Morris’s marvel over Australia’s “amazing statistics” installing the most PV in the world during 2011.

But he believes the highest levels are behind us and that the solar hot water market will weaken, as already seen in NSW, with stronger PV competition and a reduction in rebates.

“In general the market is expected to remain stagnant, and the outlook for PV activity is strongest in Queensland … with the larger sized 2.4 kW system becoming average.”

Preventing climate chaos Dr Muriel Watt addressed challenges facing the PV market while Dan Cass’s focus was on – well, let’s call it “avoiding climate chaos”.

He stated that Australia, with its with superior clean energy resources, PV innovation and 80% community support, could be a super power in renewable energy. But government continues its policy “flip flop” with the “old baseload model” revered. He delivered a salient reminder of the McKinsey report ‘Darkest before dawn’ which predicted solar power would blossom into a trillion dollar industry in the eight years to 2020.

Far left: John Grimes of ASC, Mr Wu, and Ric Brazzale of GET. Presenters, from top to bottom: Prof Andrew Blakers, Nigel Morris, Kobad Bhavnagri of Bloomberg, and John Grimes

The consultant’s over-riding message was to mobilise the forces, engage the public, educate the media and pressure the politicians through “alliances, alliances and [more] alliances” between experts, the solar sector and society.

Due credit Other guest speakers delivering industry insights included: Oliver Hartley of Q-Cells, Graeme Pollock of SMEC, Anthony Coles of Solco, Eric Khera of Solar 360, Dr Andreas Luzzi, Danin Kahn of Todae Solar, Dr Extra Li of HEDA, Jeremy Rich of Energy Matters, Collin Wang of Jinko Solar, Matthew Haddad of Clean Energy Partners, a representative from ARENA, Hilary Pearson of Sungevity; John Macdonald of DesignInc Melbourne, Blair Pester of Winaico, Julie McDonald of ITP and Amarjot Rathore from the Office of Clean Energy Regulator.

The market entry scheme featured Joe Wyder of APVA, Stefan Jarnason of Suntech, Warwick Johnson of Sunwiz, Geoff Bragg of SEIA, Mike

Russell of AuSES, Glen Morris of SolarQuip, David Faux of DKSH; Geoff Stapleton of GSES, Dr Ted Spooner of UNSW, Michelle Taylor and Dean Condon of Ergon Energy; Rod Scott of Selectronic; Adrian Ferraretto of Tindo, Lyndon Frearson of CAT and Sandy Pulsford of CEC. Olivia Coldrey stepped in for ASI’s Mark Twidell to discuss R&D programs and investment strategy.

For his part, Professor Andrew Blakers of ANU touched on the abundance of silicon, plasmonics (light trapping), lasers (processing solar silicon cells), sliver solar cells, rooftop CSP (micro condensers using sunlight to heat water more economically than gas or electricity), rapid growth of solar cell production and impact on university funding and the “massive growth of PV we can look forward to” before raising the prospect of a ‘solar storm’ spawning bankruptcies.

The focus of Dr Renata Egan of Suntech’s talk was Australian R+D in support of gigawatt manufacturing and a target of 21% efficiency in mono cells; a topic that segued nicely with Doug Smith of Trina Solar’s address on poly versus mono cells.

‘Why solar is set to explode’ was the rousing title of Climate Spectator Editor Tristan Edis’s address. “People want solar and the electorate

is on side … and electricity pricing will [help] change things,” he declared.

Tireless zero emissions crusader Matthew Wright explained the Merit order effect, with consumers paying less as more solar power kicks in. “Power utilities are in a death spiral as more people as installing solar,” he said.

Australian Solar Council In closing East Solar, John Grimes of the Australian Solar Council commended the “universally high standard of presentations” and expressed appreciation to the several hundred conference delegates. He announced the organisation’s change of name to the Australian Solar Council, which reflects its role as the preeminent voice of the solar industry.

John Grimes also listed the Council’s achievements, among them the launch of Solar Best Practice and Solar Plus, AS 5033 workshops, involvement in RET review, the 2011 relaunch in hard copy of Solar Progress, and the MOU with China’s Renewable Energy Society (CRES), and the Council’s increasing role in Asia Pacific which is recognised as the global solar powerhouse.

Many East Solar presentations can be viewed on the Australian Solar Council website.

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Solar council East Solar Conference

China’s clout The rise and rise of China’s solar power industry is well documented, and East Solar attracted some of the country’s top ten players.

East Solar platinum sponsor was JA Solar Holdings, whose CEO Dr Peng Fang reported that in the past three years PV (in terms of leadership in production) has clearly shifted to China, which today produces 64% of global modules.

“Despite the massive development, PV is still in early stages … and we now await the second explosive PV growth phase,” he said.

Fang summed up the technological developments thus: the industrial revolution of 1820-1913 which saw UK lead coal energy; then the US led oil industry era of 1914-1973, and in recent decades the arrival of “new energy’ led by Europe, China and the US. In the ’90s the move toward renewable energy was driven by the environment, later it was fuelled by feed-in tariffs while today it is propelled by grid parity, facilitated by utility scale production.

“The years 2010- 2020 will be the golden age of the PV industry, after which it will reach global market saturation,” he said.

Adding a colourful touch of Chinese mythology Dr Fang referred to the ‘four small dragons’.

Mr Wu Representing CRES was Mr Wu who stated China, which accounts for 60% of global PV production, has set a target of 21 GW solar power – more than four times the current 5 GW. Importantly, China aims to achieve socket price parity by 2015. Not bad given the country’s solar sojourn dates back less than four decades.

BYD One of the more surprising addresses was delivered by Tom Zhao of BYD (Build Your Dreams) in that few had heard of the company which by any measure is gargantuan.

Founded in China by Mr Wang Chuanfu in 1995, the company has averaged 70% annual growth and boasts 180,000 employees in its 11 plants in China plus operations in Europe and North America. By 2011 BYD boasted revenues of $US 7.6 billion. Three years earlier it has caught the attention of Berkshire Hathaway which acquired a 10% stake under direction from Warren Buffet who is now is an executive director and board member.

With the core technology in Ni-Cd and Li-ion rechargeable batteries and Fe batteries for lap tops and mobiles, BYD’s ‘three green dreams’ revolve around energy storage, solar power and electric transport.

Solar power lept onto BYD’s radar in 2007, since when resources have been directed to product improvement. A key strength lies in R+D, with 10,000 engineers on the payroll.

Between 2008 and 2012 BYD boosted solar cell efficiency from 15.8% to 17.4% while module capacity soared from 5 MW to a mighty 759 MW. Although FiTs will eventually be phased out, incentive packages would continue and that will encourage users, Zhao said.

In 2003 BYD entered auto business and within just seven years was China’s third largest Top: JA Solar Holdings CEO Dr Peng Fang Left: Tom Zhao of BYD (Build Your Dreams).

28 | SPRING 2012

car maker, in other milestones, BYD was the first company in the world to provide a fully vertically integrated solution for green energy technologies (LED, PV, Energy Storage) and announce an electric car powered by Fe battery.

Zhao explained that with a top speed of 60 kmh the E6 electric vehicle can travel up to 300 kilometres per 40 minute battery charge. But with a price tag that’s out of reach for everyday citizens it is used predominantly by taxi companies in conjunction with city governments.

BYD signed a JV with Mercedes to produce electric bus (e-Bus) Denza, which can travel up to 500 kms and recharges in just three hours.

The e-Bus fleet numbers 300 in Shanghai and can be seen in 10 cities across the globe. Testing is underway in Australia to obtain government certification.

China publishes daily data on pollution levels and the nation has set aggressive targets to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.“In the move to clean energy, storage is very important, this is a trillion dollar business opportunity and incentive policies are needed,” Zhao said.

The rise and rise of JA Solar Formed in mid 2005 and listed in early 2007, JA Solar rose fast in the ranks and today boasts annual solar cell production capacity of 3 GW, revenues of $2 billion and 2000 employees spread over six large production plants. In March 2012 JA Solar cell production was ranked number one in China and second globally.

Designer’s impression of the Royalla PV solar farm being developed by FRV

Solar ACTion Big solar is set to make its mark in Australia, befittingly in the national capital.

The development is hailed as a landmark move that is being delivered at low cost and “breakneck” speed.

By Nicola Card

Within two short years the green

Milestone development

and rolling hills south of Canberra will take on a futuristic look as the national capital embraces Australia’s ‘land of sunshine’ tagline by building a mighty 20 MW PV plant.

It’s just one small step in what is Canberra’s big leap to carbon neutrality.

Simon Corbell, the ACT Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development is spearheading the move to Big Solar as well as other clean energy initiatives, which he outlined at the East Solar conference taking place just days before the big announcement about big solar.

In late August Australians woke to the news that Fotowatio Renewable Ventures’ (FRV) had successfully beat off several contenders in the reverse auction (effectively a silent auction) by placing a bid of $186/MWh for the mighty 20 MW PV farm.

To date, Spanish firm FRV has developed more than 360 MW of solar PV and solar thermal plants globally and participated in development of 1.5 gigawatts of solar energy.

Although plans for Moree Solar did not materialise, sun-drenched Australia remained on FRV’s radar.

To be based 23 kilometres south of Canberra at Royalla, the PV farm will host 83,000 solar panels generating enough electricity to supply the power needs of around 4500 homes. It will be the largest of its kind in Australia when completed in 2014; twice as large as the nearest contender, the 10 MW plant now built by First Solar near Geraldton in WA (as featured on page 10).

Importantly, the Royalla PV farm will avoid over 500,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions during its serviceable life As Simon Corbell stated, “The ACT’s large scale auction demonstrates that large scale solar can be delivered efficiently without complex subsidy arrangement or taxpayer risk.” He added that the strategy involved in the reverse auction process was about “getting the cheapest price for the best amount of renewable energy generation and [that] the ACT government is showing how Big Solar can happen in Australia.”

In the words of Clean Economy Service’s Wayne Smith, this is “just the beginning of a very good solar story,” and he acknowledges the significant contribution of Steve Blume,

who is an advisor to Corbell, in the process of establishing Canberra as Australia’s solar capital.

The ACT will retain the plant’s renewable energy certificates to further offset the capital’s emissions and ensure that the emissions abatement is additional to national caps. The government will pay the difference between the wholesale cost and the agreed tariff with big solar developer FRV – anticipated to amount to 25 cents a week or $13 annually per household (which should reduce to $9.50 a year by 2020 as the gap between wholesale prices and the fixed contract narrows).

Canberra: small city, big plans It was back in 2008 that the ACT government pledged to position Canberra as the solar capital of Australia, setting greenhouse gas reduction targets of 40% by 2020 (based on 1990 levels) with carbon neutrality by 2060. In 2009 the government established a feed-in tariff scheme for micro-generation (up to 30 kW but later boosted to 200 kW) and adopted a gross tariff; schemes which were fully subscribed to the capped capacity by mid 2012.

SolarProgress | 29

Solar advances

“The ACT’s [reverse] auction demonstrates that large scale solar can be delivered efficiently without complex subsidy arrangement or taxpayer risk.”

Now with 11,300 PV systems spread across 8% of rooftops, ACT boasts 34 MW of PV generation capacity, which collectively displaces 40,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

In other developments, Canberra will soon boast a network of electric vehicle charging stations and a waste recovery rate of 90% (up from 75%). Meanwhile, New Energy Efficiency legislation mandates energy efficiency services by local electricity retailers in a bid to displace 742,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions while trimming the average annual electricity bill by $315.

Soaring solar “The ACT is demonstrating what cities can do to become more sustainable,” said Corbell, whose government in 2011 passed the Electricity Feed in (Large Renewable Energy Generation) Act, which enables support up to 210 MW. The ACT is staging a second tender of 20 MW of solar energy early next year and all being well by July 2013 40 MW of large scale feed-in tariff support will have been allocated (abating 850,000 tonnes over 20 years). It is just the start.

“What I can tell you with certainty is that it is my absolute commitment to see the full 210 MW allocated between now and 2016,” said Corbell.

He took the timely opportunity of calling on the Federal Government to reconsider its approach to supporting Big Solar.

ACT Attorney General Simon Corbell with FRV CEO Rafael Benjumea

Editor’s note: As this issue of Solar Progress was going to press, so were Canberrans going to the polls … on Saturday 20 October 2012.

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Special feature

vicious circles to virtuous cycles through

From

built environment design

In this final part in a series of articles on building design and assessment tools for optimum solar build, Janis Birkeland provides an Eco-Positive Spider Design Tool.

Part one of this series listed some problems with ‘green buildings’ (Solar Progress 02/12). Part two listed some problems with assessment tools (Solar Progress 05/12).

Given the ongoing costs and system-wide negative impacts of buildings and cities, we can no longer ‘afford’ reductionist design and assessment systems that ignore many negative impacts, treat reductions in negative impacts as a ‘gain’, and do not count net positive benefits.

Here, an Eco-positive Design Tool is offered to correct this problem.

Passive and active energy-producing products often only serve one or two functions, which means a lost opportunity to generate ecopositive benefits (as they don’t count). For example, solar arrays often shade a roof or parking lot, but they could simultaneously provide eco-services, such as water and air cleaning functions or biodiversity habitats.

Single-function solar products are usually assessed as separate building components. This makes it harder to ‘justify’ solar technologies financially. Seen as an addition to a ‘normal’ building, a solar product is often required to pay for itself over time. In our upside down world, private swimming pools or tennis courts do not have to pay for themselves, even if they could generate energy and do not.

Solar energy components do more than save resources Even when a passive or active solar energy component provides multiple functions, or is seamlessly integrated with the building envelope, the resource savings are counted, but not the positive community and ecological benefits. While energy may not be increased (due to the laws of physics), the ecology can.

Nature has grown in diversity, volume and

32 | SPRING 2012

numbers, except in times of environmental crises such as meteorites, ice ages and industrial development. To be sustainable, given the current – not to mention projected – population, malnutrition, water shortages, and so on, so development needs to give back far more than it takes.

Currently, life cycle analyses score from ‘-1’ (totally negative) to ‘0’ (zero impact); that is, from ‘really bad’ to ‘zero harm’. Conversely, ‘0’ to ‘+1’ only measures ‘less bad’. Neither count net positive impacts. Before long, new developments will be required to be ecopositive, or at least ‘offset’ unavoidable harm by eco-retrofitting other buildings, so that the sum total of impacts goes beyond ‘zero’.

Net impacts can be assessed and displayed visually and numerically, by placing positive, negative and less negative impacts on the same spectrum. Hence, the proposed eco-positive framework measures from ‘1 to 0 to +1’. This is quite different from measuring negative and/ or less bad impacts. It requires the designer to consider ways of generating positive on and off site benefits by design.

First, a negative impact is assessed as usual.

Then reductions in that impact, achieved by design, are deducted from that negative. For example, the embodied energy in construction may be reimbursed over time by on site renewable energy production. If the system is set up on site first to provide the energy for construction, so the payback period is only the energy used in producing the renewable energy generator.

Next, this net negative impact is deducted from corresponding positive impacts. For example, an energy autonomous building using passive solar heating, cooling and ventilation as well as providing renewable energy could produce surplus energy. Energy purchases

must be deducted from the surplus energy.

Surplus energy would need to directly benefit the community, as energy supplied back to the grid might be used by an energy hog (ie the rebound effect).

The Eco-Positive Design Tool explained Spider diagrams are useful in that each spoke of the ‘web’ can have a different scale. Thus, impacts need not be reduced to one kind of unit such as energy or carbon. To determine the scale on each spoke, only a couple of measurements are needed. When the impacts are estimated and put on the spoke, the total impacts of a design are made visually apparent and can be calculated automatically as a single number to compare different designs.

However, typical spider diagrams only measure negatives or positives. It is essential to determine net impacts, not just reductions in negatives that might have otherwise occurred in a typical building. There are seven distinct points on the spokes of the Eco-Positive Design Tool where one could estimate the impacts of ‘design for eco-services’ before they are measured.

Displaying 24 different eco-services that could be combined in various ways suggests ways of creating synergies. For example, water storage can also serve as insulation, fire prevention, air cooling, a visual or noise barrier, and so on. This also visually suggests where the design is deficient before one has invested in the design process.

The benchmark is therefore pre-industrial conditions, represented by the inner circle ‘0’ on the diagram. If all pre-existing ecoservices on the site were destroyed and not compensated for in some way, the inner circle would be black.

“Even when a passive or active solar energy component provides multiple functions, or is seamlessly integrated with the building envelope, the resource savings are counted, but not the positive community and ecological benefits.�

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The outer circle (‘+1’) is the floor area times the original eco-service per unit of volume or impact. +1 therefore represents the target ecoservices for the building. Floor area is important because a green roof on a one storey building might reduce a large fraction of the building’s ecological impacts, but it would only reduce a tiny fraction of the ecological impacts of a ten storey building.

While +1 is hard to achieve, a project could conceivably compensate for its impacts and have net positive offsite impacts (beyond ‘+1’).

Some proposed projects are in fact huge air filter systems using layers of plants that would clean the air for the whole region, such as Mexico City.

Remediating the region’s air might qualify as net positive.

For a complex development, ethical, economic and social issues can have their own diagrams and be overlaid digitally to measure total performance. For example, ethical issues might include increased equity in environmental access and amenity, more public space relative to private space, universal access to the means of survival, new opportunities for social interaction and community building, and so on.

This tool is being applied in a proposed Australian National Sustainability Centre that aims to demonstrate net Positive Development.

Dr Janis Birkeland is Professor of Sustainable Design at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, New Zealand. The author welcomes critique and debate: Janis.birkeland@auckland.ac.nz

Applying the Eco-Positive Design Tool to Water Let us imagine how a building can increase ecosystem services beyond perindustrial conditions, even where negative impacts are deducted. The case of water is used to illustrate the spectrum of values possible: 1. The black areas on the diagram on page 33 represent the net negative water impacts caused by the project, as in conventional negative environmental impact assessment. Example: A black line to ‘0’ means all water entering naturally or existing on site is contaminated or lost.

2. The amount of damage ‘undone’ through restoration of past eco-services is deducted from the negative water impacts. Example: A lighter area ‘reduces’ the black one. It represents the water used in construction and operation that is restored using onsite natural systems.

3. ‘O’, the benchmark pre-industrial condition can be determined by ecologists or based on a similar but relatively pristine area. Example: ‘0’ would be the amount of water that would enter the site under natural or indigenous conditions and not be contaminated.

Ralph M., Engineer

4. A black area from ‘0’ towards ‘+1’ would show that a project not only destroys its site but does substantial offsite damage. Example: Offsite water that is contaminated by a development, or water piped into the development, used and not remediated.

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5. The green area between the inner circle ‘0’ and outer circle (+1) are additional health and environmental benefits beyond that which would have been provided under indigenous conditions. Example: Offsite water that is stored and cleaned onsite using natural systems, which covers the consumption caused by the project and occupants.

6. The outer circle is ‘+1’ or the potential positive impact based on total floor area. An atrium, green roof and living walls may compensate for some of the floor area. Example: The amount of water remediated for the benefit of stakeholders, such as a stream that is uncovered and restored.

7. The blue parts of the spider web outside the +1 circle represent ‘surplus’ eco-services that support the community, city or region as a whole. Example: ‘surplus’ water drawn from air (in an overly humid climate) using passive evaporative collectors, or dirty water in a nearby lake treated naturally by the development.

The resulting blue areas on the sample diagram on page 33 are the net positive impacts.

Solar products & services

Building your business case for solar energy How new technology and energy storage can justify investment in solar power systems. By Jeremy Tranter Building a ‘business case’ for moving from grid electricity supply to solar energy doesn’t just apply to businesses.

A spouse who is ‘sold’ on solar for home use may need to convince a sceptical partner that the investment is worth it.

Small to medium-sized businesses or government organisations must similarly convince those in charge that the short- and long-term value of solar energy is both financially sound and reliable over time.

Solar technologies are advancing at a rapid rate and new backup and grid-connect capabilities provide a range of benefits that can make solar the right solution for any size of installation – from a home system to the largest commercial project.

These technologies also benefit electricity network service providers by solving problems that have limited the effectiveness of solar/grid interaction in the past.

In short, they add significant value to proving the business case for solar energy solutions.

Time-matching energy generation to energy need New storage options can ensure that energy is there whenever it is needed, not simply when it is available – and can do so cost-effectively.

Batteries are charged during off-peak times and the stored energy is used during peak periods, thus reducing the requirement for high demand electrical supply infrastructure.

This factor is especially important for installations where the price of purchasing energy is higher than the price of selling solargenerated energy back to the grid.

Currently, gel lead acid batteries are most commonly used because they are the most cost-effective choice (though not always the best solution).

There is a wide range of other batteries available for solar system storage backup including lithium-based batteries and flow batteries (fuel cells) based on zinc/bromine or vanadium electrolytes.

The key is to install the right type of battery for each specific installation.

Considerations include the rate of battery charge or discharge, the cost of a battery

versus its expected life, battery replacement costs, and safety implications.

(Depending on the battery application and location, reduced cost may also mean reduced safety.)

Network support: problems solved and cost efficiency increased New on-grid energy storage systems can store electricity, then dispatch it on demand to the grid, providing a variety of network support services including voltage and frequency regulation, reactive power control and power factor correction, plus fault ride through and supply redundancy.

Cost efficiency is another plus. These technological advancements are fast becoming economically viable and can have positive financial impact on electricity supply networks.

For example, they can reduce cost for network service providers by offsetting or deferring the need for traditional network augmentation.

Furthermore the deployment time is often far quicker than traditional transmission and distribution network solutions.

Emergency and uninterruptible power supply During emergencies and in times of disaster, grid electricity supply is often disrupted for long periods, and for safety reasons, traditional gridtied solar systems are also shut down.

The status quo for some users has been to install permanent diesel generators but the availability and cost of fuel, noise and fume pollution are all concerns.

Embedded energy storage systems can supply this energy instantaneously for essential services, enabling immediate response to emergency management.

Embedded storage systems can also reduce or eliminate reliance on the network, thereby enabling a customer to negotiate a reduced energy purchase contract as well as a contract to supply excess energy to the grid.

Jeremy Tranter is an Electrical Project Engineer at Solar Inception Pty. Ltd. For more information: jeremy@solarinception.com.au www.solarinception.com.au

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Trailblazing in solar PV Award winning solar consultant and self-described ‘data geek’ Nigel Morris reviews the evolution of solar power in its relatively short history.

In 1993, Salt-N-Pepa was still cool, REM was in its stride and Duran Duran hadn’t gone away yet. It was also the year I got my very first mobile phone and importantly, Australia’s first solar home was connected to the grid.

Solar One at Mt Coolum was an experiment, to test what was possible. At around $40,000 in today’s money (or almost $27/W) it wasn’t cheap but it led the way in the development of standards, is a credit to the people involved and is still operating today. By all accounts that makes it a complete success.

Only 18 months later, Australia’s first commercial PV system was connected. Rainbow Power Company’s 10kW, three phase PV system included wind and battery back-up, tracking PV arrays featuring a range of technologies, and was connected after long negotiations with an agreed export rate of $0.02c/kWh. Although this system has transformed significantly, it too was a trailblazer.

And back home on my shed, I have a little system using panels made around the same time; almost 20 years old and still going strong.

I find it fascinating to look back at history and take stock of what has changed and what has stayed the same. I was quoted in a magazine article in the spring of ’96 saying “..sales go up and down and it’s an extremely vigorous market, typified by high levels of competition … it’s a tough market to operate in but that’s healthy because it breeds lean businesses”. That sure hasn’t changed.

Recent analysis I conducted for the Clean Energy Council puts some new statistics around this old commentary; we are seeing measured improvements in industry productivity with a revised-down metric of 18 employees/MW

our latest estimate, a reduction from 40/MW from only a few years ago, brought about by the continuation of the intense competition I cited all those years ago. The difference today is the stakes are so much higher; with retail sales estimated at around $3 billion. Holding on to one or two staff in a downturn is one thing; but paying the wages bill for 150 staff is an entirely different matter. The pain seems more acute today and undoubtedly affects more people’s lives when Government changes the goal posts on us.

Industry growth A couple of years later I was interviewed for a newspaper article and was quoted as follows: “people in the city will be able to put a few panels on their roof, connect up and sell the excess … but we still have a few years to go before we are competitive.”

Today, we have installed almost 2 GW of PV in Australia, or roughly an additional 806,999 systems following the installation of SolarOne. We’ve come a long way.

The growth in our industry is linked to many factors but the fundamental issue is that of PV price (and cost). Since that first system went in the average cost has reduced by 13.5 times; a staggering reduction driven by dramatic changes in the PV manufacturing sector. In 1993, PV manufacturing was focused in the US which supplied 40% of global demand with Europe and Japan following behind to make up a combined total of 80% of world supply.

Interestingly, at the time the annual demand for PV was 12 MW; the same amount Australia will install in less than just seven days in 2012.

Meanwhile China’s manufacturing industry was just a glisten in the eye of the forward thinkers.

But in a well-timed Japanese-automotiveindustry-like manoeuvre, China established policies to develop a world class manufacturing and export sector; and by 2008 had became the world’s number one source of module supply.

The similarities between Japan’s automotive industry growth don’t stop with internal policies.

In the 1970s Japan suffered from protectionism policies by many countries, including tariff protection and special duties, just like the current trade war which has seen China’s PV industry hit with tariffs in the US and potentially Europe.

China’s response, much like that of Japan’s, has been to look increasingly at in country JVs and manufacturing presence. Adjust and survive.

Cost review Fundamentally however, there is currently a bigger problem in the PV industry. With average global selling prices hovering around USD$0.60c in August 2012 and average cost prices at a similar or in many cases higher levels, profits are wafer thin, if existent at all.

Some pundits suggest that for every $3 of sales, the Chinese are suffering $1 of losses and with almost $18 billion in low-rate loans there is only so long this can continue.

The world’s solar markets would do well to thank China for increasing scale and reducing costs so much since Solar One was installed.

However, just whether today’s low prices are real and sustainable is another question altogether.

Nigel Morris is director of consultancy SolarBusinessServices. www.solarbusiness.com.au

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News and views

“The reason this Port Augusta project is gaining momentum is because it is eminently DO-ABLE”

The power of a community An alliance forged to promote the merits of converting old coal fired power stations into solar thermal plants is rallying a national groundswell of support and publicity.

By Nicola Card In late September 100 people gathered to walk the 328 kilometres from Port Augusta to Adelaide. Although it was a convivial group, their intent was deadly serious: to highlight the opportunity to replace two outdated and polluting coal-fired stations with 95 wind turbines and six solar thermal power towers.

Why solar thermal? By using molten salt storage technology, solar thermal plants provide dispatchable heat that can

Brown coal Lignite – a brown coal that is described as a cross between coal and peat – has a carbon content of around 25%35% and an ash content ranging from 6%-19% compared with 6%-12% for bituminous coal.

With an inherent moisture content that reaches a high of 66%, carbon dioxide emissions from traditional brown-coalfired plants are generally much higher than for comparable black-coal.

38 | SPRING 2012

drive turbines and deliver electricity around the clock, not just during daylight hours. As the Repower Port Augusta Alliance (RPAA) states, developing these plants could be a first build of this renewable technology on Australian soil.

The detailed Repowering Port Augusta report, produced with the technical expertise of Beyond Zero Emissions, reveals that a successful re-development of the plants would save five million tonnes of CO2 annually and create up to 1800 jobs, while providing increased price stability and energy security for the community into the future.

The RPAA has done the maths: the replacement of brown coal consumer Playford B at Port Augusta with two solar thermal plants would equate to a 0.7 cents per kWh rise in electricity costs, while the replacement of nearby Northern power station with solar thermal and wind would amount to an additional 0.15 cents per kWh. As RPAA regional organiser Philippa Rowland stated, “It will take sustained effort to turn our plans into a real success, with

One casualty East Solar organiser Pete Gordon was one of the many who put their shoulder to the wheel – or feet to the ground – by joining the long march to Adelaide. At the end of each leg of the journey he tapped into his energy reserves to post a colorful blog.

the solar plants built and practical transition to a low carbon future taking place, but the reason this project is gaining momentum is because it is eminently DO-ABLE.”

misalignment of views between government and coal-fired generators over the value of commercial assets), Alinta remains interested in and proactive on the solar thermal option.”

Generating interest

Grand design

Solar thermal power is also garnering attention across the wider community. The fourteen day Walk for Solar from Port Augusta during September captured the imagination of people around the country. The interest generated culminated in a major Rally for Solar in the centre of Adelaide, while 20 SOLARdarity Walks were held in support from Cable Beach in Broome to the top of Mt Kosciuzsko and all the way up the eastern seaboard as far as Townsville and Cairns. Media attention was heightened as Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Sarah Hanson-Young added vocal support to the proposal.

“Support for the project has rippled out from its epicenter in Port Augusta, when in July the local community voted resoundingly 4053 in favour of solar and a mere 43 for gas.

The local Council, Business Port Augusta and power station owner Alinta have all declared their support for the solar thermal concept,” Rowland explained.

“Alinta has publicly stated on several occasions that it remains keen to progress a solar thermal pilot … and while we are working to promote the project, the ball is really in owner Alinta's court, and the government needs to take action.

“Despite the recent evaporation of the ‘contracts for closure’ program (due to a

Rowland characterises the plan as “A once in a generation opportunity” and says “This story offers many opportunities for highlighting the potential of solar to provide far more of Australia's energy than currently is the case.”

More information: www.repowerportaugusta.org

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Sun to Socket:

The Zinc-air rechargeable battery Fundamental to the success of solar powered energy is continuity of supply. Here we look at advances being driven by a team of researchers in a bid to achieve load levelling via a relatively cheap rechargeable zincair battery.

By Tristan Simons

The summer of 2021 is one of the hottest you can remember since you were a child. You remember the days when you spent the afternoon at a shopping centre to stay cool, and the red bricks of the house would be hot to the touch long after the sun had set. When cold face-washers and fans were all you had to get a few hours sleep before the draining heat that came with the dawn. Those days are long gone. Your house is now powered by an efficient solar panel array on the roof. Instead of sapping your strength, the sun powers the air conditioners that keep your house cool.

And when the sun goes down, the air conditioner falters and as the temperature slowly rises, you think of the hot, sleepless night to come? Not at all, you can rely on your household storage device to maintain the continuity of supply.

40 | SPRING 2012

That’s the future, but now, it is the current challenge faced by engineers who are trying to implement renewable energy sources as our chief source of electricity. As a society we have become so accustomed to reliable, uninterrupted electricity that the major fluctuations in supply and demand created in a “renewables only” world, would simply be unacceptable while a cheap alternative remained available in the brown coal fields of Victoria.

Load levelling is one answer One proposed solution to this problem has been the concept of load levelling. Load levelling involves using super-capacitors, batteries or an energy storage device to store excess energy during peak production times and then dispense this energy when production can’t keep up with demand. With a suitable device, the solar panels on a domestic house could charge up a high capacity battery during the day, which could be discharged as needed during the night when the solar panels are idle.

One of the many batteries technologies that are being investigated for this purpose is the rechargeable zinc-air battery. As one of a large team of researchers in the Australian Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), my PhD research is about investigating ways in which this cheap, non-rechargeable technology can be transformed into a highly efficient, cost effective and long lifetime rechargeable battery for applications in domestic energy storage.

Large, safer storage One of the characteristics that make these zincair batteries so attractive for this application is the enormous theoretical energy capacity of the battery (1350 Wh.kg-1) when compared to lithium-ion technology (455 Wh.kg-1). This is in part to do with the fact that the battery uses relatively light zinc metal, but is mostly because this battery uses oxygen (O2) taken straight from the atmosphere when it is discharging.

This oxygen is then released when the battery is recharged. Other advantages are that zinc is a relatively non-reactive metal, meaning dangerous and flammable electrolytes can be avoided during production.

Zinc is also a relatively well-understood and highly used resource, most commonly in the electroplating industry for protecting steel against corrosion. Because of this, an extensive recycling infrastructure already exists, raising the possibility of an effective recycling program if these batteries were to be implemented on a large scale.

Depending on the potential cell lifetime, cells could be recycled, reconstructed and re-installed without the need for constant renewal of zinc from the finite zinc metal resource pool.

A long history of R&D Despite these favourable properties, researchers have been trying to make an efficient rechargeable zinc-air battery for over 100 years with little success. One of the major issues encountered is the nature of the Oxygen Reduction Electrode.

When the battery is being discharged, oxygen is consumed and is contained in the battery.

When the battery is recharged, the stored products need to be converted back into oxygen that is released into the air. Being able to control the chemical reactions and their efficiencies has been a major hurdle for researchers. However, solutions involving bifunctional electrodes – electrodes that split the oxygen consuming and oxygen producing reaction to two different sites – have gone some way to overcoming this problem.

For the oxygen electrode to work, the battery needs to be open to the atmosphere to allow oxygen gas in and out of the cell. Traditional hydroxide and water based electrolytes have proven to have short lifetimes when exposed to the air, due to a chemical reaction that precipitates potassium carbonates that clog the battery with unwanted solid particles.

Water based electrolytes also have a tendency to evaporate through the air holes, leading to a condition called “drying out” in which the electrolyte is lost and the battery stops working.

Most importantly, water based electrolytes have shown that when the battery is recharged, zinc particles that form on the electrode surface don’t assemble uniformly and can grow so long and protruded that they touch the other electrode, short circuiting the battery.

A new approach to an old problem Most of the above problems are in some way influenced by the nature of the electrolyte in the battery, which in zinc-air primary cells is

a concentrated potassium hydroxide solution (14M KOH). In order to overcome some of these issues, this work involves investigating an entirely new class of electrolyte for zinc-air battery applications: room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs). RTILs are organic low melting ionic salts. If common table salt (NaCl) is heated to 800 °C it exists as a liquid, made up entirely of charged ions. RTILs are crystals that show this same behaviour below 30 °C, making them conductive and liquid at room temperature.

Due to the fact RTILs are made up of all ions and contain no water, they are extremely hard to boil or evaporate, which can prevent the cell from electrolyte loss through the air holes. They have also been used in electroplating to make uniform coatings of zinc on steel, meaning the battery could charge and discharge many times without the cell short-circuiting. Finally, most RTILs are completely stable to air, preventing the formation of carbonates or other precipitates which interfere with proper battery operation.

The research so far has been about understanding the interactions of these new RTIL electrolytes with both the zinc metal on the electrode as well as the dissolved form of

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zinc in the electrolyte that is produced as the battery is discharged. Making sure that zinc metal can be dissolved away from the electrode during discharge and re–plated as a smooth surface during recharge is a key requirement of a functional zinc-air secondary battery. For example, as the battery is used, water may be absorbed into the electrolyte from the atmosphere, which may affect the ability of zinc to replate during recharge.

It was found that the addition of 3 wt% water to the electrolyte actually produced a considerably smoother surface of zinc than when the electrolyte contained no water at all, suggesting these RTIL electrolytes are worthy of further investigation as zinc-air secondary battery electrolytes.

Over the next two years I hope to develop these electrolytes further, eventually applying them in full sized cells for evaluation of cyclability and efficiency. Over the coming years our team will continue in our efforts to solve the challenges in the rechargeable zinc-air battery in the hope that one day this clean and cost effective technology can be storing renewable energy across Australia, allowing everybody that good night’s sleep.

Tristan Simons is a PhD student at the Deakin University node of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES).

ACES has nodes at Monash, Wollongong, Tasmania, La Trobe and Deakin Universities and at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne.

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SolarProgress | 41

Solar products services

In this section we take a look at solar products, services and developments in the fast moving world of solar energy.

SI Clean Energy The combination of a generally dry climate and specific latitudes across Australia gives us huge potential for Solar energy production.

Most of the continent receives in excess of 4kWh per square metre per day of insolation during the winter months and this increases to 7kWh per day in the summer months which greatly exceeds the average values in places such as Europe, Russia and most of North America. It must be said that the areas of Australia with the highest levels are in the central areas with low population centres which is why we are developing and installing "solar cities".

Australia has an estimated 1031.1 MW of installed PV power which contributes to 2.5% of the total electricity production (as of August 2011) and the Federal government has a renewable energy target of 20% of the electricity supply in Australia by 2020, which highlights the opportunity that the climate provides for solar power to become such an efficient power supply.

There are several "solar cities" in Australia, one of which was a major project worked on by Si Clean Energy and commissioned in 2011: the 1 MW Solar Cities installation at Alice Springs.

Si continues to be one of the pioneers of solar power in Australia and has first-hand experience on three of the country’s ground breaking solar projects including the 136.5kW installation at Coffs Rigby house, 225kW at Kings Canyon and the afore mentioned Alice springs installation.

Si is an Australian company with a long history of success within the

Solpac says …

Imagine there was a way you could focus on installing solar systems and not wasting your precious time sourcing materials for your installs … well now there is.

Solpac isn’t just a name, it’s an idea. That idea is to better service the solar electrical trade, with a complete solution for solar distributors right down to your local electrician. Supplying them with all the electrical components they need to install a system, all in a box.

We not only sell but we also educate – with the knowledge and experience of the two most prolific solar installers in Melbourne, you now can have a new partner in your business.

As legislation changes, so do we. That way we can stay ahead of the curve and always provide our customers with approved products that will always meet and exceed Australian standards saving you time and money.

42 | SPRING 2012

1 MW Solar Cities at Alice Springs

clean energy sector and is committed to Australia's long term sustainable energy future, and through their continued innovation will present efficient energy solutions for generations to come.

For further information on Si’s complete product range and 2013 pricing and products please call 1300 336 737 or email wholesaleinfo@sicleanenergy.com.au

Solpac’s enthusiastic and efficient warehouse staff can create up to 50 kits an hour in the centrally located warehouse, so life doesn’t get any easier for customers.

Solpac has just overhauled all their kits and the website to include the new requirements of AS 5033. All kits now come with a nationalised label kit that contains all the new required labels. All kits have two high quality true DC isolators (one for the roof and one next to the inverter).

Also available is pre-labelled HD conduit that is labelled SOLAR DC every 300mm. This will save you time and money not having to physically label your conduit. We have also available dipped stainless steel ties.

Solpac offers all customers a complete, reliable and effective solution for all quality electrical components.

For more information please email us at sales@solpac.com.au or visit www.solpac.com.au

Older workers’ day in the sun at RM Solar & Electrical An Adelaide green energy and electrical business has found that employing older workers is boosting workplace productivity while providing quality customer service.

Roger Murrin and his partner Kirrilie Rowe started RM Solar & Electrical in Adelaide ten years ago and the business has grown year-on-year since then.

They predominately work with boutique residential builders, architecturally designed house extensions, renovations and also smallscale commercial work in solar and electrical.

“We find that mature age workers bring to the job a high degree of professionalism and customer service plus the technical expertise.

They also bring mentorship potential, emotional maturity and good communication skills,” Kirrilie said.

“We have a 54 year old electrical apprentice at Regency TAFE who also has an electronics degree from the UK. He is learning solar installations and brings to the job an incredible range of electrical skills,” she said.

“We also have an excellent 23-year-old electrical apprentice who is fantastic but we find that when it comes to deal with older customers and project managers, experience pays off,” Kirrilie said.

RM Solar & Electrical have applied to be members of the Australian Government’s Corporate Champions program in 2013. The initiative assists businesses to hire, train and retain mature age workers and boost

labour productivity. The program also helps businesses access training grants for workers aged over 45.

“Older people are full of suggestions because they’ve done and seen so many things, which helps with problem solving,” Roger said.

RM Solar & Electrical is in a growth phase, due in large part to its emphasis on top-notch customer service, quality workmanship by using older workers.

As employers, Roger and Kirrilie found that the mature age workers ‘download’ their ‘tricks of the trade’ learnt over a lifetime to the younger workers.

RM Solar & Electrical also casually hired a mature age industrial electrical contractor who recently started as a full-time employee.

The business has developed good working relationships with a number of boutique builders and small-scale property developers in Adelaide and across rural and regional South Australia. http://www.rmsolarandelectrical.com.au/

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Solar products services

RFI AS/NZS 5033 changes drive product and install innovation With the recent change introduced in the 5033 standards, solar installers and retailers are looking to new products and techniques to make installations compliant without spending significantly more time on roof.

Mandatory for some time in other industries, stainless steel cable ties are now required, and using tools such as the Panduit range make the job compliant, safe, simple and fast.

Another factor in reducing install time has been the slow conversion of panel size preference from 72 cell 190W-200W modules to the larger 60 cell 240W-260W modules, which require additional lifting processes. However the number of panels on roof and the accompanied balance of system are significantly reduced.

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RFI technical specialists have received a number of enquiries in relation to the requirements for both sides of DC connectors to be from the same manufacturer. Connectors branded as compatible but from different manufacturers are no longer suitable. The use of pre-terminated cables with the correct connectors saves precious time on the job and a useful audit trail.

RFI has also invested product research time into mounting systems innovation which makes the new earthing requirements easier, with its range of rail systems, earth washers and take-off lugs.

Additionally RFI stocks the integrated mounting system from ZEP on the Trinamount product range. The Trinamount range has been shown to be four times faster than an equivalent rail based system and provides a built-in earthing system.

The formal requirement for roof-top DC isolation has underscored the best practice approach which RFI Flexi Kits have made

solar specialists

provision for since 2010. Designs for easy mounting of roof top isolators on rail systems are now appearing from manufacturers to minimise the associated time on roof.

RFI sales staff have also been receiving enquiries about micro-inverter technology which has the benefit of reduced DC wiring. The micro inverter technology has had a high take up rate in the US PV market and manufacturers are at various stages of development for Australian conditions. The promise of module level MPPT, built-in monitoring and inherent AC safety advantages make the rise of micro-inverter technology one to watch as product comes on range in 2013.

RFI is a leading Solar PV distributor with over 30 years of experience in off-grid, on-grid, commercial and industrial solar applications.

Visit www.rfi.com.au or call 1300 000 734.

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The magazine is circulated to 5000 people across Australia with a stake in solar energy: researchers, engineers, renewable energy consultants, training organisations, solar installers and architects, officers in state and federal government, students, and the general public.

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State

ASC around the nation During this Golden Jubilee year, some state branch presidents reflect on half a century of solar achievements.

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Jeff Knowles All members (past and present) of the ACT Branch wish to congratulate the ASC (formerly AFASE, ANZSES and more recently AuSES) on 50 years of continual service to the development and promotion of all matters solar in the Australasian context.

At this time it is right to celebrate – and it is also important to acknowledge the role that certain individuals have made to the organisation as a whole and the ACT branch in particular. While it was the last branch to be formed, the ACT ‘chapter’ has certainly seen some strong personal contributions to the national and international solar scene.

Trevor Lee is the first to come to mind – his work on three main fronts has been important; viz solar data collection; Solar Progress editor for many years and the instigation of a ‘Solar House Tour’ in Canberra during the ‘70s that eventually went national under the guise of Sustainable House day.

Keith Lovegrove (and his work on the big dishes), Paul Hanley, Jim Were and Peter Overton also need to be mentioned here, along with Andy Blakers and Steve Wootten – the latter who continue to fly the flag for the development of solar in the ACT region.

But what of the present and indeed the future?

Currently the ACT branch, led by the executive comprising Steve Wootten (Secretary); Dale Siver (Treasurer) John Payne (Vice-President) and myself are making arrangements to upgrade the website offering to online members and we have determined a ‘Speakers List’ for the upcoming 12 months.

We have monthly meetings on the last Wednesday of each month and have just completed arrangements to formerly secure the location of our meetings at the Ian Ross Engineering building within the ANU. The Committee looks forward to overseeing the continual development of all things solar and sustainable in the ACT region for the year to come..

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Jai Singh The ASC Northern Territory Branch has been organising public seminars on solar energy related topics each year to bring the community awareness of the solar energy related activities taking place in the Northern Territory and Australia.

The two most recent were held at the NT Museum Theatrette as follows: A public seminar held in June with speakers Alan Major, Managing Director, Tenax Tidal Energy on Ocean Energy Project Development and Generation in Australasia; and Sam Latz, General Manager, Alice Solar City on Alice Solar City: past, present and future.

In mid September the branch ran a public seminar which featured Sunny Miller, on Constructing a somewhat sustainable house in temperate Perth; also Steve Beagley, Senior Auditor, Coolmob, Darwin whose address was titled: Does the current bias of the Star Rating system miss something? Robin Knox of Coolmob, Darwin presented tips on how to live more sustainably For several years The NT Branch has been sponsoring the Australian Solar Energy Society (now Australian Solar Council Award organised by the Engineers Australia (NT chapter). In late July the Engineers Australia Excellence Award dinner was held at the Turf Club and the winner of the ASC award was the Uterne Power Plant, Alice Springs.

Wilf Johnston from the Uterne Power Plant accepted the award presented by Jai Singh, President, ASC, NT Branch.

Wilf Johnston of the Uterne Power Plant accepts the ASC award presented by Professor Jai Singh 46 | SPRING 2012

A retrospective:

From the NT Branch of Australian Solar Council for the 50th anniversary celebration The NT branch of the then Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (ANZSES) remained very small with few activities until the late 1980s. At that time, the Branch developed some formal set up with a Branch Executive Committee. Dr Subhash Chandra, then the Manager of Renewable Energy within the NT government’s Department of Mines and Energy, became President with Jai Singh, as Vice President, John Wellard, as Treasurer and Ann Wellard as Secretary. The NT Branch hosted SOLAR’92, the annual conference of ANZSES in Darwin with the theme Under One Sun. Subhash was successful in obtaining sponsorship for SOLAR’92 resulting in a substantial profit at the conclusion of the event. The NT Branch also organised a competition on the solar energy related games involving several Darwin school children. This was also a very successful event.

The NT Branch sponsors two annual prizes. The first is for the best PhD thesis in physics and engineering and the second is best student in the Renewable Energy Unit from the then Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University). Each of these prizes involves to a total of $250 cash, one year’s membership to ANZSES, a medallion and a certificate.

The NT Branch hosted SOLAR’ 96, ANZSES annual conference of 1996 in Darwin with a theme: Energy for Life. This conference had very generous support from the NT Government and was very successful financially as well as in its activities. Since this event the NT branch remained in the category of the richest Branch of ANZSES for many years until all branch funds were centralised. Dr Subhash Chandra retired and left Darwin at which time Professor Jai Singh became president.

Since 2006, the NT branch has sponsored the sustainability award organised by the NT chapter of Engineers Australia in their annual event of Excellence Award gala dinner. The two recent winners of the sustainabily award, valued at $500, are CAT Projects Pty Ltd, Alice Springs (2009) and Uterne Power Plant, Alice Springs (2012).

The NT Branch hosted the annual conference of 2007, SOLAR’2007 which was held in Alice Springs and chaired by Howard Pullen, Treasurer, of the NT Branch. Again, this was a very successful event financially.

In 2009, AuSES (NT Branch) in collaboration with the Cool Mob, investigated the possibility of starting a bulk buy of PV systems for the residents of Darwin and invited tenders from suppliers in Australia. Eco-Kinetics, a Brisbane based company won the tender.

The public were invited to attend a meeting on 15 April 2009 to register their interest in a program which would enable them to have a PV system installed on their roof for less than $1500.00. This meeting attracted over 400 residents who registered for the program. EcoKinetics had agreed to pay $50.00 per installation under this program, to be shared 60/40 between The AuSES (NT Branch) and Cool Mob. Eco-Kinetics was successful in installing over 200 systems for Darwin residents through this scheme.

NT branch awarded a prize of $500.00 for the best paper on photovoltaic by an early career researcher presented at EXCON’10 (9th International Conference on Excitonic and Photonic Processes in Condensed and Nano-Materials) held in Brisbane, 11-15 July 2010. This was awarded to Dr Supriya Pillai for her paper entitled Surface plasmons for improving the performance of silicon quantum dot structures for third generation solar cell applications. Authors S Pillai, I Perez-Wurfl, G Conibeer and MA Green.

As a regular activity each year, the NT branch organises up to four public seminars annually which attract up to 60 people.

sa

branch

Stewart Martin, Chair The major achievements of the branch over the past 10 years or so have been: the organisation of the ISES World Congress in 2001, which attracted over 750 delegates despite the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the collapse of Ansett, both occurring shortly before the conference and the yearly organisation, latterly with the assistance of the ATA, of Sustainable House Day which has regularly attracted more than 1000 visitors with up to 16 open houses.

Over the past 10 yrs membership has averaged around 65 with a core of about 15 members being particularly active.

nsw

branch

Noel Barton, President So … just how has the NSW Branch contributed to the Australian Solar Energy Society in recent times?

Our membership has varied between approximately 170 and 250, with a core of around 10-15 members responsible for events in recent years.

The branch regularly runs public meetings with some attracting up to 150 people; particularly successful were the meetings on Sliver Cells, the development of which are now unfortunately on hold, and Energy from Hot Rocks.

Meetings this year included a presentation from Prof John Boland on the topic “Towards electricity without fossil fuels” and from Wayne Ryan and Piers Horwood on “Reducing the LoadA Step Change in the Energy Efficiency of Air Conditioning Systems in Commercial Buildings”.

SA boasts the highest per capita uptake of residential PV in Australia and approximately 50% of Australia’s wind power.

The Branch is putting a proposal to local Councils to run a Solar PV Awareness program for Council residents in order to answer questions on PV systems and subsidies. It is anticipated that the Councils will pay the presenters and that some money will also be returned to AuSES.

Two committee members; Monica Oliphant and Trixie Smith, have initiated an ambitious and innovative global competition for school children. The competition has 2 categories one for students with access to electricity who will be asked to describe life without electricity and one for students with limited or no electricity who will be asked to describe what life would be like if they had a reliable solar power supply and access to the internet.

It is hoped the winners will be able to travel to Mexico to receive their prize at the next ISES Solar World Congress in November 2013.

Members of the Branch Committee have had regular meetings with State Energy Ministers and their Opposition equivalents to discuss their respective party’s policies on renewable energy and electricity tariffs. In 2012 discussions were held with the Hon Tom Koutsantonis (Lab) and Mitch Williams (Lib).

For many years, we have held monthly information evenings with informative speakers and attendances ranging from 20-90 people.

In recent times, PV has been emphasised in the selection of topics, but presentations have also covered solar thermal applications and broader issues such as policy (the carbon tax, the BZE stationary energy plan), biomass, hydrogen as an energy carrier and wind-power.

Members of the NSW Branch were active as part of the AuSES campaign to force the current State government to revise their slashing of the FIT scheme in 2011.

We coordinated Sustainable House Day within NSW from 2004-1010 and assisted in running a successful event in 2011 as well. We have made displays and given presentations at many events run by local councils.

We have arranged tours to energy installations in NSW, such as the Blayney wind farm, the Singleton PV project, the linear Fresnel collectors at Liddell power station and the CSIRO energy laboratory at Newcastle.

Finally, NSW members assisted in arranging the annual conferences of AuSES in 2002 and 2008.

Contact the following Branch Presidents for more information about ASC activities in your state: WA: Ishaan Khanna, email ishaankhanna@hotmail.com or wa@solar.org.au Victoria: Dale Brown, email VICBranch@solar.org.au Queensland: Antony Sachs, email QLDbranch@solar.org.au phone: 0407 121 321 ACT: Steve Blume, email ACT@solar.org.au Tasmania: Matthew Pettit, email matthew.pettit@bigpond.com phone: 0406 481 283 SA: Stewart Martin, email stewart.martin@unisa.edu.au NT: Prof Jai Singh, email Jai.Singh@cdu.edu.au or NTbranch@solar.org.au

SolarProgress | 47

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