Solar photovoltaic electricity for domestic use in Australia

7/28/2019 Solar photovoltaic electricity for domestic use in Australia

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PhotovoltaicsolarelectricityfordomesticuseinAustralia

Student: Andre Souza da Costa ID: 1635969 PEP 11


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Tableofcontents

ExecutiveSummary I

1. Introduction 1

2. Environmentaladvantagesofsolarenergy 2

3. Feasibility 3

3.1. PhotovoltaicPowerStations 3

3.2. Residentialgrid-connectedsystems 4

4. Residentialuseofphotovoltaics 5

5. GovernmentInitiatives 6

5.1. Feed-intariffs 6

5.2. SolarHomesandCommunitiesPlan(SHCP) 7

6. Conclusion 8

Referencelist 9

Bibliography 11



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Tableofillustrations

Fig.1.Emissionofgreenhousegaspersub-sectorin2011inAustralia2

Fig.2.PhotovoltaicPowerStationintheUnitedStates 3

Fig.3.Potentialareasforsolarelectricitygathering 3

Fig.4.ResidentialphotovoltaicsysteminSouthAustralia 4

Fig.5.Thecumulativegrid-connecteddistributedPV5

Fig.6.Newinstallationsofgrid-connecteddistributedPV 5

Fig.7.Feed-intariffsimplementedincurrentlyinAustralia 6



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ExecutiveSummary

Thisreport providesananalysis oftheadvantagesandofthefeasibilityofsolarphotovoltaic

electricity as an alternative to fossil fuel based resources in Australia. Special attention is

giventotheresidentialuseofphotovoltaicpanels.Somegovernmentinitiativestakeninorder

to develop this market in Australia are explored, and it is shown that small-scale grid

connected photovoltaics are the most feasible area of application for photovoltaic cells.

Findingssuggestthatthismarkethasgreatpotentialtobecomeauto-sustainableinthefuture,

however,massivegovernmentsupportisstillnecessaryinordertomakesolarenergyfrom

photovoltaicsascompetitiveasfossilfuel.


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1. Introduction

Most of thegenerated electricity in Australia comes from fossil fuel based sources suchas

coal, oil and gas, which has led the country to be the one of the main contributors to the

emissionofgreenhousegasinthewesternworld(Yusaf,Goh&Borserio 2011).Ontheother

hand, Australiaisrichin termsofsolarradiation, whichis acleanandrenewablesourceof

energy. Basedon this, the country has agreatpotential to develop asolar-basedelectricity

systemandsimultaneouslyreduceitsemissionof greenhousegas. Thepurposeofthis report

istoinvestigatetowhatextentthegenerationofelectricityinAustraliausingphotovoltaicsis

advantageousandfeasiblerelativetofossilfuelbasedsources.Aspecialfocuswillbegivento

the residential use of photovoltaics. The first section is an analysis of the environmental

advantages of solar energy relative to fossil fuel. Then, a study of the feasibility of

photovoltaicsuseinAustraliawillbeprovided.Inthefollowingsections,theresidentialuseof

photovoltaicsandsomegovernmentinitiativeswillbeaddressed.Finally,conclusions willbe

drawnfromthedataprovided.


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2. Environmentaladvantagesofsolarenergy

Solar energy is a renewable source for electricity generation and has very few

negativeimpactsontheenvironment.Infact,BahadoriandNwaoha(2013)arguethat

it isenvironmentallyadvantageous relative toanyother energysource.However,

Australia is highly dependent on fossil fuel for electricity generation and this

represents a seriousenvironmental issue.It canbe observed from figure1 that the

electricitysectoristhemainsourceofgreenhousegasemissioninthecountry.

Fig.1.Emissionofgreenhousegaspersub-sectorin2011inAustralia,DepartmentofClimateChangeandEnergyEfficiency

2012

Therefore,solarenergyhasstrongenvironmentaljustificationsforreplacingfossilfuel

based resources in the process of electricity generation in Australia. These

justificationsinclude:

Nodepletionofnaturalresources.

Nogreenhousegasemission.

Nogenerationofsolidorliquidwasteproducts.

Increaseofnationalenergyindependency.


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3. Feasibility

Theexploitationof solarenergy to produce electricity canbe done eitherin large orsmall

scale. Themain photovoltaic applicationsarepowerstationsand residential grid-connected

systems.

3.1. PhotovoltaicPowerStations

APhotovoltaicpowerstationisasystemdesignedtosupplyelectricityinlarge-scale,

rather than to individual buildings. Researches suggest that this application is not

economicallyviable atthe present(Green2004; Yusaf,Goh& Borserio2011). This is

because the prospect sites for the construction of large power stations are inland

deserts,andtheinvestmentintheinfrastructurenecessarytotransmitthegenerated

electricitytourbancentreswouldnotbecompensable(Yusaf,Goh&Borserio2011,p.

2218).Figure3showsthepotentialareasforlarge-scaleexploitationofsolarenergyin

Australia.

Fig.3.Potentialareasforsolarelectricitygathering,BahadoriandNwaoha2013.


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Fig.2.PhotovoltaicPowerStationintheUnitedStates,PVMagazine


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3.2. Residentialgrid-connectedsystems

Residential grid-connected systems are small-scale photovoltaic plants designed to

supply electricity to individual buildings. These systems are connected to the

electricity grid, whichmeansthat theelectricitysurpluscanbesoldbacktothegrid.

Lovegrove and Dennis (2006) suggest that grid-connected photovoltaic panels on

domestic houseroofsnationallycouldsupply asmuchenergyas largepowerstations

inthe desert. Inthissense,theresidentialuseofphotovoltaicsmaybean alternative

for the infrastructural problem associated with the transmission of solar electricity

frominlanddesertareastourbancentres.

Fig.4.ResidentialphotovoltaicsysteminSouthAustralia,PVMagazine


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5.3. SolarHomesandCommunitiesPlan(SHCP)

This program was also aimed at stimulating the residential photovoltaics market. It

provided rebates of up to $AU 8,000 for 1 kWp of residential photovoltaics. The

program ended on 9 June 2009 and had a significant impact on the photovoltaic

market. Under the SHCP, 69,7 MW were installed andAUD 500,8 million provided

(Wattetal2010).


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6. Conclusion

DespitethehighincidenceofsunradiationinAustralia,large-scaleuseofphotovoltaicsisnot

economicallyviableatthepresentduetolimitationsinelectricitytransmission.However,the

installationofgrid-connectedsmall-scalephotovoltaicsontherooftopsofhousesnationwide

maybeanalternativeforthisissue.Severalgovernmentinitiativeshavealreadybeentakenin

order to stimulate the photovoltaics market in Australia, with special incentives for the

residential sector, which has caused it to become the main area of application for this

technology. Photovoltaic solar electricity has potential to become the main source of

electricity in Australia. It lies on environmentally friendly premises andhas seen a steady

declineinpricesinthelastdecades.However,improvementsinexistingtechnologyandmore

government support are still needed in order to make solar photovoltaic energy as

competitiveasfossilfuel.


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Referencelist

Bahadori, A and Nwaoha, C 2013, A review on solar energy utilization in Australia,

RenewableandSustainableEnergyReviews,vol.18,pp.1-5.

DepartmentofClimateChangeandEnergyEfficiency2012, Australias emissionsprojections

2012,DCCEE,Canberra,ACT.

Lovegrove, K & Dennis, M 2006, 'Solar thermal energy systems in Australia', International

JournalofEnvironmentalStudies,vol.63,no.6,pp.791-802.

Green,MA2004,'Recentdevelopmentinphotovoltaics',SolarEnergy,vol.76,no.1,pp.3-8.

Residential photovoltaic system in South Australia, PV Magazine, viewed23 January 2013,

Photovoltaic Power Station in the United States, PV Magazine, viewed 23 January 2013,

Stark,C,Penney,K&Feng,A2012,2012AustralianEnergyUpdate,BREE,Canberra,August.

Watt, M, Passey, R, ITPower(Australia),Johnston, W&SunWiz 2011, PV inAustralia2010,

AustralianPVAssociation,May.


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Yusaf,T,Goh,S&Borserio,JA2011,PotentialofrenewableenergyalternativesinAustralia,


Zahedi, A 2010, Australianrenewable energyprogress, Renewable andSustainable Energy

Reviews,vol.14,pp.2008-2213.


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Bibliography

Bahadori, A and Nwaoha, C 2013, A review on solar energy utilization in Australia,


DepartmentofClimateChangeandEnergyEfficiency2012, Australias emissionsprojections

2012,DCCEE,Canberra,ACT.

James&James1997,Solarenergyhouses,SciencePublishers,London.

Lovegrove, K & Dennis, M 2006, 'Solar thermal energy systems in Australia', International

JournalofEnvironmentalStudies,vol.63,no.6,pp.791-802.

Green,MA2004,'Recentdevelopmentinphotovoltaics',SolarEnergy,vol.76,no.1,pp.3-8.

Residential photovoltaic system in South Australia, PV Magazine, viewed23 January 2013,

Photovoltaic Power Station in the United States, PV Magazine, viewed 23 January 2013,

Sabady,P1978,Thesolarhouse,Butterworth&Co,London.

Sivaraman, D & Horne, RE 2011, Regulatory potential for increasing small scale grid

connectedphotovoltaic(PV)deploymentinAustralia,EnergyPolicy,vol.39,pp.586-595.


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http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/us--record-year-for-residential-solar-installations_100009550/#axzz2In9erYDfhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEuhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEuhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEuhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/us--record-year-for-residential-solar-installations_100009550/#axzz2In9erYDfhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/us--record-year-for-residential-solar-installations_100009550/#axzz2In9erYDfhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/us--record-year-for-residential-solar-installations_100009550/#axzz2In9erYDfhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/us--record-year-for-residential-solar-installations_100009550/#axzz2In9erYDfhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEuhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEuhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEuhttp://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/south-australia--rooftop-pv-reduces-electricity-demand_100008041/#axzz2IbrChvEu


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Stark,C,Penney,K&Feng,A2012,2012AustralianEnergyUpdate,BREE,Canberra,August.

Watt, M, Passey, R, ITPower(Australia),Johnston, W&SunWiz 2011, PV inAustralia2010,

AustralianPVAssociation,May.

Yusaf,T,Goh,S&Borserio,JA2011,PotentialofrenewableenergyalternativesinAustralia,


Zahedi, A 2010, Australianrenewable energyprogress, Renewable andSustainable Energy

Reviews,vol.14,pp.2008-2213.


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Solar photovoltaic electricity for domestic use in Australia