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Rooftop solar sends average South Australia daytime power prices below zero

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The combination of heavy proliferation of rooftop solar in South Australia and lower than average summer temperatures have combined to leave daytime solar prices to dive below zero at certain times in Q1 2021, according to a report from the AEMO.

South Australian rooftop solar drives daytime power prices below zero

RenewEconomy are reporting that South Australia set a new benchmark in the Australian electricity market, with its share of rooftop solar sending the average daytime wholesale price of electricity to below zero in the first quarter of 2021.

According to the Australia Energy Market Operator (AEMO), the average price of wholesale power in South Australia between 10am-3.30pm was -$12/MWh in Q1 – the first time this has ever happened to  Australia’s main electricity grid.

According to estimates from AEMO, up to 33% of South Australian and Queensland wind and solar capacity have installed automated bidding software, with a slightly smaller amount (~20%) in Victoria. The facilities most hit were the Tailem Bend solar farm and the Lincoln Gap wind farm, both in South Australia, and the Murra Warra wind farm in Victoria.

Record Q1 installation of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity during the first three months of 2021 has led to a 3% decrease in average operational demand from the National Electricity Market (NEM), the lowest amount of operational demand in Q1 since 2002.

The AEMO have released the Quarterly Energy Dynamics Q1 2021 and it also notes that the weather may have had some input in these figures:

East coast average Q1 maximum temperatures were the lowest since 2012, with particularly mild weather in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. The resulting reduction in cooling load, coupled with record Q1 installation of distributed photovoltaic (PV) capacity, led to National Electricity Market (NEM) average operational demand reducing by 3% on Q1 2020 levels, declining to its lowest Q1 since 2002.

The report from AEMO is well worth reading if you’re interested – it’s available in PDF form by clicking here.

 

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280kWh Redflow-based microgrid in Tasmania

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Redflow CEO Simon Hackett has installed a 280kWh Redflow-based rural microgrid in Tasmania. The sheep farm will benefit greatly from the ZMB2 flow batteries – let’s take a look at the install and how it’s going to work.

Simon Hackett – installing a microgrid in Tasmania

Redflow Microgrid in Tasmania (source: Redflow)

The 280kWh Redflow-based rural microgrid is now live according to a press release on the Redflow website. Simon Hackett’s place, a sheep farm named the Vale, has seen install of 280kWh of  Redflow ZBM2 zinc-bromine flow batteries. We first wrote about this Redflow microgrid in 2019 – fantastic to see the Vale’s solar installation improve and upgrade along with solar panel technology.

The Vale (http://www.thevale.com.au), a working sheep farm with the largest private runway in Tasmania, is a 73-hectare property including a number of farm buildings and multiple houses.

The solar install uses a cluster of 12 x 15KVA Victron Quattro inverter/chargers and control systems that can deliver a peak energy output of 180KVA – it’s wired throughout the property to create the microgrid. The solar energy created by the ground-mounted 100kWp solar array is stored in 28 Redflow 10kWh ZBM2 zinc-bromine flow batteries, for a total storage capacity of 280 kWh. 

Hackett went on to discuss some of the specifics of his microgrid in Tasmania:

“The battery array makes extensive use of the Redflow Standby Power System (SPS) mode, allowing batteries to be fully charged during good solar weather days, and to then be ‘hibernated’ with zero self-discharge. During extended overcast periods, the SPS batteries are automatically activated to support site loads instead of using the grid. This unique strength of Redflow’s ZBM2 batteries allows the site to maximise both energy storage quantity and also energy storage efficiency.”

Hackett, who also works as Redflow’s Systems Integration Architect, said the system will completely eliminate grid electricity costs for the property. “The system also gives us energy resilience by automatically switching to off-grid mode during any grid power failures,” he said.

 

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Australia’s wineries go green using solar energy

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Australia’s wineries go green using solar energy

More Australian wineries are turning to the sun, making the switch to solar power to help in wine production. Driven by rising costs of electricity from non-renewable sources, lower costs of solar power installation, and the potential benefits of producing own power, many wineries haven taken the bold step of investing in more renewable sources. By utilising solar energy for growing grapes and producing wines, wineries in Australia can both save on major costs and reduce their overall carbon footprint.

Photo by Mariana Proença on Unsplash

Electricity is the biggest expense in wine production

For most wineries in Australia, electricity is their largest expense item in the production of their wines. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) estimates that around 40% of expenditures of wineries go towards electricity, whilst the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA) says that refrigeration eats up 50-70% of total power costs. Thus, it is no surprise that vineyards look for ways to reduce energy expenses.

Investing in renewable sources makes sense that will drive electricity expenditures down, lower overhead costs, and improve margins. For producers of quality Australian red wines, solar power not only reduces energy costs, but also maximises commercial roof space and reaffirms their commitment to a lower carbon footprint.

Incentive to attract investments in solar power

Solar power adoption surged in Australia in 2008, and even though costs of materials and installation were high, government incentives were also widely available until 2011. Between 2011-14, the prices of solar systems fell. From 2014 to present, there is relative stability in the solar system industry. Photovoltaic (PV) system prices are down significantly and there are existing incentive schemes for solar panels and batteries that are offered at state level, making investments in the area still attractive.

For 2020, interest-free loans up to $9,000 for a solar battery and $14,000 for a solar PV and battery storage system for households with an annual income of $180,000 or less are available. Under the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme, both households and smalls business in Australia that install small-scale renewable energy systems may be eligible for assistance to help with the purchase cost. Eligible participants may be entitled to small-scale technology certificates which can be sold to recoup a part of the purchase and installation cost.

Wineries adopt renewable power sources

An independent report produced by AgEconPlus revealed a 13% increase in the economic contribution of the wine industry since 2015 or an increase of roughly 3% per year. Strong wine exports are largely responsible for recovery in the wine sector. But, the competition is tough and the over 2,000 wineries in Australia have to stay competitive.

In fact, wineries were some of the earliest adopters of solar energy, with dozens in South Australia harnessing solar energy for wine production. Some wineries that have in excess of 100kW solar systems include D’Arenberg, Wirra Wirra, Sidewood, and Peter Lehmann. Recently, Pernod Ricard has become the first large wine company in the country to achieve 100% renewable electricity with the completion of Australia’s biggest combined winery solar installation. According to the winery’s chief operations officer, Brett McKinnon, “being sustainable and responsible is an important part of their business and they want to reduce their impact on the communities where they operate”.

Australian wineries recognise the opportunities to tap into solar energy and enjoy the cost-saving and environmental benefits. Using renewable sources not only lowers electricity costs, but also fulfils a company’s global-minded goals.

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SRES – Will solar rebates increase the cost of electricity?

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Will solar rebates increase the cost of electricity? Yesterday The Australian newspaper published an article titled ‘Households’ $2bn solar hit’ which hypothesises that every Australian household will have to stump up $195 to help subsidise the subsidies. Is this rubbish? What impact does the SRES really have on electricity prices? Let’s read on…

SRES – Will solar rebates increase the cost of electricity?

Ketan Joshi via Renew Economy wrote a great article titled “How a ridiculous falsehood about solar power self-replicated in media”. You can read it on Ketan’s blog (ketanjoshi85) by clicking here. The “$2b solar hit” is a sum which has been basically made up through some extremely shoddy extrapolations.

The article in the Australian was run with by a number of Australia’s most trusted media outlets – News.com.au, 7 News, Sky News, the Today Show, and the consistently atrocious Daily Mail – who titled their article about the rebates thusly: 

“Climate change farce: How every Australian household contributes $200 a year to those lucky enough to be able to afford to put solar panels on their roof”

Energy Minister Angus Taylor decided to blame the big electricity retailers:

‘The big cost is the profits being taken by the big energy companies in the wholesale market, without innovation or new products, and it is time for them to deliver a fairer deal for their customers,’ he said.

‘According to the Australian Energy Market Commission, the small-scale technology certificate cost is less than three per cent of the bill, whereas 46 per cent is going to the big generator retailers.’

The Renew Economy article notes that, for FY18 and FY19 respectively, Australians paid/will pay $19 / $32 towards the scheme. This is a stark contrast to the $134 / $195 which was reported. It appears that the figures are so badly skewed for a number of different reasons including the assumption that 100% of electricity costs are passed on from businesses to households. They also haven’t factored in the Small-scale Technology Percentage, which will be set by the Energy Minister in March – and the effect this will have on STCs is quite marked. Installing solar power systems becomes cheaper if the STCs are higher, so you can see how this would have an impact which could be measured erroneously. It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts on solar grants moving forwards. 

The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (aka SRES) is scheduled to run until 2030. If you’d like to read more about it please visit the Clean Energy Regulator’s website – where they have plenty of information about the scheme. 

We’d also recommend Ketan’s article for a more in depth exploration of the issue.

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Shell buys Sonnen | Cheaper Solar Batteries?

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Shell buys sonnen: German solar battery company Sonnen has been bought out by global giant Shell for an undisclosed sum. The purchase is still subject to regulatory approval but let’s take a look at what we can expect from this situation.

Shell buys Sonnen

sonnenProtect aka Sonnen Protect 1300/2500 (source: sonnen)
Shell Buys sonnen – sonnenProtect 1300/2500 (source: sonnen.com)

Mark Gainsborough, executive vice-president of Shell New Energies, discussed the purchase: “Sonnen is one of the global leaders in smart, distributed energy storage systems,” he said.

“Full ownership of Sonnen will allow us to offer more choice to customers seeking reliable, affordable and cleaner energy.”

Shell New Energies was founded in 2016 to ‘advance the company’s interests in electricity, as well as biofuel and hydrogen’.

According to the ABC, sonnen’s new location in Adelaide will reap benefits: the local workforce is expected to expand by 430 jobs this year. This is part of sonnen’s plan to build 50,000 battery systems over the next five years.

sonnen CEO Christoph Ostermann said the investment will help the company scale faster and will also have a greater good in terms of energy tech:

“Shell will help drive the growth of Sonnen to a new level and help speed up the transformation of the energy system,” he said.

Ars Technica are reporting that the company have over 40,000 batteries installed worldwide – in Germany, the US, Australia, and more. 

Shell last week confirmed they will extend New Energies into the Australian domestic market – which includes the construction of a 120MW solar project in Queensland – so this is a great step forward for him. 

More News about sonnen in Australia

sonnen have quite a lot of history providing solar power in Australia – it remains to be seen what the Shell takeover will mean for the area, but in the meantime here are some other news articles about sonnen in Australia:

 

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