THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN SOLAR ENERGY SOCIETY

07/12Winter

ISSN: 0729-6436

Horizon Power Solar on a small scale

Smart Grid The all-round benefits of interlinked systems

BluesScope Steel’s solar roofing Taking BIPV to the next level

CSP Unravelling the potential of large-scale solar

It’s time to look at

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Powering Australia’s solar energy future.

Talk to us at the East Solar Expo & Conference Melbourne Exhibition Centre, 21-22 August 2012

Call 1800 074 007 or visit solco.com.au

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SolarProgress | 1

Solar SocietyReview of solar landscape by AuSES

CEO and Solar Progress Editor 2

East Solar Expo and Conference 20

AuSES state branch activity 33

AuSES AS5033 and Best Practice

workshops 37

AuSES Golden Jubilee in late 2012 47

AuSES Corporate Members 48

Tech TalkGlen Morris helps usher in AS5033 36

Solar advancesHorizon solar on a small scale 8

Smart grids, efficient systems, by

Ishaan Khanna 12

Saudi Arabia’s quantum leap to RE 16

BlueScope’s BIPV mission:

ASI funded research 26

CSP’s potential spelt out, by

Bill Parker 28

News and viewsLocal and global solar developments 4

Nigel Morris takes stock of the

solar market 38

Wayne Smith: generating 20%

of power from solar by 2030 39

Beyond the laboratory, by

Warwick Johnston 46

Special featuresSolar intermittency under the

microscope 18

VSASF research team focuses on

thin-film technology 30

Colac residents form a solar collective 34

ASI’s three minute solar challenge 40

Products and services Solar perspective by Anthony Coles

of Solco 42

Solpac, RA Power, Sungrow and

REFUsol 4326

Contents

31

45

9

EDITOR

Dr Bill Parker, AuSES

Phone: 0403 583 676

editor@auses.org.au

CONTRIBUTORS: Paul Gipe, Warwick

Johnston, Ishaan Khaana, Glen Morris,

Nigel Morris and Wayne Smith.

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 ENERGY

SOCIETY LTD

CEO John Grimes

PO Box 148, Frenchs Forest NSW 1640

www.auses.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. While every effort

is made to check the authenticity and

accuracy of articles, neither AuSES nor the

editors are responsible for any inaccuracy.

Solar Progress is published quarterly

SOLAR PROGRESSPublished by CommStrat for Australian Solar Energy Society Ltd.

Solar Progress subscriptions: contact Anna Washington Executive Assistant, AuSES anna@auses.org.au or call 0409 802 707

Front cover: Children from the Marble Bar Primary School get a hands-on introduction to the town’s solar power station.

2 | WINTER 2012

Bill Parker Editor

John Grimes Chief Executive, Australian Solar Energy Society

In this edition, one year after our new format was launched; we have

articles about innovation and the challenges that are presented by the

inevitable penetration of solar generation into our electricity grids.

The issues can be distilled down to Australia’s differences from the

rest of the world. We have solar radiation about as good as it gets. Solar

technology, at whatever scale, is functional and will be a significant part of

our energy system, but we also have the legacy of a multiplicity of electrical

networks; a large underpopulated area where small towns generally have

radial grids, which have inherent limitations.

The poles and wires of our ageing networks require upgrading to

accommodate intermittent sources such as solar and wind. Yet the public

has hardly any concept of what this means, and the costs of making the

grids solar amenable are substantial.

However, on the other side of the ‘ledger’ are scientists and engineers

who are capable of solving the problems. It is a case of political will.

CHANGING THE PARADIGMOne senior engineer interviewed for this edition is firmly convinced

that the electricity supply industry will change to taking on the role as

‘balancer’. Instead of the uni–directional energy flow, it will be bi-

directional and, to manage the new paradigm better, the customer will

install the means to store electricity both short and longer term, even

though they are connected to a grid. Storage devices such as capacitors

and fuel cells could become part of the household generation system

based on PV. The balance extends to the marriage of PV with large–scale

solar plants that store energy.

Nothing will move smoothly until the deliberate misinformation

is quashed.

Bill Parker

SOLAR WON! The war is over. Solar won. We know we can deploy solar – generate

electricity – at a very reasonable 15 cents per kW hour. Nowhere in

the country can you buy electricity as cheap as this; the average price

of grid electricity across the country is 22 cents per kW hour, and by

2014/2015 the average price of electricity around the country will be 34

cents per kW hour.

Why so? It has been estimated that Government needs to invest over

$100 billion on grid infrastructure between now and 2020. Already a

staggering $56 billion has been spent, which is almost twice the cost of

the broadband network, but incredibly there is no debate around this. We

know who pays for that – it is electricity users.

Governments are being deceptive by stating electricity prices are

rising because of solar energy; the fact is, green energy raises prices by

just three percent. That means 97% is due to other factors, including

marketing costs.

But those of us in the solar energy sphere can see the future and it is only

a matter of time before the whole electricity sector transitions much more

fundamentally. It will be breathtaking; the solar future is extremely bright.

This is helped in part by Australia’s carbon tax which sends a signal to

the public that we are moving toward renewable energy.

STATE OF PLAY IN CHINAHaving spent around two months in China thus far this year, I have observed

a fundamental shift in the solar scene. With significant and strategic

investment by the Chinese government, the country is fast becoming a super

player in solar manufacturing and the imminent introduction of domestic

feed-in tariffs in China is poised to significantly boost solar energy. This

year China is on track to take solar installation capacity to between 3 and 5

gigawatts, and to a staggering 21 gigawatts by 2015.

Let us not forget the Chinese solar industry exists because of Australia;

many industry leaders were educated here and have a natural affinity with

Australia. We want to see more of that value come back to our county and

believe that the strategic partnership we have forged will take us a long way.

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

4 | WINTER 2012

Making news

WA Low Energy Emissions DEVELOPMENT FUNDINGThe West Australian State Government will invest

$12.7million in new low emissions energy projects

in Perth, the Mid-West and the Wheatbelt.

In June, Environment Minister Bill Marmion

and Energy Minister Peter Collier announced

in-principle funding from the Low Emissions

Energy Development (LEED) Fund for Curtin

University; Morton Seed and Grain; Biogass

Renewables; Green Rock Energy Ltd; Solastor,

in consortium with Carbon Reduction Ventures;

and The University of Western Australia (UWA).

“The funding is subject to these companies

matching every $1 of Government funds with

at least $3 from elsewhere, which will lead to

a direct total investment of more than

$50million in low emissions technology in WA,”

Marmion said.

“LEED funding provides vital support

to technological development aimed at

reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The

Government is proud to support these

important projects.”

One of the recipients, Solastor, in consortium

with Carbon Reduction Ventures, plans to spend

$3.775 million on a 1.5MW grid-connected CSP

plant incorporating heat storage technology

near Morawa, a mining town on the fringe of

the South West Interconnected Grid. The heat

storage medium is high purity graphite and

heat transfer is via an embedded heat exchange

system. Since Morawa is in an arid area, the

water conservation features of the plant are

ideally suited.

Similar technology is being used at

Lake Cargellico in NSW where a plant

commenced producing electricity in May

2011 using heliostats and graphite storage

(although the operator there has no

connection with Solastor).

IEA’S rosy forecastAn International Energy Agency (IEA) report

says that despite economic uncertainties in

many countries, global power generation from

hydropower, solar, wind and other renewable

sources is projected to increase by more than

40% to almost 6 400 terawatthours – or

roughly one-and-a-half times that of current

electricity production in the United States.

Renewable generation will increasingly

shift from the OECD to new markets, with

non-OECD countries accounting for two-

thirds of this growth. Of the 710GW of

new global renewable electricity capacity

expected, China accounts for almost 40%.

Significant deployment is also expected in

the United States, India, Germany and Brazil,

among others.

GERMANY sets 52GW cap on PV support German legislators have hammered out a

compromise deal over cuts to the nation’s

support regime for PV installations – which

will now end altogether once 52GW of

capacity is in place.

The capacity cap is part of an agreement

reached by Germany’s federal and state

governments over plans to lower support

levels by between 20% and 30%, depending

on system size.

The proposed revisions have been locked

up in Germany’s parliamentary mediation

committee after several states blocked the

original plan, fearful of its impact on the

country’s solar industry.

Most of the changes first unveiled in

February remain, although a new feed-in

tariff (FIT) support band of 10kW-40kW for

rooftop installations will receive €0.185/kWh –

above the €0.165/kWh originally mooted. The

changes will be backdated to 1 April. Plans

to remove FIT support altogether for projects

larger than 10MW remain in place.

As well as setting the 52GW "absolute upper

limit" for support – roughly twice the figure

currently in place in Germany – the agreement

maintains an annual growth target corridor of

2.5GW-3.5GW.

That new TAX … With the carbon tax kicking in on July 1, the

economics around solar power are looking rosier.

Jeff Bye of ASX listed CBD Energy stated the

carbon tax widens the gap between low cost

solar power and more expensive traditional

generation and that “If you have your own solar

power station on your roof you not only avoid

these costs but your source of power, the sun, is

free and your low cost is locked in for 25 years.”

Blackening the landscape however is the spike

in pokies’ revenue, which coincided with cash

hand-outs from the government.

One MAD DASH … In late June up to 50,000 Queenslanders lodged

solar applications in the nick of time to benefit

from the 44 cents per kilowatt hour rebate

for households exporting power back to the

electricity grid before it plummeted to 8 cents.

6 | WINTER 2012

Making news

BOSCH …Coordinated by Frederik

Troester and Paul Scerri,

PV manufacturer Bosch

Solar Energy proudly

supports Holmesglen

(Victoria) by providing

samples and other

teaching material for the

institute's Clean Energy

Council Accreditation

courses for PV systems.

In its latest effort to showcase a high quality

system, Bosch sponsored the installation of

10x240W monocrystalline solar panels at

the Moorabbin campus’ Renewable Energy

Training Centre.

Visit www.bosch-solarenergy.com.au and

sales.se@au.bosch.com

SMA Solar Technology has extended its rewards

program to Australia, New Zealand and the

South Pacific.

This rewards programme is available to any

person or company installing SMA inverters.

It’s free of charge and easy to register. Installers

can create an account at www.SMA-Bonus.com

and start benefiting immediately. In the Rewards

Shop gifts begin at 300 points, and installers

can choose from a range of items including

radios, barbeques, ipads and televisions.

More information: www.SMA-Bonus.com

Award winning STADIUM The solar and wind energy map that featured

in Autumn 2012 Solar Progress listed larger

solar installations, which meant some notable

and significant structures were omitted.

Among these was the multi award-winning

Metricon Stadium 215kW BIPV system at

Carrara, that won Best System at ATRAA and

Ecogen. The Gold Coast structure also took out

the prestigious NECA awards.

The designer of the Metricon Stadium solar

system was Warwick Johnston, Managing

Director of SunWiz and AuSES Award Winner

2011 for Outstanding Industry Contribution.

PV wins out OVER WINDThe construction of the 300MW Silverton

wind farm has been set aside in favour of PV.

AGL will now focus on thin-film solar

projects, which will be built with the help

of Solar Flagships support scheme and

state funding.

AGL and US thin-film giant First Solar

won A$195 million in federal and state

government funds to build two PV projects

with a combined capacity of 159MW – a

106MW project at Nyngan and a 53MW

project at Broken Hill, both in NSW.

“There are some key milestones around

when [the solar projects] need to be delivered,

in order to get Solar Flagships funding,”

says AGL’s general manager of power

development, Scott Thomas.

“That’s going to bring the solar project online

first...and that will sit ahead of Silverton.”

Thomas adds that there is significant

overlap between the work on Silverton and the

solar projects, for example in grid connection.

Thomas insists Silverton remains a

priority for AGL, which bought the project

development rights in March from Germany’s

Epuron and Australia’s Macquarie Capital.

Silverton has development approval for an

initial 282 turbines with a maximum capacity

of 300MW, subject to market conditions and

electricity network capacity. This could be

expanded to as much as 1GW in later stages.

The rapidly-falling price of PV means that

many proposed wind projects owned by larger

developers will be put aside in favour of solar.

Solar dawn The future of Australia’s biggest solar energy

scheme – the 250 MW Solar Dawn project

in Queensland – is in the balance and will

be determined by the Australian Renewable

Energy Agency.

Federal Energy Minister, Martin Ferguson,

has written to the agency referring the project

to it for further consideration following a

decision by the Queensland Government

to withdraw $75 million funding from the

project at Chinchilla.

Ferguson says Solar Dawn offers

Queensland the opportunity to be at the

forefront of solar thermal technology

and home to one of the largest solar

power stations in the world and that such

opportunities “have to be grabbed but the

Queensland Government seems content to let

them slip by”.

The State Government, he says, is putting

at jeopardy a project that represents $1.5

billion in economic investment to regional

Queensland, 300 construction and local

manufacturing jobs and a $68 million solar

research and development program at the

University of Queensland.

Canberra has committed $464 million

to the Solar Dawn project under the Solar

Flagships Program and the project was given

until 30 June to meet financial close.

According to Ferguson the project’s

proponents indicated they couldn’t meet the

conditions.

SMA Bonus Program

A powerful partnershipTrina Solar is proud to partner with the Advanced Solar Research Team at ANU’s Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, on the development of our next generation silicon cell technology.

In a project supported by the Australian Solar Institute, the team in Canberra is using advanced nanotechnology for precise structuring of the solar cell surfaces to deliver significant increases in cell efficiency whilst cutting manufacturing cost. A powerful partnership.

www.trinasolar.com.au

8 | WINTER 2012

In the past, power stations in outback WA were

fuelled by diesel or diesel-gas hybrids running 24

hours a day. Now, with the massive input from PVs,

the local grids have to be managed to respond to the

intermittency of the solar resource. Solar Progress

met with two of the engineering staff at Horizon

Power – David Edwards and Jeremy Rotstein – to hear

about the challenge of incorporating PV into isolated

power grids. Story by Bill Parker.

Horizon Power is an electricity retailer

and infrastructure manager with a difference.

Formed in 2006 following the disaggregation

of Western Power, vertically integrated Horizon

generates, distributes and retails electricity for

the area well beyond the populous South West

corner of Western Australia.

That’s 2.3 million square kilometres but only

45,000 customers, in environments ranging

from the cold south coast, through to deserts in

the state’s centre and stretching way up north

to tropical rainforests.

Apart from a small inter–connected grid

in the North West at Port Hedland, Horizon’s

customers are located in small towns and

communities serviced by radial grids mainly

fuelled by diesel or gas or a mixture of both.

Two notable exceptions are Marble Bar

and Nullagine, which have solar–diesel power

stations. In the far north, hydro–power from

Lake Argyle contributes, as does wind at

Esperance, Hopetoun, Denham, Coral Bay,

and Exmouth.

The cost of diesel is an issue for any

dependant user, and certainly for an

electricity utility. Security of supply is also

critical and may become more so in the

future. With road transport the only means

of delivery for the isolated power stations

in WA, that too is a further cost issue. The

answer is solar, and here is where Horizon

Power has been innovative.

In September 2009, the company

commenced construction of their own

solar–diesel hybrid power stations in what is

Australia’s hottest region, just inland from

Port Hedland. These two power stations at

Marble Bar and Nullagine are also unusual

for the use of 500kW flywheels as system

smoothing buffers – spinning reserve to cope

with fluctuations in solar supply.

Awarded prizes and now well known and

unique in the world, these two stations may

be the only ones that Horizon Power builds.

The reason is simple. In the time since the

two stations came on-line, there has been

a massive increase in the installations of

roof–top PV in remote WA, and according

to David Edwards, Senior Engineer in the

Commercial and Business Development Division

at Horizon Power, the drive is now to give

the consumer more opportunity to generate

their own electricity and empower them to

make informed decisions not just about their

consumption, but also where they get their

energy from.

The net result is that rural and isolated

customers will be generating their own

power, just when the power is needed.

However, it is clear from local experience

in the region and elsewhere, that the

introduction of uncontrolled PV needs

careful management.

From July 1 this year, Horizon presented

customers with a renewable energy buyback

scheme that offers a rate that differs

according to location.

The rate varies from 10 to 50cents/kWhr

reflecting the cost of electricity production

for each town. Where other factors act

(hydro, wind, proximity to gas pipelines

and diesel delivery costs) to reduce

production costs, the buyback rate is lower,

and clearly fine–tuned when the published

rates are quoted down to the last cent,

eg Marble Bar at 47.10 cents/kWhr, and

Nullagine (a further 100kms inland) at the

maximum 50 cents/kWhr.

The main issue underpinning the success of

the new scheme is generation management.

In the days before solar, a diesel plant would

run 24 hours a day. Now, the intermittent

and growing uncontrolled solar input has its

challenges, one of which is the radial nature

Special technical feature

Solar power in WA– open for business

Solar power in WA– open for business

of the small town power supply

networks that are unsuited for the

dispersed solar input.

“We needed to find ways of

increasing the hosting capacity for

solar on our networks, to meet

customer demand for installing

renewable energy systems but do

so without compromising on our

quality of supply obligations,”

David Edwards said.

“Like many other utilities,

Horizon Power has been grappling

with the challenge of managing

customer demand for renewable

energy technology with the need

to provide reliable and secure

power supplies,” he added.

“I am thrilled to say that Horizon

Power is well progressed to

overcome this challenge and from

1 July 2012, customers have had

the option, subject to an approvals

process, of installing a generation

managed system, that is a system

where the output can either be

stored or managed by Horizon

Power, in towns where restrictions

are currently in place.”

Clearly in a small town there is

a limit to the penetration of PV,

and Horizon publishes hosting

capacity data for each town.

Once the “uncontrolled” capacity

is reached, Horizon Power will

manage the additional solar

systems, even if it does not export

to the town system.

In order to maximise the amount

of renewable energy connected

to the electricity system, new

connections will need to meet

Horizon’s generation management

requirements (some exemptions

exist regarding generation

management).

10 | WINTER 2012

Solar developments

This control is written into the

agreements the customer has with the

utility, and when the system cannot

take more input from a solar system,

an automatic signal is sent to the

customer’s system to “ramp down”, but

not to switch off. However, there has to

be a limit in such small supply areas –

demand must exceed supply, there is no

possibility of “wheeling” the energy to

another location.

The utility as ‘energy balancer’From the market aspect, things have

moved and will move further away from

the utility being the sole supplier towards

being an ‘energy balancer’. The costs

of electricity supply by the conventional

means and the imperative for companies

like Horizon is to find ways of providing

supply that minimises fossil fuel usage

and allows the public to become its

own generator.

The sustainable energy industry has

responded extremely positively to the

new renewable energy buyback offer,

says David Edwards.

“Learning from our experiences with

system stability using flywheels at Marble

Bar and Nullagine, we are moving towards

a technology agnostic way in for the

customers to offer their own energy

storage systems.

“We have developed simple standards

that will provide the market with a clear

pathway to be innovative,” he said.

Edwards explained that the inclusion

of energy storage as a ‘shock absorber’ to

the network during a cloud event opens

the door for higher levels of renewable

energy, and that by providing a clear

framework for connection he expects the

market to find the most cost effective

solution, which at first will likely include

wet energy storage.

“It’s not too hard to imagine the advent

of a home–based fuel cell as a possibility

for the smoothing capacity, although there

are many options already available such

as solid state forms of energy storage for

example super-capacitors,” he explained.

“The door is open for commercial

enterprises to offer renewable energy

power supply technologies, but clearly

these will be smaller systems considering

the hosting capacity of most of

Horizon’s local town supplies being in

the kilowatt range.

Horizon Power is keen to provide

as much information as it can, and

commendably so, since we are taking

steps further towards the change from the

one way supplier of electricity to our own

‘power stations’.

This approach may well succeed in other

remote areas of the world blessed with an

adequate solar resource.

“Learning from our experiences with system stability using flywheels at Marble Bar and Nullagine, we are moving towards a technology agnostic way in for the customers to offer their own energy storage systems.”

Horizon Power supply areas

MARBLE BAR NULLAGINE

Capacity (diesel) 1280kW (4 units) 960kw (3 units)

Capacity (solar) 300kW 300kW

Max/Min load 600kW/200kW 450kW/120kW

Solar System (SunPower T20 tracking system)

Flat plate single axis tracking.>65% of daytime energy. World record of 92% achieved. 34% of year–round energy.

FLYWHEELPowerstore 500kW, 3tonne, magnetic bearings in helium environment

Diesel savings 405,000L/year each station

Further informationhttp://www.horizonpower.com.au/

Horizon Power supply areas

WETRADE

STC’s

WETRADE

STCTCT’s’s’

12 | WINTER 2012

Smart technology

Across the globe smart grids are providing more reliable, secure and efficient networks via two-way digital information which, among other benefits, facilitate consumer management of electricity consumption. The subsequent reduction in demand also benefits the environment. By Ishaan Khanna.

From the early days of small isolated power

systems developed in the early part of the 20th century to

today’s huge and highly complex centralised power systems,

the electricity industry has come a long way. Our large,

centralised interconnected systems were developed to take

advantage of economies of scale, and utilities encouraged

higher consumption, which in turn brought the costs down.

Today, the challenges of climate change and energy

security call for flexible, robust, resilient and reliable power

systems capable of adapting dynamically to the changing

environment. Energy security and broad public awareness of

the need to use limited resources in a more sustainable way

are key considerations that are likely to herald a substantial

restructuring of our electricity supply systems.

Besides the infrastructure, households and businesses

also want to actively control their own energy consumption,

improve environmental impacts and manage costs.

Moreover, in order to introduce competition and promote

economic efficiency and attract private investment,

governments around the world are opening up and

‘unbundling’ the electricity sector.

This liberalisation has allowed a variety of generators (of all

sizes and different technologies) and retailers to move into the

power industry. Peter Fox-Penner, in his book Smart Power calls

this transformation of the industry as “The Great Power Shift”.

The aging power grid in Australia is facing significant

pressures to defer or avoid new capital investment. It needs

to maintain reliability and quality of supply, and integrate

more distributed generation and storage technologies

like renewable energy and electric vehicles and manage

peak demand. Changes on the demand side are also

fundamentally changing long-run electricity demand

patterns. The industry’s business model is changing.

What is so ‘smart’ about the Smart Grid?The level of attention currently being focused on energy

supply and demand around the world is unprecedented. A

smarter grid makes the transformation to a more reliable,

secure and efficient network possible by the application

of two-way digital Information and Communication

Technologies (ICT) to the (poles and wires) electricity

network infrastructure. It brings the technologies that

enabled the internet to the electricity network. This

incorporates the benefits of distributed intelligence into

the electricity network, and for the first time, provides

consumers a level of control and choice with their

electricity usage. Other benefits come from the ability

to monitor all elements of the network from power

generators to household appliances and deliver this

information in real time.

Although the Australian electricity industry has always

invested in advanced communication and sensing

technology, most of this investment has so far been applied

to the transmission systems. With the application of smart

technologies to the lower voltage electricity distribution

networks and inside customer homes, the impact of the

‘smart grid’ will be profound.

The smarter grid will provide better understanding and

enhanced control of power and information flow within

the distribution networks to automatically detect and

repair faults (“self–healing” networks), re-route power

flows and enable a range of products and services for the

benefit of consumers. For the first time, consumers will be

able to better manage their own electricity consumption

(and production via PV), reduce demand and produce

environmental benefits.

The current grids were designed to transport power from

large, mainly fossil–fuel fired generating plants to consumers with

generally fixed loads. With the introduction of higher penetration

of distributed generation sources, including intermittent

renewable sources, electric vehicles and storage technologies,

the grid model of one-way flow of energy will no longer

suffice. Without integrated monitoring and control to enable

bi-directional flow of power, the current network infrastructure is

likely to suffer power quality and reliability issues.

The Great Power Shift

SolarProgress | 13

The Great Power Shift

14 | WINTER 2012

Features of the Smart Grid The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) of the United States Department of Energy (DoE) lists six key characteristics of the smart grid:

SELF HEALING Using advanced monitoring and sensing technology, the smart grid will perform continuous self-diagnostics to detect existing issues, predict potential problems and take corrective actions to isolate and rapidly restore normal operation with little or no human intervention. Today’s grid already has some self-healing features such as auto-reclosing and auto-sectionalising most of which use local information for decision–making. The smart grid, on the other hand, will have Wide Area Monitoring Systems capable of decision–making using information at an holistic level.

CONSUMER PARTICIPATION Smart grid platform will enable consumers to make informed choices regarding the amount of electricity they consume, when they consume it and the financial and environmental impact of their actions.

RESISTS ATTACK The smart grid will include security technologies and demonstrate resilience to physical and cyber attacks in its design and operation. The security protocols will contain elements of deterrence, prevention, detection, response and mitigation to minimize impact on the infrastructure.

IMPROVED POWER QUALITY (PQ)With increasing amounts of sensitive digital loads, power quality is of growing importance. Smart grid will provide system wide monitoring and control capabilities that will quickly identify and mitigate power quality events and thus help improve PQ by minimising the effect of lightning strikes, surges, faults and harmonics.

OPTIMISES ASSETS AND OPERATES EFFICIENTLY Real time information from advanced sensors will provide operators with sophisticated tools to assess risk and more accurately determine the state of the grid at any moment. This will in turn enable operators and engineers to maximise grid utilisation and efficiency by improving load factor, lower losses and improve asset life.

ENABLES MARKETS As consumers become more engaged with their energy consumption and production, demand for new products and services will establish new markets and expand existing options and choices. New opportunities will arise from distributed generation, electric vehicles, energy management services, smart appliances and producers, consumers, brokers and aggregators will be able to interact with each other.

A key characteristic of the smart grid is

to enable the grid to accept input from

many different types and sizes of generators

including intermittent renewable sources and

better adapt to the dynamics of distribution

generation. Widespread benefits will accrue

from distribution intelligence, Intelligent

Electronic Devices (IEDs) and automation.

Challenges and opportunitiesWhile there are considerable challenges, the

transformation of the power industry in my

view also represents a momentous and sizable

opportunity. The need for grid modernisation

is compelling and it must be done, however,

significant barriers exist in its implementation.

It has been said that the biggest challenges to

the implementation of smarter electric power grid

are neither technological nor economic. Rather,

regulatory and legislative issues remain a key

barrier and more needs to be done to align policy

makers around a common smart grid vision. New

regulatory frameworks are needed that recognise

that although the majority of investments in

smart grid would be borne by grid owners and

operators, the benefits would accrue far more

widely. Governments also need to recognise that

the benefits of a modern grid are so far reaching

and long term, that utilities would be unwilling to

bear the cost unless appropriate incentives are in

place and they are given due credit for providing

societal benefits.

More work also needs to be done in developing

a robust value proposition and communicating

the fundamental value of a smarter grid to

stakeholders including the consumers. ‘Smart

Grid’ has become a catch-all term and generally,

there is lack of understanding regarding

technologies, benefits, opportunities and value.

However, the societal and economic cost of doing

nothing would not be acceptable.

Future of the Smart GridA number of key initiatives are already

underway in Australia to better understand the

challenges and opportunities associated with

the transition to a smarter grid.

Smart Grid Smart City is the first commercial

scale smart grid demonstration project and is

part of the Australian Government's National

Energy Efficiency Initiative. This project is being

led by Ausgrid (formerly EnergyAustralia), and

their consortium partners IBM Australia, GE

Energy Australia, Sydney Water, Hunter Water,

and Newcastle City Council. This project aims to

test a number of technologies and applications

and gather robust information about the costs

and benefits of smart grids to help inform

future decisions by government and industry.

The Perth Solar City project has implemented

more than 30 energy efficiency and renewable

energy projects, including one of the largest

smart grid trials in the country. Preliminary results

show a broad range of benefits to the utility,

households and the community and provide

perhaps the nation’s first illustration of what the

intelligent networks of the future may look like

particularly with regard to demand response.

Further work is being undertaken to evaluate

whole-of-system options from an end-to-

end perspective under Australia’s Future Grid

forum, led by CSIRO and GE. This stakeholder

led forum will systematically evaluate all the

major options and with the greatest potential

to deliver a secure, sustainable and lowest cost

outcomes for the country.

The views expressed here are entirely those of the author. Ishaan Khanna works as a Senior Engineer within the Smart Grid Development Branch at Western Power Corporation, in Western Australia. His recent experience has been with Smart Grid applications and Home Area Networks (HAN). Ishaan also serves as the President of the Australian Solar Energy Society (WA Branch).

Acknowledgement: The work described here has been supported by the Solar Cities Program.

Further information: www.perthsolarcity.com.au/annual-report/www.netl.doe.govwww.sgiclearinghouse.org/www.smartgridaustralia.com.au/Peter Fox-Fenner “Smart Power” www.islandpress.org/

“With the introduction of higher penetration of distributed generation sources, including intermittent renewable sources, electric vehicles and storage technologies, the grid model of one-way flow of energy will no longer suffice.”

Smart technology

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16 | WINTER 2012

Innovation

While many countries continue to dawdle on the road to the renewable revolution, the conservative, oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has proposed one of the most sweeping and massive moves to renewable energy on the planet. By Paul Gipe.

Saudi Arabia’s renewable revolution

Saudi Arabia has announced a massive

renewables program with hybrid FITs to tap

onshore wind, solar, geothermal and waste-to-

energy to generate 54,000 MW of renewable

energy by 2032.

In typical Saudi fashion, where everything

from oil fields to opulence is done on a

colossal scale, the proposed renewable

program is gargantuan.

Starting from zero, the Kingdom’s plans to

install 54,000 MW of renewable-generating

capacity during the next two decades is

staggering. For comparison, the United States,

with more than ten times the population of

Saudi Arabia's 27 million, operates about

50,000 MW of solar panels and wind turbines.

Peak oil and crash solar program?While the move to renewables is significant in

itself, it raises an even bigger question. Do the

Saudis see the handwriting on the wall of the

Kingdom's fossil fuel endowment? Are they, for

the first time, acknowledging limits?

Could the announcement of the Saudi

program mark a turning point in the Kingdom's

attitude toward natural resources, or is it just

hard-headed economics finally winning out?

With oil trading at over $100 per barrel, the

avoided cost of offsetting the use of fossil

fuels – the "opportunity cost", as the Kingdom's

consultants call it – is already much higher than

the cost of solar power today, justifying the

huge undertaking.

Still, there's no escaping the fact that

whatever the reason, the move is momentous.

Proposal not finalThe proposal for the King Abdullah City for

Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE)

procurement program was announced at a

conference in Saudi Arabia in May 2012. KA-

CARE's board is yet to approve the proposal but

is expected to do so shortly.

The objective is to generate one quarter

of the Kingdom's electricity from solar energy

alone, while developing a domestic renewable

energy industry. The latter is a key part of

the program.

While much of the renewable energy trade

press has focused on the amount of solar

photovoltaic (solar PV) capacity proposed, an

even larger amount of Concentrating Solar

Power (CSP) is anticipated.

The program's initial targets are:

CSP: 25,000 MW,

Solar PV: 16,000 MW, and

Wind: 9,000 MW.

Interestingly, the amount of electricity

generated by 9,000 MW of wind at moderately

windy sites is of the same order of magnitude

as the 16,000 MW of solar PV – even in sunny

Saudi Arabia.

Feed-in tariffs to build out programThe Kindgom's conservative world view is

revealed in the hybrid nature of their proposal.

The KA-CARE program will begin with two

rounds of bidding for solar PV, CSP, wind,

geothermal and waste-to-energy capacity.

The first round of bidding will take place

in 2013.

Solar PV: 1,100 MW CSP: 900 MW Wind: 650 MW Geothermal & Waste-to-Energy: 200 MW

The second round of bidding will take place

in 2014.

Solar PV: 1,300 MW CSP: 1,200 MW Wind: 1,050 MW Geothermal & Waste-to-Energy: 250 MW

But unlike other jurisdictions that have

recently opted for renewable auctions, Saudi

Arabia plans to move quickly to feed-in tariffs

to build out the program, because of their

simpler administration. This may occur as early

as 2015. Of the 54,000 MW in the proposed

program, nearly 90% of the capacity will be

assigned through the application of technology-

differentiated feed-in tariffs.

Here are some of the program's

key elements.

Maximum project size: No limit Minimum project size: 5 MW Technology specific targets: Flexible Term: 20 years Evaluation: Price and non-price factors Feed-in tariff launch: After second auction Review: Every three years Localisation: Domestic content requirements

The Saudi proposal makes it clear that this

program is as much about industrial policy

as it is energy policy. The Saudis want to be

as influential internationally in renewable

energy as they are now in oil exports. Toward

that end, the Saudis emphasise that price is a

factor, but only one factor, determining how

much of which technology is developed and –

equally as important – who gets to participate

in the program.

The Saudi announcement could well

send such powerful shock waves through

the world's oil industry that they reach the

highest levels of policy makers in Canada and

the USA, leading them to reconsider their

recalcitrance toward the renewable revolution

sweeping the globe.

Further information:

www.energy.gov.sa/default-en.htm

The article is republished by kind permission of Paul

Gipe (pgipe@igc.org, www.wind-works.org)

Solar intermittency: Australia’s clean energy challengePublished in June 2012, the much anticipated ASI funded CSIRO Report into Solar Intermittency is a timely and valuable resume of the effect of the penetration of PV and other intermittent sources of renewable energy into grid systems. The report is a compendium of the current knowledge, the challenges to be met and is a useful broad spectrum introduction. This is a defining document.By Bill Parker

Special feature

Cloud cover may come as a

welcome relief to sweltering hot communities,

but for those who rely on sunshine for power

it’s an entirely different proposition. Along

with the daily sun cycle, clouds are a prime

cause of solar generation intermittency,

variations that act as a basic barrier to the

uptake of large-scale solar power.

Although much is said about the effect of

renewable energy intermittency on electricity

networks, the information shared and views

expressed are often anecdotal, difficult to

verify and limited to a particular technical,

geographical or social context. There is

surprisingly very little real-world data on the

effects of intermittency on electricity networks,

particularly in regard to solar intermittency.

Australia is different from the rest of the

world because of its size (and population). It

has one network, the NEM, that is about the

same size as Europe and within it there is a far

greater diversity in PV generation.

Yet in the West, there is only one integrated

system, the rest being small isolated town

grids. The overriding need is to gather local

data, and because Australia is a long way

behind Europe in the penetration it has the

advantage of time before the grid penetration

of solar becomes an issue.

Shedding light on challengesCharacterising the Effect of High Penetration

Solar Intermittency on Australian Electricity

Networks presents a number of findings

that shed light on the challenges and

opportunities behind intermittency and

grid integration.

Solar Progress spoke to Dr Saad Sayeef, the

report’s lead author, who said that the threshold

figure of 20% solar penetration is said to be the

turning point when the intermittency of solar

becomes a problem is a generalisation based on

anecdotal evidence.

“There are many different numbers quoted for

the level of penetration when risks might appear.

The 20 percent is based on a range of factors

and for a value to be valid, the context must

be known– there is no major issue with current

penetration level,” he said.

For the successful integration of high

penetration intermittent generation, we need

to understand the local issues and there is a

strong emphasis on research and the expansion

of existing knowledge. The solar resource differs

greatly from Europe. The power flows are

different. Instead of being highly interconnected,

we are often dispersed with long “skinny”

transmission networks. Weather patterns are

different; system frequency standards differ

across the country (here the report was sounding

like a description of the railway systems).

In short, there is significant study to be

undertaken to ensure that PV, both domestic

and large scale can be brought on stream to its

full potential.

The need for research and demonstration

was clearly important and the work of Horizon

Power in Western Australia (see pages 8-10)

was a good example. There, the need for fast

acting responses to compensate for the ramp

up and down has been identified.

Dr Sayeef said that devices such as “super

capacitors” were still at the R&D stage.

“Lead acid batteries and fuel cells, even

electric vehicles, are well known, but too

slow in response to cloud events giving rise

to changes in power output in seconds,”

he explained. “It is axiomatic that we

need more locally derived data given the

peculiarities and uniqueness of Australia’s

electricity grid system.”

18 | WINTER 2012

Solar intermittency: Australia’s clean energy challenge

Australia is a leader in wind forecasting

and “the best in the world” said Dr Sayeef.

But for solar forecasting, the work is at a

much earlier stage. “We are developing

ground based digital imagery of clouds to

predict solar radiation, and this needs to

be matched with actual pyranometer data

for verification.”

Report findingsThe report contains a summary of key

findings. The first key finding is not an

overstatement considering the magnitude

of the need for high quality (local) data

that is a recurring theme throughout

the report. The work needs to involve a

wide range of scientific and engineering

disciplines. Grid integration according to

the report is well underway at NREL and

Sandia as well as other institutions – and

to quote the report:

“There is a strong need in Australia for

something similar, that:

• encourages analysis and investigation

in this area and provides openly

accessible published reports and

information

• brings together key industry players in

a dialogue to discuss the issues, and

• makes relevant information accessible

to all stakeholders (eg a portal).”

Further InformationThe CSIRO report can be accessed at:www.csiro.au/science/Solar-Intermittency-Report

Enquiries can be directed to the Project Manager: saad.sayeef@csiro.au

Unique network aspects in Australia

Largecoverage

area

Market dynamics

Lowaverage

populationdensity

Areasof high

populationdensity

Largenumber of

'skinny'feedersHigh

impedence network

compared with Europe

Network subject to

Australian usage, weather and

environmental conditions*

Low levels of

interconnection

Key findings of the Intermittency Report KEY FINDING 1: Intermittency could stop the adoption of renewable generation.

KEY FINDING 2: Existing research has conflicting outcomes, suffers from a lack of quality data and consequently often overemphasises anecdotal evidence.

KEY FINDING 3:There is considerable intermittency in the existing electricity system.

KEY FINDING 4:The effect of solar intermittency is not uniform.

KEY FINDING 5:The amount of high penetration solar generation that can be integrated is application specific.

KEY FINDING 6:Solar intermittency can be managed.

KEY FINDING 7: Accurate solar forecasting is essential.

KEY FINDING 8: Research and demonstration work is required in Australia.

Report Authors: Saad Sayeef, Simon Heslop, David Cornforth, Tim Moore,Steven Percy, John K Ward, Adam Berry and Daniel Rowe.

The project was made possible with funding from the Australian Solar institute (ASI) with in-kind support from CSIRO, Australian Energy Market Operator, and Energy Networks Association.

Practical measuresThree Australian PV plants were involved in analysing

and evaluating output power fluctuation ramp rates: the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre (DKASC) in Alice Springs; CSIRO

Energy Centre in Newcastle’s 22 kW PV system; and the University of Queensland’s 1.22 MW PV system.

Researchers at the DKASC spent ten months measuring 10-second resolution solar data, and a CSIRO simulation model was used to examine the likely impacts of these output power fluctuations on the differing types of Australian electricity

networks which are subjected to differing levels of solar power.

Global research: Fluctuations have been both observed and analysed in Europe (Germany and Belgium), the USA and Japan, however analyses of power output

fluctuations are somewhat scarce.

The California Solar Initiative Research, Development, Deployment and Demonstration Program explories the ‘planning and modelling for high penetration

PV on the California transmission and distribution network’, but findings are specifically targeted towards California, and limited to photovoltaic generation. The worldwide state of the art in solar intermittency study is represented by information

collated by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

20 | WINTER 2012

AuSES Conference

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the EAST

SOLAR Expo and Conference www.eastsolar2012.com at the Melbourne

Convention and Exhibition Centre from Tuesday August 21 to Wednesday

August 22, 2012.

Attendance is entirely FREE, but registration is essential!

More than 100 solar exhibitors are expected to provide insights into the

latest solar technology, including PV panels, inverters, “balance of system”

components, monitoring equipment and solar water heating systems.

A continuous “General Stream” of oral presentations will be provided

in a special area of the Exhibition Hall, where all participants can freely

attend presentations that interest them while having a break from the

Exhibition.

DAY ONE, TUESDAY AUGUST 21Simon Corbell MLA, the ACT Minister for Environment and

Sustainable Development will deliver the Opening Keynote at

9.30am on Tuesday, August 21.

Minister Corbell will address the topic “Canberra: The Solar Capital”,

and is expected to outline a vision for the future of the ACT, involving

one of Australia's largest utility-scale solar installations, a community

wide approach to reducing energy dependence, improving energy

security and energy efficiency, and embracing the rollout of the first

electric vehicle recharging infrastructure in the country.

EAST SOLAR Expo and Conference 2012 Presented by AuSES and international partner AUPVSEE at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre from August 21-22, East Solar Expo and Conference promises something for everyone.www.eastsolar2012.com

Leader of the Greens Senator Christine Milne will make a video

presentation in which it is anticipated she will highlight the opportunities for

industry in a carbon-reduced Australia.

Dr Fang Peng, CEO of JA Solar, will present the opening Industry Keynote at 10 am. With more than 20 years of executive management

experience in both the US and China, Dr Fang will address how “Low cost PV is

Changing the World”.

Our Market/Political Analysis bracket is designed for presentations that

review the current and future solar scene to 2020 and beyond.

Led off at 11am by Kobad Bhavnagri of Bloomberg New Energy Finance,

other session presenters include Nigel Morris of SolarBusinessServices, Dr Muriel Watt of Australian PV Association, and industry blogger Dan Cass. This session concludes with an address by John Macdonald of DesignInc on

Sustainable Buildings in Australia.

The afternoon highlight is International Australia: Solar and Industry Partnerships. Simon Troman of IT Power will introduce a couple of exciting

PV projects in Pacific Islands Tokelau and Samoa, and a later presentation will

highlight some of the technical and design issues encountered.

Mark Twidell, who has led the Australian Solar Institute and was recently

appointed to the ARENA Board will address Australia's potential to capture

and add value in the global solar market. Other presentations follow: solar

cell pioneer Professor Andrew Blakers of ANU, Dr Renate Egan of

Suntech, Douglas Smith of Trina Solar, Tom Zhao of BYD Solar, Blair Pester of Winaico Australia and Glen Morris of Solarquip. Also included is an

overview of the Hervey Bay Hospital project delivered by Lachlan Bateman

of Clean Technology Partners.

Dr Extra Li who is Chief Technology Officer of Heda Solar Technology, an

East Solar Conference sponsor, will present a paper on PV tile roof, leading the

trend of BIPV. With his in-depth research in ceramic material combined with

photovoltaic technology, Dr Li and his team invented a range of PV tile products

in 2010, and created more than 30 Chinese and international patents.

Leading Climate Spectator columnist Tristan Edis will round off the program

with his view of “Why Solar is set to Explode”.

www.eastsolar2012.com

Parallel stream In a parallel stream on Day 1, Tuesday August 21, there will be a

series of presentations that provide insights for those companies newly

established in Australia and those contemplating entering the local solar

and renewables market.

We have assembled a range of eminent experts to explain the

Australian renewables marketplace, among them Joe Wyder of APVA

who will present his views of the Australian market and Dan Cass

who will provide an easy-to-understand overview of solar policy.

Considerations for entering the Australian market will be presented

by Nigel Morris, Suntech's experience of establishment in Australia

presented by Stefan Jarnason; and “Lessons from the Leaders”

by eminent commentator and analyst, Warwick Johnston, the

Australian “Sunwiz”. Participants can also attend the Expo and other

presentations in the General Stream.

Opposite (from top): Simon Corbell MLA, the ACT Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development; Greens Senator Christine Milne; and Kobad Bhavnagri of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

SolarProgress | 21

“Leading Climate Spectator columnist Tristan Edis will round off the program with his view of “Why Solar is set to Explode”.

DAY TWO, WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22Day Two kicks off with Opening Keynote speakers Ric Brazzale of Green Energy

Trading and Andrew Livingston, representing

the new Office of the Clean Energy Regulator.

Industry Keynotes will be delivered during

the morning from eminent IT Power solar

thermal scientist Dr Keith Lovegrove, Oliver Hartley of Q-Cells Australia, Graeme Pollock from SMEC Australia and Matthew Wright of

Beyond Zero Emissions.

Resuming the Industry Partnerships theme

in the afternoon, we will hear presentations

delivered by Anthony Coles of Solco, Michael

Anthony of Solar 360, Dr Andreas Luzzi of Laros Technologies, Danin Kahn of Todae

Solar, Gonzalo Muslera from Schott Solar,

Jeremy Rich of Energy Matters, Collin Wang

of Jinko Solar and Matthew Haddad of Clean

Technology Partners.

The afternoon concludes with

presentations addressing the finance aspects

of solar projects, with Ivor Freschknecht of

Starfish Ventures “Renewables: Private Equity

and Venture Capital”, and leading (now

US-based) entrepreneur, Danny Kennedy of

Sungevity addressing “Leasing as the Future

of Solar”.

www.eastsolar2012.com

Solar Professional Development

Day 2 of the East Solar Expo & Conference, Wednesday August 22, also features a FREE Solar

Professional Development Day.

Come along and hear 13 experts drawn from the "sharp end" of the solar industry.

Presentations are specifically focused on sales, installer and design issues. This day-long

program complements our Solar Best Practice Seminars and is designed to enhance design and

operational performance in a cost-effective way. The full programme for Day 2 "PV Professional

Development Stream" is available at www.eastsolar2012.com

Key presentations from:

• Glen Morris of Solarquip "Solar PLUS: the industry standard" and "New Challenges through

AS/NZ 5033"

• Mike Russell of AuSES on "Solar Best practice"

• Dr Ted Spooner of UNSW, "PV Array Fires: “Why and what to do?"

• Geoff Stapleton of GSES "Ask Geoff" - open forum

• Sandy Pulsford of CEC PV components: Performance, Safety and Reliability", also

• Selectronic on battery backup; and Dean Condon of Ergon "Townsville Solar City: grid

intergration issues"; Geoff Bragg from the SEIA and others.

*** Make it a day and attend the Expo where more than 100 exhibitors showcase the latest in solar products available in Australia ***

After registering to attend the Expo & Conference, you are invited to use our online request form

to speak with the experts, and for introductions to suppliers, distributors and importers. This is

entirely free and there's no obligation. Visit http://auses.org.au/east-solar-meet-the-exhibitors .

Want to understand some of the technical issues, current requirements and

fill in the gaps of information currently available only to electricians ... ?

Register now to attend the EAST SOLAR EXPO and CONFERENCE - it's FREE!

www.eastsolar2012.com

Case StudyBlue Sun Group - PV Modules

About Blue Sun GroupBlue Sun Group Pty Ltd is an Australian owned company with its head offce in Brisbane, specialising in Renewable Energy Products. The photovoltaic modules, solar roof mounting systems and other renewable products are designed in Australia and manufactured by Blue Sun Group factories.

Blue Sun started to import photovoltaic modules from China in 2006. With the aim of uncompromised quality and continuity of supply, Blue Sun Group designed its own photovoltaic modules and invested in the construction of a new photovoltaic factory in Shenzhen China to produce the modules. The Blue Sun factory currently employs 190 people, including 120 factory workers, 50 offce and R&D workers, and 20 management staff.

The automated production capacity of the factory for photovoltaic modules is 138,000 watts per shift which can be increased during peak load periods. The factory has extra capacity in manual production lines, which is currently used for 12 volt and special order panels. The overall production capacity of the factory is 150MW per year. With Australian owned production lines the quality control measures are operated beyond Australian standards, with 100% traceability from raw materials to the end product. Orders can be produced within as few as four working days and leaving China within 10 days from order.

In early 2010, by request and with the assistance of its dealer base, Blue Sun designed and manufactured its first solar roof mounting

system. 2012 has seen an improved Blue Sun solar Blue Sun Group – PV Modules roof mounting system with the introduction of new rails that have Easy Slide ‘U’ shaped bolt channel and added reinforced cross bracing for stability.

This year sees the introduction of some new rails designed to suit Blue Sun solar modules for caravan, RV and marine applications.Having strong relationships with other manufacturers, Blue Sun Group completes the Renewable offer with a wide range of inverters, controllers, solar hot water and LED product.

Blue Sun Group is involved in multiple projects world-wide. Some of the projects are listed below:

• Supplyofmodulesforaroofgridconnectionsolarpowergeneration system of Quanyuan Industrial Park, the largest roof top solar power system in China, total 8.7MW

• StreetlightupdateprojectinGuangdongProvince,lastyearthefactory supplied 8000 x 100w modules for this project for LED street lights with a total of 40000 panels still to be supplied to this project this year.

• Supplyofmodulesfora1.2MWTerrestrialSolarPowerGeneration System in Valencia, Spain.

• Undercontractfora1MWsysteminShandongProvincewithoptions for addition capacity.

Blue Sun Group Photovoltaic ModulesA full complement of photovoltaic modules are available for the on grid and off grid market, ranging from 6 Watt to 140 Watts in 12 Volt Monocrystalline Modules, 160 Watt to 250 Watt CEC approved Monocrystalline Modules in 5 Watt increments, 200 Watt to 300 Watt CEC approved Polycrystalline Modules, and Custom Photovoltaic Modules available on demand. The modules can be found on the CEC Currently Approved Modules list under “Blue Sun Group”.

The Blue Sun Group photovoltaic modules were developed taking Australian conditions into account and mitigating issues identifed with solar modules in Europe. Continuous improvement is achieved by assessing the modules in the factories testing facilities, in the field, and independent feedback. Upgrades are made through consultation with TUV-SUD test laboratories.

Blue Sun Group photovoltaic modules have features such as matched cell selection, concealed cross connections, O-ring resealable junction boxes, replaceable blocking diodes, high grade EVA, anodised frames and 3.2 mm toughened glass.

Cell selection and cell matching are an important part of the process in building the Blue Sun modules, using both visual selection and electronic testing. Shunt resistance (Rsh) is a key aspect of cell selection. Blue Sun selects cells with high Rsh values as those cells provided better performance in low light conditions such as rainy, snowy and cloudy days. This also provides better output in the mornings and late afternoon low light conditions. Blue Sun matches cells by grade and output, and builds positive tolerance wattage modules rather than mixing grades of cell to achieve a specifc overall wattage. This provides better long term efficiencies as all photovoltaic cells in a module degrade at the same rate.

The concealing of the cross connections gives the Blue Sun Group modules a few distinct advantages; first by removing the direct impact of sunlight on the soldering joints thus eliminating potential for degradation of solder joints by UV rays; secondly by removing the main solder joints from the top edge of the panels which can be the hottest area of the module, thus reducing thermal degradation of solder joints; and thirdly enhancing the aesthetic aspect of the module giving the module a more professional finish.

The O-Ring sealed junction box gives the installer or service agent the ability to access the blocking diodes making the photovoltaic modules one of the few on the Australian market that is a truly maintainable and serviceable. There are 3 replaceable (push in- pull out) blocking diodes in the 160 to 190 Watt range and 4 replaceable blocking diodes in the 220 to 250 Watt range.

The Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) used in Blue Sun Group modules comes from one of the world’s largest suppliers of EVA, giving consistent high grade quality results. EVA is placed on both side of the photovoltaic cells and sealed through high temperature baking onto the cells. EVA is used to hold and fix photovoltaic cells in position; increase transmittance of sunlight, isolate cells from harmful environmental factors, provide electrical insulation, conduct heat away from the cells, strong encapsulation adhesion, and provided excellent weather resistance. The EVA Blue Sun uses has excellent UV stability with a UV cut off wavelength of 360 nm.

Blue Sun modules are framed in anodised aluminium and the front glass is 3.2 mm high transmittance, low iron toughened glass in compliance with IEC 61215 Ed. 2 which is the Australian Standard. The Blues Sun Group modules have been tested by TUV-SUD and surpassed the IEC 61215 Ed. 2 hail impact test of 25mm hail at 23 m/s.

Dealership enquiries 1300 326 688

We use and recommend

Case StudyBlue Sun Group - Mounting System

Blue Sun Group Mounting SystemIn early 2010 by request and with the assistance of our dealer base Blue Sun created its first design of approved mounting system. A key feature is that the mounting system was developed as an integrated product with emphasis on stronger interfacing between components, ease of instalment and the strength of the rails. The Blue Sun Group Mounting System saves time and money on installation.

2012 saw the launch of the next generation of the Blue Sun Group Solar Roof Mounting System with new improved features. These features include, Easy Slide ‘U’ shaped bolt channel in the rails, added internal cross bracing in the rails for strength and stability, easy use T bolt friendly earth plates as well as the ongoing existing features such as serrated ribbed surfaces on rails and fittings to allow finger tight setting before tools are required, solid stainless steel tile hooks, wide mid clamps for standard tooling use and tilt kits. This years

changes and certifications see the ability to use the rail in commercial applications for spanning up to 1700mm purlin span widths, without requiring individual certifications.

The Blue Sun rails, tin feet, joiners, clamps and tilt legs are made of anodised 6061 T6 Aluminium. This grade of aluminium is one of the highest grades used in this market. 6061 T6 Aluminium is for heavy duty structures with very good corrosion resistance. This makes the mounting system ideal for commercial applications; and marine and coastal applications. Although physically lighter than other grades used in the Australian market, this grade of aluminium has a higher torque load than many comparable products used in Australia. Being lighter makes it easier for the installer to install.

The Blue Sun tile hooks, bolts and nuts are made of Stainless Steel SUS304. Combined with components using 6061 T6 grade aluminium, the Blue Sun Solar Roof Mounting System is one of the strongest and more reliable mounting system ideal for Commercial and Residential Installations.

The table shows a comparison chart with the 6061 T6 grade of aluminium that Blue Sun Group uses for its Solar Mounting System compared to the common grades of aluminium used by other solar mounting manufacturers.

Case StudyBlue Sun Group

Blue Sun Group

31 Depot Street, Banyo QLD 4014 | PO Box 238, Northgate QLD 4013 | Phone: 07 3266 8668

Email: sales@bluesun-group.com.au | Website: www.bluesun-group.com

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Aurora Inverters from Power One Italy: Currently the second largest manufacturer of solar power inverters globally, Power-One has also made heavy investment in North American manufacturing by recently opening two manufacturing centers in Phoenix, Arizona and Toronto, Canada. The Power-One Aurora brand of renewable energy power inverters offer best-in-class performance and reliability along with a global customer care package.

Delta Energy Systems Australia specialises in high quality PV inverters. Delta’s SOLIVIA string inverter range feature a wide operating temperature range, peak efficiency up to 96.0% and a user friendly display. The SOLIVIA range can be used indoor or outdoor with a sleek, compact appearance and brushed aluminium finish. Externally coated with protective IP65, Delta’s SOLIVIA inverters are water and dust proof. Complete with a 10 year factory warranty, Delta’s SOLIVIA inverters are perfect for the Australian climate.

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BLUE SUN GROUP has been working closely with Delta and Latronics internationally and is a proud supplier of their products, including grid connect inverters.

26 | WINTER 2012

Innovation

Rendering building integrated PV more viable, economic and accessible to

existing buildings sounds attractive, and such is

the mission of a newly established collaborative

research team. Not long after the deal was

sealed the team leaders received more good

news – and funding – for developments of a

related nature that take in new builds.

Whichever way you look at it, busy times lie

ahead for the BlueScope researchers.

Solar Progress caught up with Dr Troy Coyle

of BlueScope Steel Research. As Manager of

Coated Products Development, she has a strong

track record of project managing R&D programs

through to commercialisation. Here she leads the

program in collaboration with the Fraunhofer

Institute and University of Wollongong.

Coyle explained that the aim of the $1.6 million

project is to lower the cost of building integrated

PV (BIPV) by broadening the value proposition to

building owners installing BIPV systems.

In a nutshell the performance of the cells will

be improved by being kept cool through the

integrated BIPV-T (thermal) structure as opposed

to the international trend to laminate directly onto

insulated panels, and by boosting functionality to

an installed BIPV system by improving the overall

thermal performance of the building through the

use of daytime solar thermal energy and night

time ventilation. Investigating the viability of

integrated energy storage via PCMs is integral to

the process, she said.

A systematic approach and methodology

will optimise the design configuration and

sizing of BIPVT systems and a feasibility

study will investigate the viability of BIPVT-

PCM systems for retrofit. Coyle said that the

research will focus on BIPV using Generation

Two thin-film technologies, “which have

typically not been the focus of PVT research for

Australian conditions.”

Thin-film Retrofit thin-film PV laminate solutions offer the

opportunity to install the PV laminate above the

current roof structure, leading to:

• in summer during the day, ducting of air

underneath to avoid overheating of the PV

system, with air ventilated at the top of the

PV system;

• in summer during the night, ducting cool

air from outside and applying the “night sky

cooling” principle to create temperatures

below ambient for night purging of the

building; and

• in winter during the day, ducting of air

underneath the PV system to provide

PVT functionality, with heated air used as

space heating.

“We have a technology agnostic approach

and we want to work with thin-film as the

cells themselves are inherently flexible unlike

silicon (which is glass encapsulated), and

there are many technologies to choose from,”

Coyle said.

“It is hard to see who will be the technology

leader, so we will switch between them as more

technologies become appropriate.”

She added that thin-film advantages

include relatively lower costs “and for us it is

about flexibility”.

Retro-fit Uniquely, this project will focus on the retrofit

of existing buildings (both residential and

commercial) rather than the development of

BIPV-T systems for new-build.

This is regarded important as each year

just one or two percent of the existing

building stock is added to or replaced; clearly

retrofitting offers the greatest opportunity

for commercialisation and greatest scope for

renewable energy generation.

With a mission to identify and foster areas of solar enhancement, the ASI is backing a program led by BlueScope Steel to lower the cost of building integrated PV by boosting cell performance. By Nicola Card

SCOPE forimprovement

Bluescope's trial installation

of PV panels

SolarProgress | 27

But it is a double-edged sword as there are

significant technical challenges accommodating

existing building and roof designs.

“This is perhaps why, globally, the research

focus has been on designing PVT systems for

new build despite the relatively more limited

potential impact and market size,” Coyle said.

Phase change materialsPCM provides the potential to achieve the desired

outcomes. Building integrated PCMs have not

been broadly commercialised because of current

high costs, however, the team will perform

simulations and test-rig/laboratory analyses in

order to investigate the use of new materials and

design/integration options that may make this a

more commercially viable opportunity for retrofit.

They will also investigate opportunities

for further cost reductions by boosting

PCM functionality.

“The German based Fraunhofer Institute has

particular expertise in phase change materials so

we wanted to tap into that, then the Institute

expressed a broader interest in BIPV so it worked

out quite well, hence the collaborative venture,”

Coyle said.

She explained that while the bulk of the

workload fell to Wollongong University and

Bluescope, the three parties presented equal

intellectual contributions.

To marketThe commercialisation process will fall into

the lap of BlueScope, and Coyle explained

that the outcome will be a decision support

tool that can help existing building owners

to understand the performance/cost saving

outcomes of installing a BIPV-T system.

Builders will be able to identify the ideal

design configuration of BIPV-T systems for

integration with existing roof types to ensure

optimal performance and cost savings.

And in other developments … In early July Resources and Energy Minister

Martin Ferguson announced that under the

Emerging Renewables Program, $2.3 million

would be funnelled into enabling the mass

deployment of prototype building-integrated

photovoltaic (BIPV) systems across residential,

commercial and industrial rooftops in Australia.

This accelerates the development of a new

roofing profile that combines Australian steel

roofing and inverter systems with second-

generation thin-film solar technologies.

Importantly, the prototype is to be scaled

up to the operational stage ensuring future

BIPV systems can be cost-effective without

Government subsidies.

The project will be solely run by BlueScope

Steel. Coyle said “This is a much larger project

as, while the ASI grant is focused on retrofit,

this bigger picture project looks at new build

as well. This is a unique and large grant, even

when compared to university grants, so it

particularly exciting and positions us well …

helps us establish ourselves as a market leader

across the world in BIPV.

“It is a good fit for BlueScope in terms of our

roofing, and expands the value proposition in

that field.”

Coyle says they hope to develop their first

generation marketable product within two

years, to capitalise on the global BIPV market

that looks set to jump tenfold by 2015*.

“BIPV offers an expanded role for Australian

manufacturing, so we could be an exporter.

Knowledge and trust in the BlueScope brand is

an important part of the proposition, the name

will be a significant asset.

“And when you use Generation Three solar

cells and technologies the whole process could

be Australian manufactured,” she explained.

“Market pricing is yet to be determined but

the product would have to be cost competitive

in the absence of government subsidies. And

we are aiming for parity with grid electricity.”

*Australia’s installed rooftop PV capacity increased from 23 to 1450 MW between 2008 and 2012 and is expected to grow to more than 5100MW by 2020 and 12,000MW by 2031.

Robert Scott, Damien Jinks, Troy Coyle and Robert Klees

28 | WINTER 2012

Technical feature

The Australian Solar Institute is to be commended for commissioning and

publishing the report Realising the Potential of

Concentrating Solar Power in Australia.

The study was undertaken by IT

Power (Australia) and is probably the

most comprehensive overview of what

“concentrating solar power” is and what

the prospects are for the deployment of the

various technologies.

The potential is massive according to the

report; it is suggesting a build of 2GW in the

next eight years, followed by 10GW in the

next decade.

By 2050, CSP could be providing between

30% to 50% of Australia’s electricity in a 100%

clean energy market. This report clearly details,

and in depth, the broad spectrum of issues

that need to be addressed to achieve those

ambitious goals.

CSP technologies What is CSP? The terminology can be confusing.

There are two distinct technologies being

discussed. One is the conversion of solar thermal

heat into steam to drive turbines that create

electricity, ie concentrating solar thermal or CST.

The other is the use of PV or mirrors that

focus sunlight to create DC electricity; that

is concentrating PV or CPV. (See table which

summarises the complete spectrum

of applications.)

The report however is “technology

agnostic” and no particular technology is

favoured in the analysis.

We have reached a significant stage of

development in a major sector of a viable solar

industry, namely domestic PV, and we are

edging towards larger scale CPV. Yet despite

our expertise and substantive R&D base in

A recent ASI report examines the untapped potential of CSP

in Australia and concludes that by 2050 as much as half

of the nation’s electricity could derive from CSP. Led by Keith

Lovegrove, six prominent solar specialists presented

their analysis of the key issues in the

ASI report.

The of

Poor track recordEven though our expertise and R&D capacity

‘punches well above its weight’, the history of

built projects is slim with an early venture in WA

and at White Cliffs in NSW. This latter project is

now no longer solar thermal after 25 years of

operation, and following conversion to CPV in

1998 by Solar Systems is now mothballed.

The Australian venture Ausra (now AREVA

Solar) built a small Linear Fresnel Plant as an

adjunct to a coal fired power station at Liddell

in the Hunter Valley. Novatec is extending this

plant to bring it to 9.3MWth and will come on

line soon.

However, as the ASI report suggests, there

are opportunities for small <50MW CSP

plants in particular locations around Australia.

For CPV, there are several examples of small

plants - both dish and linear configurations -

that have been providing electricity to remote

communities for some years.

It is hardly surprising that the authors of the

report suggest that one thing that should be

considered is the “guided tour” for prospective

investors of bigger plants overseas in order

to demonstrate what has been achieved.

And moreover to recognise that as build and

operational experience grows, costs decline.

This is hardly news – any technology exhibits

this cost reduction path – examples abound in

unrelated industries.

The report is firm on the need for

deployment. We have passed the R&D phase

and now need to move on.

In some depth, the ASI report discusses the

needs and priorities pertinent to today. More

than that, there is discussion of Australia’s

peculiar operational environments, both

physical and economic. We are “close to the

forefront” of international activity and have

some conditions the may favour the pursuit of

a different pathways with for example, unique

end-of-grid and off-grid markets. These could

be capability building.

CST, Australia has only one contemporary

functioning plant - with the imminent

construction of another.

CSP remains as some kind of dark horse that

is still subject to ignorant claims that “it cannot

provide energy when the sun goes down”.

In the case of CPV that clearly is true, but

for CST, energy storage gives the lie to that

statement. It sounds reminiscent of the days

when people looked at PV panels and asked

why there were no water pipes. The reality of

global development is still away off.

The biggest challenge is the cost gap.

We successfully closed this with various

government programs to assist small scale PV.

Now we need a robust policy roadmap

to ensure that Australia’s advantage in CSP

is not lost. One starting point could be

smaller <50MW plants in off-grid and end-

of-grid situations.

The experience and training gained will

serve the building of bigger projects well. And

regional employment gains. But defining costs

is yet another vexatious issue.

The global growth of the CSP industry is

exponential with 1.5GWe at the end of 2011,

and the report authors expressed the view that

so much activity is in progress that the figure

would be out of date before report publication.

“This is a must read report”

Story by Bill Parker

SolarProgress | 29

Where taxpayer funds are involved,

the report suggests, the priority should be

on hybridisation with fossil fuel systems,

and smaller systems in special grid

environments, improved energy storage,

as well as advanced cooling systems,

considering our arid conditions.

Scale up could bring other benefits

beyond the technologies. These can be local

manufacture of components, and jobs where

none existed before, as has been found

in Spain. Standardisation of protocols in

monitoring, measurement verification and

technical certification were all considered

critical in scale up.

“The potential is massive according to the report; it is suggesting a build of 2GW in the next

eight years, followed by 10GW in the next

decade.”

“CSP technology is conceptually simple and appealing” This is a succinct conclusion, but the requirement

to move from prototype to first operational plant

requires more. This is not the time for unrealistic

optimism about the performance of technology.

We have the ‘research intelligence’ gained from

years of R&D. Yet as anyone who has been

involved in R&D knows, the scale up to full scale

commerciality is challenging.

This report is unflinching in its reality checking.

To say that a model demonstration approach

might be from the 1MW scale is sound advice. It

is practical and realistic (noting that we are at the

10MW scale in one project in NSW). We know

from our earliest attempt as CST in WA what the

lessons were, and it is good to see the reasons for

failure clearly laid out in the report.

Closing the cost gap is not easy. “Build it

and we’ll finance the operation” is not a good

starting point, yet common enough. Another

wider consideration is the suction effect the

mining and resources industry has in the

competition for capital, hence the start small(er)

and prove up the totality of the project advice in

the report.

Some concluding messages were to build the

credibility of CSP within the key stakeholders,

build solar parks in high solar resource

areas, foster research, development and

demonstration, ensure that Australia has the

best solar radiation data to better support plant

output prediction, and ensure that the facts are

known and understood by the wider population.

This is a must read report.

This review of the ASI report was conducted by Keith Lovegrove (lead author), Muriel Watt, Robert Passey, Graeme Pollock, Joe Wyder and Josh Dowse.

Further information: http://www.australiansolarinstitute.com.au/reports/.aspx

 

CSP TECHNOLOGIES CURRENTLY IN USE

Technology Annual solar to electricity efficiency

Focus type Practical Operating Temperature for thermal conversion

Power cycles considered

Commercial maturity

Installed Generating Capacity as at end 2011

Parabolic Trough 12 to 15% Linear 150 to 400ºC Steam RankineOrganic Rankine PV

High 1,500 MWe

Central Receiver Tower

20 to 30% (concepts)

Point 300 to 1,200ºC Steam RankineBrayton (gas turbine) PV

Medium 60 MWe

Linear Fresnel 8 to 10% Linear 150 to 400ºC Steam RankineOrganic Rankine PV

Medium 38 MWe

Fresnel lens 12 to 15% Point PV Medium 15 MWe

Parabolic Dish 20 to 30% Point 300 to 1,500ºC Stirling Engine Steam Rankine Brayton (gas turbine) PV

Low 2 MWe

4 MWe

Key features and status of the five CSP technology categories

30 | WINTER 2012

VSASF: cutting edge research

R&D

In early 2012 Victoria-Suntech Advanced

Solar Facility (VSASF) published its scientific

findings on NanoPlas solar cells which

sparked significant global and local interest

and prompted up to 20 inquiries from PhD

hopefuls. Titled Broadband Enhancement in

Thin-Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells Enabled

by Nucleated Silver Nanoparticles, the paper

cemented the facility’s position as a world

leading research facility. Not bad given the

VSASF was established just two short years ago,

in June 2010.

With the vision ‘Nanophotonics for a

sustainable future’ supported by the mission

‘To develop innovative nanophotonic and

nanoplasmonic technology to integrate research

excellence with industry engagement’, VSASF is

the $12 million collaborative venture funded by

the Victorian Government, Swinburne University of

Technology and Suntech Power Holdings, whose

CEO Dr Zhengrong Shi is a regular visitor.

Photonics expert Professor Min Gu leads the

VSASF team of 20 which includes four PhD

students and several undergraduates who have

at their disposal a cluster of world

class nanophotonics equipment in the

series of labs dedicated to development of

nanostructures and nanomaterials. Applied

to solar cells to manipulate and control light,

the efficiency of solar cells is being improved

by increasing the wavelength range of the

absorbed light and improving the conversion

of photons into electrons.

Min Gu is optimistic about the team’s ability

to boost cell efficiency, along with broader use

and greater efficiency in solar energy storage

The Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility has fast forged a presence on the global solar stage and is on track to deliver outstanding results. By Nicola Card.

Dr Baohua Jia (bottom left) and the VSASF team

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32 | WINTER 2012

and is on record as saying “This initiative is promising and I am

confident that in five years we will have a new type of solar cell.”

Solar Progress spoke to Dr Baohua Jia who is Senior Research Fellow at

VSASF and co-authored the paper on Broadband Enhancement in Thin-

Film NanoPlas solar cells.

“Several significant players are querying whether this thin-film

technology will lead us to the next level. It has sparked a lot of interest

from external companies and others,” she said. “The future of solar cell

is low cost, high efficiency. Wafer technology already stands at high

efficiency, so during our deliberations [over the focus of our R&D] we

realised thin-film would be more of more value as the starting point is not

that high. The lower production costs render it more attractive.”

The team aims to double the efficiency of thin-film solar cells, taking

them to 12% from the current production levels of 6%.

Dr Xi Chen, co-author of the Nano Letter paper commented “Costs

[of thin-film production] will be very low compared to wafer solar

cells. So while efficiency may not be as high you need to factor in the

comparatively cheaper cost.”

Dr Jia added that Suntech was keen to see strong results in the shortest

possible time and “To quickly produce something effective and simple

which the industry can take up in a relatively short time.”

Spurring velocity is the use of superior base cells. “The Suntech solar

cell is world leading, it has a high efficiency and is high quality, so we

use Suntech cells [in our research] and incorporate our nanomaterial to

improve efficiency,” Dr Jia explained.

R&D

A look at Broadband Enhancement in Thin-Film Amorphous Silicon Solar

Cells enabled by Nucleated Silver Nanoparticles

The paper was co-authored by Xi Chen, Baohua Jia, Jhantu K. Saha, Boyuan Cai, Nicholas Stokes, Qi Qiao, Yongqian

Wang, Zhengrong Shi and Min Gu. It proposes a novel idea of using nucleated silver nanoparticles to

effectively scatter light in a broadband wavelength range to realise pronounced absorption

enhancement in the silicon absorbing layer. The solar cells incorporated with 200

nm nucleated silver nanoparticles at 10% coverage density demonstrate a

broadband absorption enhancement and 14.3% enhancement in the

short-circuit photocurrent density and a 23% enhancement

in the energy conversion efficiency, compared with

the randomly textured reference cells without

nanoparticles … well up on

the highest achieved

efficiency of 8.1%.

“This initiative is promising and I am confident that in five years we will have a new type of solar cell.”

Suntech has expressed an interest in investing in a Victorian based

plant to bring the NanoPlas solar cells to market.

The first stage of the research program was to be the two years

from 2010 spent on research and development and technical

validation; the second stage for the three years from 2012 to build

up a pilot production line and validate technology on standard

procedure; that is transfer direction to production.

“The original plan was to develop a plant in Victoria but it depends

on the industry,” Dr Jia said. “We are currently in the process of

trying to attract external grants to establish the pilot production line.

This involves identifying local partners and collaborating with them,

and our business manager is in the process of exploring funding

opportunities.”

Dedication mixed with pride and enthusiasm seem to be hallmarks

of those engaged in solar research and Dr Jia is no exception,

commenting on the “Very, very exciting prospects for the new nano

particle we have developed.”

‘Nano’ may be microscopic, but stay tuned for gargantuan

advances.

For more information visit www.vsasf.com and www.suntech-power.com

Dr Zhengrong Shi (left) of Suntech with Professor Min Gu

By Noel Barton, Branch President

Recent speakers at our regular series of information evenings have been

Alistair Sproul from NSW who in April addressed the topic Low energy

buildings and PV; Paul Dastoor from the University of Newcastle (May,

The potential for an organic solar PV industry in Australia) and Muriel

Watt from APVA (June, The Australian PV market and the meaning of

grid parity).

These events are held on the fourth Tuesday of the month at the inner

city campus of UTS, and typically attract up to 40 participants.

In July Nigel Morris of Solar Business Services presents an address on

The Australian solar industry; an independent analyst’s view on 2012

and beyond.

Other guest speakers are Keryn Hassall of Carbon Capability and Blair

Pester of Winaico. Details are to be determined.

A feature of these AuSES Branch meetings is a ten-minute ‘Future

Directions’ segment presented by someone at the start of their solar

career. Recent speakers have included James Cox and Jonathon Dore.

We continue our collaboration with the Alternative Technology

Association (Sydney Central Branch), which meets on the second

Tuesday of each month. Their speakers have been Wolfgang Spranz

(April, Energy efficient windows), Jacinta Green (May, Understanding

coal seam gas in your neighbourhood) and David Kennedy (June, Solar

heating and cooling).

We are staging an Ancillary Event on Sustainable House Day (Sunday,

9 September 2012). This will take the same format as last year in that

we will hire a hall and feature details of five or six sustainable houses,

together with presentations by the householders. Several companies

that provide services to sustainable houses will also participate to

present insights.

For more information about AuSES activities in NSW, email Noel Barton: barton.sunoba@gmail.com or at nswbranch@auses.org.auPhone: Matt Scaddan 0402 979 958

nsw

AuSES Branch contact details Contact the following Branch Presidents for more information about AuSES activities in your state:

WA: Ishaan Khanna, email ishaankhanna@hotmail.com or wa@auses.org.au

Victoria: Dale Brown; email VICBranch@auses.org.au

Queensland: Antony Sachs, email QLDbranch@auses.org.au phone: 0407 121 321

ACT: Jeff Knowles, email ACT@auses.org.au or phone: 0416 960 939

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@auses.org.au

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34 | WINTER 2012

Solar community

One industrious person, one progressive idea, widespread interest and voila! – one small Victorian township

boasts 318kW of solar power and slashes greenhouse gases by

530 tonnes annually.

Legal eagle Virginia Wallace says she has “no particular

sustainability skills” but clearly bucket loads of enthusiasm and passion.

And that, she says, was all that was needed to develop The Colac

Otway Sustainability Bulk Buy Group.

To kick start the process Wallace approached the local shire but this

proved less than encouraging, she says as “They tend to see the pitfalls

such as the potential for people suing, and worry about the time and

cost; however they did offer the use of a meeting facility and promoted

the event on their website.”

To garner greater interest Wallace posted notices in shops and

circulated a media release which gained local media coverage; all up

she estimates it took a month to get to first base.

“That was back in November 2010 when we started out with just 35

interested households. We charged them $10 per household to attend

a meeting and this covered only some of the attendance cost of well

known Warrnambool environmentalist Peter Reefman … so while I

brought energy to it he came into it with generosity of spirit.”

Pulling power of a communityAs word spread so did interest and the number of meetings staged,

and by February 2011 enough had expressing serious interest to

warrant taking the next step, says Wallace. “Up front we had up more

than 160 EOIs which resulted in 108 taking up the offer – mostly

householders with a sprinkling of farmers and community organisations

– and that was enough to give us confidence to go to tender.

“Of the 20 solar companies we approached, 15 responded and Perth

based Solargain was selected on the basis it was large entity that was

unlikely to run out of stock.”

Appointed in March, Solargain was charged with the task of

installing all Round one solar PV systems by June 30 2011. In which

they succeeded.

Solar Progress talked to Solargain’s Peter Novak who oversaw

installation and remarked on how well informed the community was.

“We visited each of the sites and presented customers with options

for panels and inverters and it was evident that as a result of the

information presented by Peter Reefman and Virginia, people in the

buying group were pretty well educated as to what sort of PV system

was right for them. They had calculated what size system was necessary

which turned out to be around 3.2 kW, slightly above the average

residential capacity.

“Interest in inverters was toward the better quality German models

… eight in ten participants opted for SMA. That said the rush on SMA

resulted in us having to source some from local suppliers rather than all

direct from Germany as we normally do.”

Over the subsequent two months Solargain was kept busy installing

more than 10 systems a week, 1700 panels all up, in a bid to meet the

June 30 deadline.

“All sites were inspected for safety, as is necessary for all SGU ie small

generation unit installs, and presented with a certificate of electrical

safety,” said Novak.

Sun shines on Colac Last year more than 100 households in the wider Colac region formed a collective and

converted to solar power in time to take advantage of the premium feed-in tariff. Solar

Progress talked to Virginia Wallace who drove the community initiative. By Nicola Card

Above: Virginia Wallace with Peter Novak (seated) and Peter Reefman signing the Memorandum of Understanding between Peter Novak and the Colac Otway Sustainability Group.

Opposite: (Top) Peter Novak announcing Solargain donation of a 1.5kw system to a local school. (Below) A PV system installed in the Colac Otway area.

SolarProgress | 35

ResultsRound one of the Solar PV program resulted in 318kW capacity being

installed in the Colac Otway region, each year saving 530 tonnes of

greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere.

Novak believes it would be tough duplicating such a successful

collective in city environs.

“City dwellers do not know their community as well, group loyalty is

not so strong and they tend to have a more competitive spirit … and are

less likely to get involved in bulk buying groups.”

Group founder Wallace concurs, saying “There is more noise and

activity in the city and groups are tougher to target. In the country people

know each other better and word spreads. And liaising with school

communities makes good sense; there are opportunities for fund raising

and more.”

Seeing the light Two generations of Cuthbertsons benefitted from the bulk-buying

deal. Brian Cuthbertson says since installing a SolarKing smart meter

in September last year he has not received one power bill from his

utility, and estimates he has generated around $700 worth of power,

although in the depths of winter he and wife Pam naturally draw

more power from the grid to power their household appliances.

“We have a smaller 1.5 kW system and it was running at its peak

in summer, it's very efficient, as is our solar hot water system. They

start working at the crack of dawn and are still generating power

until eight at night in summer,” Brian enthused.

“One of the best things was tapping into the premium feed-in tariff of

66 cents per kWh, which enables us to sell power back to the utility.”

Costing about $3500 – an extra $500 had to be spent on roof

brackets for better orientation – pay-back is estimated at five years.

Brian and Pam’s son James and his partner Kirsty also installed a

solar PV system at their property on the outskirts of Colac.

She also commented that part of the success in the Colac community

program – other than a desire to be more ‘green’ and reduce carbon

emissions – can be attributed to the appeal of a reduction in electricity

bills. “People around here are quite practical and cost conscious, and

the prospect of lower feed-in tariffs [that were looming] helped speed

decisions. The landscape was fast changing and timing was critical due to

the government multiplier reduction on June 30 2011.”

The next stepsInterest dropped off somewhat in the second round of Solar PV installations

due to the winding back of premium FiTs. “Yet the cost of solar installations

was only slightly higher due to reductions in the Federal Government rebates,

and these were mitigated by the strong Australian dollar and reduction in

panel prices,” Wallace said. “But the revised landscape benefits businesses

which use more power during the day – so there are opportunities there, and

disincentives for buying power from grid.”

Wallace is currently busy encouraging business to convert to solar

power, co-sponsoring a sustainability award, and staging a solar hot water

bulk buy program. Colac Otway was a finalist in the 2011 Keep Australia

Beautiful Awards in the Energy Efficiency category, she proudly reported.

Those who have recently visited the small yet proud and tidy rural

township might agree it is deserving of a win.

36 | WINTER 2012

Tech Talk

This is the second edition of AS/NZS 5033 to be

released. The original, which was published in

2005, was the first comprehensive standard in

the world that covered PV arrays.

Since then much has changed both in our

understanding of the safety and performance

issues of PV systems and the sheer number of

systems installed.

We have also moved from largely ELV

(<120VDC) off-grid systems to LV(>120 VDC)

on-grid systems operating at ever higher DC

voltages. Many of the changes made in the

updated standards address the safety concerns

that have come to light during the intervening

seven years.

Some of the major changes seen in AS/NZS 5033: 2012 are:• 600 VDC limit for domestic installations

• Bonding to earth of all modules and

mounting systems

• Earth fault detection by inverters connected

to PV arrays

• Multiple input inverters and isolation/

overcurrent protection

• All LV systems to have “roof-top isolators”

• Maximum system voltage calculated based

on actual temperature minimum

• No polarised breakers in DC cables

• HD conduit for all DC cables inside buildings

• Connectors must be of the same brand/type

both sides of connection

• Comprehensive list of compulsory

documentation

• New commissioning requirements, and

• All modules in a string must face the same

direction

More specifically, the scope of the Standard

has been enlarged to cover all DC voltages and

any power level for the array.

The maximum open circuit voltage for

domestic installations (without secured access

to the array) will be 600Voc_max.

PV array cables run internally through the

building must be in heavy duty conduit; or run

external to the building in medium duty UV

stable conduit.

Polarised DC circuit breakers will be banned.

The frame and the mounting system of all

LV PV arrays will be bonded to earth. String

overcurrent protection, where required in LV

arrays, will be on both poles.

Modules in the same string shall all face

the same direction at the same angle (plus/

minus 5 degrees). DC isolators adjacent to the

array for all LV systems (currently only required

in some states), though this is not required

for microinverters. There are requirements

for improved signage and a compulsory user

manual with each system.

There is a three month transition period

from the date of publication (12 July 2012)

except for some clauses which rely on the

implementation of IEC and EN standards and

thus have 12-24 month transition periods.

Although the changes will increase the time

taken to install PV systems (hence push up costs

a bit), in the writer’s opinion this is preferable

to having the industry fall from public favour

due to perceived safety and performance

concerns of PV systems.

In recent weeks Glen Morris has been around the country at AuSES workshops presenting insights to solar installers on the updated standards AS/NZS 5033:2012. Here he itemises the key changes.

Lifting solar standards

Fast moveThe new standards require rooftop isolators

in all states. When Glen mentioned this

at the Brisbane workshop there was “a

loud groan from the audience, with some

complaining that plastic boxes on roofs

wouldn't last in the Queensland sun”. The

following day Glen received this photo from

an installer who, on arriving home after

the AuSES workshop, designed a stainless

steel protective cover and quickly located a

Sydney company which could mass produce

the cover for just $33 a piece. An order

was immediately placed for 2000 protective

covers. All in just 24 hours!

SolarProgress | 37

AuSES updates and initiativesIn mid July AuSES staged workshops around the country to bring AuSES members up to date on newly updated PV installation standards and two innovative programs being launched by the society.

The new AS/NZS 5033:2012

AS/NZS 5033:2012 INSTALLATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC (PV) ARRAYSThe newly updated Australian Standards AS/NZS

5033 came into effect from July 2012.

To help spread the word, AuSES staged

workshops around the country which

attracted great interest among several

hundred solar installers.

Leading the presentation was Glen Morris,

who was involved in the committee that was

instrumental in shaping the standards.

A full copy of AS/NZS 5033:2012 is available

through www.auses.org.au/shop/AS5033-2012

SolarPlus: the ultimate sales toolSolarPlus is Australia’s first web-based design

and sales tool for the solar industry. This is

not only a design and costing calculator; it is

also a sales tool that enables customers to see

exactly what they are getting including highly

accurate performance estimates, and simple

system comparisons.

With its easy-to-follow workflow that

streamlines solar design and planning, the

tool contains:

• Online software for interactivity with maps,

components and automatic saving of data

• Support for multiple inverters and multiple

MPPT inputs, and

• Fine-grain filtering of specs for thousands of

pre-installed components

With SolarPlus’ ability to work on most

commonly used browsers and operating systems

including tablets, residential and commercial

solar PV systems can be designed in minutes.

SolarPlus offers simple drag sliders

to configure an array and automatically

limits system size and configuration within

recommended design limits. SolarPlus also

matches system size and configuration

to customer energy targets, and offers

performance analysis using Australian satellite

solar radiation data.

Installers and designers can compare multiple

system configurations or save as a template,

and Solar Plus is customised to help designers

comply with Australian Standards and industry

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Be part of the next generation of solar design

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Up to 40% off for AuSES Corporate

Members.

Signup at http://solarplus.org.au/

Solar PV Best PracticeThe AuSES Solar Best Practice program – aka

SBP – sets a new standard of industry practice

and lends consumer confidence by showcasing

the top tier of competent solar professionals.

Designed by AuSES staff, SBP is

recommended for companies with an interest in

safe solar installations, high performance and a

commitment to improvements.

For convenience and ease of access,

specialists can tap into online training modules

and complete accreditation training modules in

their own time.

Other features include a simple sign-up

process and company compliance checks and

periodic training updates and audits, also

receipt of the Quality Best Practice branding

promotional material as a stamp of authority

for customers.

For more information visit www.auses.org.au

AuSES CEO John Grimes with Glen Morris (right) in action at the workshops.

AuSES programs

38 | WINTER 2012

With a finger on the solar pulse, consultant Nigel Morris of Solar Business Services looks

at market dynamics and concludes there is room for guarded optimism.

During the past two decades in solar I can

recall being so excited about where the solar

industry has got to, that I could barely sleep.

And it happened again recently.

Recent events in two key solar markets have

got me all worked up again and wondering,

are we finally “there”?

In 2010, with a 60 cent Gross Feed-in Tariff

available, New South Wales managed to

stimulate around 375MW of solar installations

in around 10 months, which at the time was

unparalleled. It was estimated that on “Solar

Tuesday” when the scheme was abruptly

halted, around 75MW of applications were

received in a single night.

Yet in Queensland with the swish of a pen,

Premier Campbell Newman set a new record

this year with an estimated 350MW of new

applications in the final 13 days of their 44 cent

Net FiT scheme.

Broadly speaking, it means that despite the

fact that in NSW your annual revenue was

around five times higher (from the gross 60

cent scheme), Queensland still managed to get

27 times more applications.

Of course, PV prices have fallen and

competition is intense but balancing that out

we have a lower STC price and 2 times less

multiplier; so NET prices to consumers are

not dissimilar.

The other fascinating thing that is happening

is that despite the fact that New South Wales

has (virtually) no export tariff at all, demand is

slowly but surely coming back. Although it’s

a long way from the heady days of 30MW/

month, in June this year the market registered

almost 17MW after hovering around 7-8MW

per month since the scheme ended.

So despite the fact that the economic

proposition for exports in New South Wales is

the worst in Australia, it seems consumers are

once again starting to rationalise the purchase

of solar PV.

Therein lies the reason I was tossing and

turning; the underlying demand from two key

markets is providing us with un-mistakable

signals about “socket parity”. And we haven’t

even got started on commercial PV.

There is no doubt that solar

consumers are as fickle as any other

and can be tempted to act in droves

– or not – by an array of

market signals. A case

in point is the TV

news coverage on

the final evening of

Queensland’s scheme,

which sent a number

of solar company call

centres into overload. A bit

of mass market prompting

from a “credible” source

such as the evening news

and suddenly the light bulb went

on for a bunch of consumers.

Equally, I am hearing stories that when

the multiplier dropped from 3 to 2 on June

30 2012, the phones just stopped ringing

in many solar companies. While wanting to

save around $750 on a 1.5kW system is a

logical reaction, over the system’s life I would

argue that this is largely an emotional market

reaction driven by marketing rather than an

astute financial reaction. A slightly larger

system at lower dollars per watt, along with a

better deal on export tariffs or installing some

energy efficient appliances is likely to provide

a better 10 year proposition. But we are

emotional creatures.

As tremendously exciting as this is, we

remain in a precarious position. A proportion

of all the demand in our states is now lag

from previous schemes, so measuring real,

new demand is increasingly difficult. The

RET is under threat, the multiplier that was

responsible for June’s surge is now gone and

foreign exchange rates are 10% lower than

six months ago.

And perhaps most importantly, there is a

very strong possibility that by the end of 2012

Australia’s

installed capacity

of solar PV may

exceed 2GW - around

4% of Australia’s stationary

generation capacity. On a clear,

sunny day that’s quickly becoming

a material chunk of lost coal fired

revenue that a lot of people don’t and won’t

forgo without a fight. The rug could quite

easily be pulled from under us.

Despite this I must admit that after many

years of building solar industry forecasts based

on sound facts then multiplying it up, testing

it against logic and multiplying it up again, it is

clear that it’s time to become far more bullish.

We have a massive transition to make if

we are to avoid a mess in the energy sector,

assuming solar PV growth rates continue

unabated. Programs such as Horizon Energy’s

needs based, incentivised FiTs are important to

monitor. This is one methodology that could

provide a clear guide for the deployment of PV

where its merits are most valuable, and valued.

Our industry has a momentum and a

competitive force that is now building like a

snowball and there are more signs than ever

that it will grow stronger not weaker.

www.solarbusiness.com.au

Industry perspective

Are we there yet?

“Consumers are [again] starting to rationalise

the purchase of solar PV … it is clear that it’s time to become far more bullish … Our industry has a momentum and a

competitive force that is now building like a snowball and there are more signs than ever

that it will grow stronger not weaker.”

Forecasting the future of renewable energy is a notoriously difficult business,

says Wayne Smith of Clean Economy Services.

Solar forecasting: a mug’s game

The World Bank estimated in 1996 that China

would install half a gigawatt (500 megawatts)

of solar PV by 2020. China reached 900

megawatts by 2010, and is now committed to

installing 21 gigawatts (GW) by 2015.

The Australian Treasury’s carbon price

modelling estimated that around 9 GW of solar

would be installed in Australia by 2050, but it is

likely that 2.5 GW will be installed by the end of

2012 and on current forecasts we could reach 9

GW of rooftop solar alone before 2020.

Economic modelling undertaken by MMA

for the Australian Government in 2009 on The

Benefits and Costs of the Expanded Renewable

Energy Target predicted geothermal energy

would deliver 10,000 GW hours of electricity

by 2020 (one quarter of the Renewable Energy

Target). Solar PV did not figure at all.

The three examples have one thing in

common – they have seriously underestimated

the uptake of PV and, in doing so, have missed

some significant energy market and public

policy trends.

Both Australian and global studies have

failed to predict the massive reduction in the

cost of solar modules resulting from the shift

of manufacturing to China. They failed to see

the Chinese Government’s strategic play in

positioning the country to be the global leader

in the clean energy revolution.

The Australian reports, in particular, failed

to recognise the popularity of solar, with

Australians fervently adopting solar power both

as a form of personal action on climate change

and as protection against soaring electricity

costs. Commensurately, they failed to foresee

the desire of politicians from all political parties

to capture that enthusiasm through generous

solar support programs.

Given the many forecasting errors of the

past, it is a dangerous game to make further

predictions, but that task is critical in thinking

through what energy policy should look like over

the next two decades. It is particularly important

in considering what, if any, shape the Renewable

Energy Target should take in 2020 and 2030.

The contrast between the 2009 MMA report

and a 2012 report by the Australian Energy

Market Operator, Rooftop PV Information

Paper, could not be starker. Where PV failed

to register in the MMA report, AEMO is now

predicting that rooftop solar could deliver 8

GW of electricity to the National Electricity

Market by 2020 and 16 GW by 2030.

The AEMO report provides high, medium

and low uptake scenarios, but even the high

uptake scenario is limited and based on

some conservative assumptions. The AEMO

projections only cover the National Energy

Market, thus excluding the rapidly growing

South West Integrated System (SWIS) and

regional WA. The figures only relate to rooftop

solar and do not cover solar farms.

The AEMO report does not include

assumptions on the use of battery storage, or

the combination of PV and electric vehicles,

which are likely to be major trends over the

next decade.

Already, the AEMO report appears

conservative. It states “rooftop PV uptake is

expected to be relatively restrained to 2017

(averaging 320 MW per year for the moderate

scenario)”. It is likely more than one GW will

be installed in 2012, and there is no reason to

believe demand will drop by a third in coming

years with rising electricity prices.

There is, unfortunately, a lack of public

data on projections for WA’s SWIS and other

non-NEM markets. The demand for energy is

growing faster in the Mid West and Pilbara

regions than in any other part of Australia,

and that trend is likely to continue in the

immediate future. Given these regions boast

some of the best solar resource in the world,

and high gas prices, it is not unreasonable to

assume the solar market will grow rapidly off

a low base.

Interestingly, Solar Business Services has

estimated Australia’s total cumulative PV

production – including the NEM, SWIS, off-

grid, residential, commercial and large-scale

– could reach 28 gigawatts by 2030.

There is some pessimism, however, regarding

the growth of large-scale PV in Australia. The

APVA report Modelling of Large-Scale PV

Systems in Australia, released in November

2011, argues “while residential and commercial

PV applications may be approaching, or are at,

the point of grid parity, a significant feasibility

gap remains for large scale PV”. The report

notes even with carbon pricing, additional

government assistance will still be required over

the next decade or so.

Large-scale solar thermal has similarly taken

its time finding its feet in Australia. Solar

thermal has struggled to compete with PV on

price and the trend globally is for Big Solar

projects to choose PV rather than solar thermal.

That trend may ease up as the cost of solar

thermal comes down.

The Australian Solar Institute report Realising

the Potential of Concentrating Solar Power

in Australia, written by IT Power, found

concentrating solar power could realistically

provide 2 gigawatts by 2020 and 10 gigawatts

by 2030.

The PV and solar thermal reports point to

the importance of consistency in government

policy in providing a safe and secure investment

environment. That is a strong argument for the

maintenance of the Renewable Energy Target,

carbon pricing and the $10 billion Clean Energy

Finance Corporation.

Looking to 2030, and based on recent

projections, it is not unreasonable to assume

that 28 GW of PV and 10 GW of solar thermal

could be installed in Australia.

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target is 45,000

GW hours of renewable energy in 2020. The

figure flatlines to deliver the same level (45,000

GWh) in 2030. These projections suggest solar

will provide a massive proportion of that figure,

and provide an argument for significantly

increasing, and extending, Australia’s 2030

Renewable Energy Target.

The projection of 36 GW of solar by 2030 is

worth storing away, to bring out again in later

years as a way of embarrassing this author.

SolarProgress | 39

40 | WINTER 2012

The mission for eager students from ASI's Skills Development Program

was to explain in 180 seconds or less why they should be selected for a

PhD, Post Doctoral or a People’s Choice Award.

The event took place in Canberra at the ANU during ASI’s

Knowledge Sharing Series which provides information on research

highlights and workshops with a focus on overcoming the key barriers

to solar. Among the presenters were well known solar identities Dr

Keith Lovegrove and CSIRO’s Wes Stein.

All up 11 post-graduates bravely fronted the line-up of judges, who

were also under pressure to fast make a determination on the relative

merits of the presentations.

And the winners are …With a presentation on polycrystalline silicon solar cells on glass

formed by diode laser annealing, Jonathan Dore from UNSW took out

the PhD category and the overall People’s Choice award. Jonothan’s

mission is to increase the efficiency of thin-film crystalline silicon

photovoltaic modules by improving the silicon quality via a new laser

crystallisation process.

The Postdoctoral Fellow category was snapped up by Kean Yap from

Charles Darwin University won for his presentation on ways to optimise

hybrid solar-diesel systems in remote areas using smart grids.

“In a fun format of three slides and three minutes only, the early-

career researchers worked to convince a panel of eminent solar

researchers, and the audience, of their project’s significance,” ASI

Executive Director Mark Twidell said.

During the event Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson

announced $1.3 million in new funding for two ASI PhD scholars and

five ASI Postdoctoral fellows, a move described by Twidell as “a win for

the specific projects and teams they are part of”.

“The Program helps to ensure there is a supply of new talent coming

up through the ranks to maintain Australia’s reputation for world-class

solar innovations,” he said.

For more information: www.australiansolarinstitute.com.au

As tremendously exciting as this is, we remain in a precarious

position. A proportion of all the demand in our states is now lag from

previous schemes, so measuring real, new demand is increasingly

difficult. The RET is under threat, the multiplier that was responsible for

June’s surge is now gone and foreign exchange rates are 10% lower

than six months ago.

Developments

Speed rating: Three-minute Solar Thesis Challenge

In mid July The Australian Solar Institute presented a novel twist on speed dating by staging a three-minute Solar Thesis Challenge.

David Rogers and Scott Ferguson are well established in the PV solar industry,

with both operating as CEC (Clean Energy Council) electricians for many

years. In that time they have witnessed many changes in the industry,

particularly in the field of electrical requirements for solar installations.

“What took up most of our time while installing and managing thousands

of installs was that we couldn’t get all the products required at one place.

We had to have and manage accounts from over five different suppliers to

maintain the install standards,” they said.

It was this situation that spurred the duo to form their own company,

Solpac, which they say sources the finest local and overseas solar components

quickly and cost-effectively and delivers every necessary electrical component

all in one box to solar retailers and installers.

In their words:

WHY CHOOSE SOLPACThe beauty of Solpac is that we’ve done all the work for you so you don’t

have to. We’ve done the research, built the relationships, obtained the

products and packaged it all up. All you need to do is place an order online

– how easy is that! When you choose Solpac, you are choosing the smartest,

most simplified way to source high-quality solar components. Put simply,

we’ve created a one-stop shop – in a box!

THE SOLPAC PACK: TECH SPECSOur isolators are high-quality European DC isolators with all four poles

offering 1000 volts each. This has been one of the largest changes in

the industry and has seen an end to 2 pole and 4 pole polarity-sensitive

circuit breakers.

Sheathed corrugated conduit eliminates the problem of UV-accelerated

breakdown that occurs with standard corrugated conduit. The extra sleeve

of the corrugation protects the conduit from UV radiation better than any

other existing solution.

Solpac also continues to explore the industry to source the highest-grade

solar label kits, while performing ongoing checks and research into the

requirements laid out by each state electrical regulator. Our solar label kits

are made from the highest-quality traffolyte – the longest-lasting label on the

Australian market. These are made locally in Victoria.

Our DC cable is fully compliant with all current regulations, offering a

separate double-insulated dual core labelled to CEC requirements. The MC4

leads and plugs conform to TUV standard. Other items in the box include AC

isolators, corrugated adaptors and nylon glands.

For a full list of Solpac products visit www.solpac.com.au

Solpac: Products for solar professionals

David Rogers and Scott Ferguson

Email:info@solpac.com.au

Website:www.solpac.com.au

Phone: (03)9877 0905 Fax:(03)9878 0169

Contact Us:13a Ceylon StreetNunawading, 3131Australia

For a full list of all of our productsvisit us at www.solpac.com.au

Solpac – The Benefits Are In The Box!Don’t waste time with individual suppliers - Solpac offers you an unrivalled all-in-one solution, whatever your needs. We don’t just sell individual parts - we provide everything required for top-quality solar installations.

DESIGNED BY ELECTRICIANS FOR ELECTRICIANS!

42 | WINTER 2012

Industry Comment

Anthony Coles is not alone in his view that Australia’s residential solar

market is somewhat influenced by legislation. He also notes that while

much of the 800MW installed last year was residential, in the past few

months there has been a big shift toward small commercial systems.

Commercial as a definition in this sense simply means a bigger system,

and Solco itself has successfully secured a contract to install grid connected

photovoltaic (PV) systems on a range of buildings operated by the Parkes

Shire Council in NSW. All up a total solar generation capacity of up to 250kW

will be installed across several buildings.

According to Anthony Coles, many councils are now looking at means of

offsetting their own electricity consumption and turning to solar power.

“The Parkes Shire Council chose to look at the maths in terms of their

broader sustainability agenda and funded the system themselves,” he said.

“People who want to produce their own power are doing the maths on a

PV installation and finding the rates of return are looking better and better.

And in this industry when you have got ownership of a building or a large

roof area, solar power numbers look very appealing, especially when you can

offset costs with your own generation.”

He added that trust is always an important factor and that “part of the

difficulty facing the solar industry has been the boom and bust cycle … there

have been many new entrants who [consumers] are not sure about and

many players have moved on or disappeared.”

The solar market at present he says is relatively immature and up against

some well established power generators – namely coal and gas and

distribution companies and retailers. “The renewable sector has a big job to

do to but I think we have public sentiment on our side and the drive to solar

power has got some good traction and industry support.”

Solar directionsWith a background in the dot com digital media space, Coles likens the

current solar scene to the pre-iPhone [smart phone] era, saying a few things

need to line up before renewable energy becomes mainstream. “Lots has

already been achieved, it is true, but we are not yet part of the broader

market psyche. In a sense we are still at the stage of Motorola or Nokia!”

With an eye on the future, Solco has joined forces with AuSES in various

programs and was a key sponsor of the recent Best Practice Workshops.

“AuSES has stepped into its role as a leading voice for PV sector, but our

greatest asset is the connection we as an industry have with the community;

Australia's colloquial culture supports the independently minded and that

goes for [solar] energy contributors.”

Solar Progress chatted to the well-travelled Anthony Coles of Solco whose goals are to influence the uptake of renewable energy in Australia, and for alternative energy solutions to be mainstream by the end of the decade.By Nicola Card

“In a carbon and water challenged world we are part

of the solution – in partnership with the sun.”

Anthony Coles joined listed company Solco Ltd (ASX:SOO) in a General

Management role in November 2011, and was appointed CEO in April

2012. His mission is to help reshape the market in a post-rebate solar

energy world. Back in 1997 Anthony established one of Australia's first

Digital Agencies which by 2001 had been ranked in the Top 10 in Australia.

With over 20 years’ trading, Solco Solar Products is a wholesaler of solar

energy systems: batteries, inverters, panels, frames, regulators and DCs and

supplies a broad range of customers.

The company tagline caught our eye: “In a carbon and water challenged

world we are part of the solution - in partnership with the sun.”

www.solco.com.au 1800 074 007

Anthony Colesof Solco

Sunsink Solar Storage uses the latest battery technology to collect and store solar PV energy for use

when it is most benificial to the system owner. Sun Sink units can deliver power at times when grid power is at it’s highest price. The system comes complete with five years warranty and a full service

scheme for the life of the unit. Future-proof design ensures the

unit can adapt to future grid demand applications.

The units are small, efficient and SAFE.

Available sizes:Sunsink Mini 2.4 KWh (suits 1.0-1.5kw of PV)Sunsink Midi 4.8 KWh (suits 1.5- 2.2kw of PV)Sunsink Maxi 7.2 KWh (suits 2.2-3.0kw of PV)Sunsink Mega 9.6 KWh (suits 2.5-4.0kw of PV)

Size selection will depend on daytime usage, refer our website for further sizing data.

www.SUNSINK.com.au

Orders, Distributor and Agent Enquiries to:VULCAN ENERGY Pty Ltd

29-45 Ashmore Road Bundall Qld. 4217.Tel. 07 55 935553 Fax. 07 55 267447 email. sales@vulcanenergy.com.au

Web. griddemand.com.au

Cheap, Clean Power To The Grid “at the right place and at the right time”

Are your customers

GIVING AWAY SOLAR POWER?????????????????

Si Clean Energy (Si) sponsored the recent AuSES Best Practice training

workshops. Si firmly believes that it is only by constant improvement and

technical innovation that the solar industry can evolve and mature. The PV

industry is a high tech business that historically has experienced rapid change

and is one that attracts the archetypal “new adopter”.

During the past twenty or so years much has changed in the way that we

install PV. Those who have been active in the industry since the early days often

cringe at how we used to perform our installations. At the time however, the

installs were done according to the current best practice, and the fact is that we

just didn’t know any better. Much of what is known now comes from the early

experimentation, perseverance and pioneering hard work.

The beautiful thing about the PV business is that for a tradesman it presents

the opportunity to remain forever young. This trade has never stood still and it

never will. There is so much more to discover and learn, and the opportunity

exists for each and every one of us to participate, contribute and push the

technical envelope to places we can’t even yet imagine.

INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE Best Practice as applied to the PV industry is a way of thinking that is a must for

both individuals and the collective. It is a mindset that everyone who is active

in the industry should be naturally attracted to. For tradesmen it goes without

saying, for operations managers it is essential, and for company executives who

look for risk mitigation, it is mandatory.

The latest Best Practice lectures provided by AuSES are of tremendous

value to the industry and continue a tradition of many decades of service. Si

Clean Energy is proud to sponsor the workshops and make this invaluable

information available to all participants across Australia. Much has been

learned, shared, and discussed that will assist in making the business of PV

installation faster, more efficient, more reliable and, most importantly, safer.

Si Clean Energy was pleased to be involved at each workshop in the

knowledge that Best Practice is the single most important thing that the

industry can undertake as it moves towards a time when PV is entrenched as

the mainstream electrical technology and no longer considered the alternative.

www.sicleanenergy.com.au

Si Clean Energy (Si)

Owner and director of Si Clean Energy, Peter Bulanyi

44 | WINTER 2012

Design Developments

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

RA Power Group recently launched its new, customer-centric website

which introduced the RADvantage customer loyalty and support

program. This is the group’s promise to provide best-in-class quality

products, excellent levels of customer service and support, while

continuing to source full turnkey service options that add value to their

products and services.

“The results of our new website launch, and the RADvantage

program have been amazing and the customer feedback has been very

positive,” said George Dion, CEO. “Our new look website is geared to

be a solar hub of information relevant to the solar market as well as a

portal to our quality range of products.”

Members of the RAdvantage Program enable RA Power Group’s

customers to experience the full turnkey service which includes the

latest industry news and solar power analysis information through to

marketing and point of sale support.

“We want to work closely with our customers to achieved shared goals”

says George when asked about the Advantage program. “By sharing our skill

sets and industry knowledge with our clients we believe we are developing

mutually beneficial relationships with our customers, we they grow, we grow,

let’s work together.”

The Australian distributor and supplier of photovoltaic panels, inverters

and racking equipment, attributes its success to customer guarantee and

focus on “providing excellent levels of customer service”.

“We believe in working ‘with’ and ‘for’ our customers, and building

professional relationships that will foster growth for our business and theirs;

we believe in delivering on our promises; we believe in providing value and

competitive prices for all our products and services,” says George Dion.

For more information contact Ben Marquis on 1300 850 904

RA Power Group’s new website

Solar Products & Services

HIGH-EFFICIENCY SOLAR INVERTERS AND INNOVATIVE MONITORING TOOLS

Solar inverter manufacturer REFUsol showcased its 5kW, 10kW and 20kW

inverters and innovative accessories for monitoring PV systems at the

recent Clean Energy Council Week.

With a rated AC power of 19.2kW, the compact inverter REFUsol

020K can be smoothly integrated into solar installations to help them

reach maximum output. The inverter belongs to the 8-20kW series that

is specifically made for rooftop systems and solar parks, from 8kW up

to multi-megawatts. Featuring excellent MPP-tracking and a wide input

voltage range of up to 380 to 850V, the solar inverter reaches a peak

efficiency of up to 98.2 per cent, even at a low irradiation level. Based on

this high efficiency, heat is dissipated by convection cooling. Thanks to

the low voltage fluctuations against earth, the transformerless device can

also be used for numerous thin film modules.

The company also displayed its newly revised monitoring tool

REFUlog. The web based portal is available in a basic and a pro version

and supports operators in controlling and analysing the efficiency of

PV plants. Due to the optimised email reports, the monitoring of PV

installations has become even simpler – as the display of additional

parameters as well as new export functions also were added. Moreover,

the statistic functions in the basic, and even more comprehensively in

the pro version, were optimised. Further additions to the portal will

follow soon.

In the course of the makeover, the REFUlog app has been updated.

It now includes tabular statistics and a user-friendly view in landscape

format for charts and graphics. Specific sorting and filtering

configurations as well as current values per plant and solar inverter can

be displayed.

www.refusol.com

REFUsol

RA Power Group CEO George Dion

Sungrow

Prompt supply from Victoria Warehouse

The project highlights the growing success of PV panels in rooftop

and wall mounting installations. It demonstrates one of solar PV’s key

strengths: the ability to be deployed on rooftops and on walls, large and

small, anywhere in the world. Once again, it reflects the large “Sungrow

“recognition by European clients, especially in a climate of FiT cuts.

Sungrow’s high quality, prompt service, low-cost inverter will bring more

and more benefits to overseas clients.

With over 150MW operational systems, one of the Belgium’s largest

solar project developers in Invictus, which partnered with Sungrow

on the successful installation of solar systems in Europe. Cao Renxian

who is CEO of Sungrow said "Even during this European financial crisis,

Sungrow is ready to provide cost-effective, large-scale solutions for

electricity generation."

Founded in February 2007, Invictus presents itself not only as a turnkey

operator, but also as a specialized developer of solar projects through

investment funds.

The complementary operations together with the TEC Servicegroup and

their combined expertise, enable Invictus to provide customers with the

best technical solutions and service in solar power plant installation.

www.sungrow.com.au

Sungrow Power Supply which claims to be the largest Asian producer of

inverters recently announced the successful connection of 10MW of PV

inverters to the grid for 15 roof top projects in Belgium, the biggest of

which is a 4.2MW rooftop featuring 267 units of Sungrow inverters.

All the 10MW PV inverters are Sungrow’s newly developed SG15KTL,

which is a transformerless inverter with higher efficiency. Its aluminum

housing makes it very compact, robust and light in weight. The direct

plug-in terminal port provides easy, safe and reliable cable connection

under any circumstances. It obtained the TüV, Enel-GUIDA,AS4777,

G83/1,G59/2 certification and is ideally suited for the project and fits

perfect in the European solar market. Recently SG15KTL was tested by

Photon and awarded with A degree.

A mighty 10MW of PV inverters

46 | WINTER 2012

Australia is internationally renowned for its

solar research. Often overlooked, however,

are Australian discoveries of more immediate

commercial importance. While the word

‘research’ may conjure up images of professors

in lab coats researching exotic paint-on

nano-solar materials, a large amount of

research supports the immediate commercial

development of the Australian solar industry.

This research happens at the desktop rather

than the laboratory, and solar companies are

wise to pay attention to this desktop research,

for it often identifies gold nuggets: emerging

market opportunities.

At a national level, desktop solar research is

proving influential in shaping national debate.

Research into the potential for Australia’s

electricity needs to be met by 100% renewable

energy has been performed by both the

Melbourne Energy Institute and the University

of New South Wales’ (UNSW) Institute for

Environmental Markets. These studies have

had significant influence, for the Australian

Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has since

been charged with expanding their planning

scenarios to include further consideration

of energy market and transmission planning

implications of moving towards 100%

renewable energy. Perhaps more than any other

organisation, AEMO’s opinions count in the

realm of Australian energy.

Beyond the impressive results of the

UNSW laboratory, its Centre for Energy and

Environmental Markets (CEEM) puts out a large

volume of highly sophisticated research. This

includes weather forecasting for solar, assessing

the impacts of high-penetration PV, reducing

the costs of solar grid integration, merit order

effects, and other broader market impacts of

renewable energy. This research helps to dispel

fears held by electricity distributors, while

preparing the energy market for the arrival

of a disruptive technology. CEEM’s work also

contributes to Australia’s participation in

the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) PV

research collaboration.

International perspectiveAustralia contributes to a number of

international research collaborations through

the IEA Photovoltaic Power System (PVPS)

tasks. In a spirit of open sharing of intellectual

treasure to support the global advancement of

solar power, Australia learns from international

experience, while contributing its own insights.

One of the foremost issues for Australia’s

PV industry is the impact of grid integration,

and while colleagues in Austria perform live

physical experiments on laboratory micro-

grids, Australian researchers investigate the

experiences of network operators in regions of

high-penetration PV.

Studies of Carnarvon and Alice Springs

have thus far revealed that the actual impacts

of solar PV upon the grid are far smaller

than network operator’s fears. Australia

also participates in IEA-PVPS studies of PV in

diesel mini-grids, developing countries, and in

Building Integrated PV – thereby developing

our expertise in PV applications of relevance to

our nation and region.

The IEA-PVPS studies are coordinated by

the Australian PV Association, which also

produces highly-respected studies of its own.

As an example, the Clean Energy Council (CEC)

commissioned the APVA to identify the most

favourable combination of financial-support

measures for large-scale PV, which should

assist in development of policies that create

sustainable benefits for a nascent sector of

Australia’s PV industry. This built upon a solar

cost model built by the APVA for the Australian

Solar Institute (ASI). Work recently initiated

relates to the development of business models

and regulatory frameworks for a Distributed

Energy market and the development of a

climate-based PV module rating scheme,

both funded by the ASI. Other APVA research

includes annual PV status reports, assessments

of the impact of feed-in tariffs upon electricity

bills, briefing papers and invaluable submissions

to government policy issues papers.

Sunny forecastsRecently, SunWiz and Solar Business Services

(SBS) produced a ten-year PV deployment

forecast for AEMO, which incorporated this

into a glowing 20-year outlook for the PV

industry (in strong contrast to that of the Draft

Energy White Paper). The two firms also co-

author the CEC’s annual PV report, produce in-

depth forecasts, and make government policy

submissions of their own.

Solar PV is gaining the attention

of decision makers. But having won

recognition, there’s still a battle to be

fought for legitimacy. Here desktop research

by respected institutions is invaluable in

countering vested interests’ arguments

against solar, and in re-educating politicians

that solar is no longer expensive.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s insightful

graphs illustrating how Australia was leading

the way for ‘socket parity’ have helped in this

regard, but there is still plenty more work to

be done. While advances in solar materials

offer exciting prospects for continuing PV

cost reductions, influencing the national

debate is important for the today’s health of

the entire solar industry, and when it comes

to competitiveness, improvements in solar

business efficiency can far outstrip the impacts

of gains in panel efficiency.

Tracking market trends and understanding

policy interactions can assist smart solar

businesses to stay ahead of the wave. SunWiz

provides a range of strategic intelligence and

advice. www.sunwiz.com.au

Beyond the laboratory: delivering results for the Australian solar industry By Warwick Johnston of SunWiz

Industry intelligence

SolarProgress | 47

Beyond the laboratory: delivering results for the Australian solar industry By Warwick Johnston of SunWiz

Solar conference

AuSES Golden Jubilee

AuSES invites all solar specialists to share in

its Golden Jubilee celebration

When: Thursday December 6 and Friday December 7 2012

Where: Swinburne University in Hawthorn, Victoria

AuSES is proud to be hosting the Solar 2012, the organisation’s 50th

anniversary event, in early December in Melbourne.

This ‘Golden Jubilee’ conference will showcase solar research, and

spotlight 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.

The new Victoria-Suntech Advanced Solar Facility is co-located near

the Swinburne Hawthorn Campus, and it is anticipated that tours of the

facility will be on offer.

“Australian inventiveness, and our can-do attitude, has proven decisive

in many solar breakthroughs," says AuSES CEO John Grimes. “From the

pioneering engineers of the CSIRO who helped develop solar hot water,

to the Australian National University and our first Institutional Member,

the University of New South Wales, Australians continue to be sign posts

in world solar activities.

“Our universities have trained some of the global solar leaders

including executives at SunTech, China Sunenergy, Trina, CSG Solar and

Solarfun, among others.”

John Grimes went on to say that 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.

“Aussie University staff, researchers and students regularly set

global solar photovoltaic efficiency records, achieve revolutionary solar

technology breakthroughs, and act as crucibles for world-best solar PV

and concentrating thermal technologies. We have also seen leading

solar companies and technologies launched in Australia to become

international exemplaries, like Areva Solar (formally Ausra) and Dyesol."

Included in the Conference Registration fee will be admission to

the AuSES Annual Awards Dinner on the night of Thursday December

6, where the annual 'Wal Read' Memorial Awards will be presented

to under-graduate and post-graduate students submitting the best

academic papers for presentation to the Conference.

The Australian PV Association plans to again hold its AGM and

provide an additional stream of expert speakers for a sub-programme

show-casing its participation as a key member of the International

Energy Agency PV Power Systems Programme.

An additional programme on Wednesday December 5 will focus on

the solar/renewables training professions; enhancing understanding and

liaison between TAFE and Secondary educators, installers and industry.

Also on offer are excursions to key renewable energy installations

within southern and central Victoria, on Saturday December 8.

John Grimes said: “This is an exciting time as millions of Australian

homes have solar hot water, and solar panels, and in a carbon-

priced world, we anticipate more Australians will embrace solar and

renewables, improved energy efficiency and sustainability. We expect

much more to be achieved during the next three years as the cost of

solar falls to record lows.

"'Solar 2012', our Golden Jubilee, 50th Annual Conference, will be

a celebration of Australia's successes and opportunities. AuSES will

continue to show leadership, and to work strongly to create a more

efficient, sustainable and less-polluted environment, to encourage

world best practice design and installation, and to stand for solar and

renewable excellence."

“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.”

Advertisers Index

Blue Sun Group 22-25

Bosch 3

EnaSolar Ltd 15

Green Energy Trading 48

IMACA Pty Ltd (Neopower) 45

Infinity Solar 27

NHP Electrical 31

Power Pioneer Group / SUNGROW 17

RA Power 11

REFUsol 33

RM Solar & Electrical Pty Ltd 35

Si Clean Energy inside back cover

SMA Australia Pty. Ltd back cover

SOLCO inside front cover

Solpac Solutions 41

SunWIZ 9

Trina Solar Ltd 7

Urban Group Energy 5

Vulcan Energy (Solace) 43

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Pty LtdNextGen SolutionsNu EnergyOceania Solar Holdings

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www.SMA-Bonus.com/en

SMA Bonus ProgrammeSMA Solar Technology AG has extended its rewards programme to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. The SMA Bonus Programme is available to any person or company that installs SMA inverters for the end customer. It’s free of charge and easy to register at www.SMA-Bonus.com.

Inverters can be registered online or on the go, via the SMA Sunny Dots application for Apple and Android platforms. There is a Sunny Dots QR code on the side of every new SMA string inverter and the installer will receive 10 bonus points per kilowatt of inverter power. There is something for everyone in the Rewards Shop, with gifts beginning at 300 points.

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