Solar Progress Autumn 2012

Thermal storage gets more solar on the gridCSP and PV for all times and seasons

ASI, CSIRO, UNSW and project partnersResearch tour de force

Solar SmorgasbordHimin cooks up a solar banquet

The Official JOurnal Of The AustrAliAn solAr EnErgy sociEty

05/12Autumn

iSSn: 0729-6436

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THE FUTURE OF SOLAR TECHNOLOGY

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SMA-Australia.com.au1800 SMA AUS

2 | AUTUMN 2012

Bill Parker Editor

John Grimes Chief Executive, Australian Solar Energy Society

A differentiAl feed in tAriff in WA’s outbAckIn what is a first for Australian utilities, Horizon Power in Western

Australia will introduce a differentiated feed in tariff for its 100,000

residential customers and 9000 businesses on July 1. The rates offered are

dependant on the location and the local cost of electricity production; in

Meekatharra (once famous for its solar thermal power station) the rate

offered is 50cents/kWh. And in towns close to the Lake Argyle hydro

station, the rate is 16cents/kWh. Horizon is providing an incentive to

householders and businesses to invest in distributed generation. Clearly

this approach is applicable across all of outback and remote Australia and

offers more than just an offset for high demand for electricity during the

day. At its basic level, capital costs are avoided, like they were at Magnetic

Island in Queensland when a new undersea power cable was avoided by

installing more PV for power supplies on the ‘solar city’ island.

Energy policy in WA has driven a different approach. The ‘Uniform

Tariff’ was intended to avoid disadvantaging rural people by setting one

electricity tariff for all across the state. Time to reconsider.

The other less obvious value (to the public) of Horizon’s innovation

is the opportunity it creates for development of new engineering

approaches to solar, and both Horizon and Western Power have engineers

working on the integration of distributed energy. Start modestly and learn

from the experience.

AustrAliA’s lArgest PV fArm tAkes Another steP forWArdFirst Solar has under construction a 10MW solar farm south east of

Geraldton at the northern tip of the WA’s integrated grid (covering the

south west corner of the state). The plant will offset the demand of a

desalination plant at Binningup, south of Perth. This, Australia’s first

utility scale PV project, is watershed for the technology and the industry.

Financed by the WA state government owned Verve Energy, GE finance,

and money from the Royalties for Regions program, the project is

debt free.

Bill Parker

the AustrAliA chinA solAr PArtnershiPIn early April I returned from a 12 day trip to China, visiting 11 cities and

meeting with more than 50 companies, travelling 4000 kilometres by rail

and road.

What became clear to me is that we have an outdated view of the

Chinese economy, are ignorant of the connections that already exist

between solar in Australia and China, and are oblivious to the opportunities

that lie ahead.

China has made a strategic investment in solar. China is now the solar

superpower in manufacturing and will soon emerge as the largest solar

market on the globe. Seven of the top ten solar PV manufacturers are now

Chinese companies. This competition has helped drive down the cost of PV

modules by more than 60 per cent over the past three years, sending PV

closer to parity than ever before. In these top tier companies I saw brand

new manufacturing lines, high quality panels and genuine competition

between the various manufacturers.

China forecasts that it will reach grid parity for industrial users by 2014;

and for residential users by 2017. By this point, China is expecting to have

more than 100 gigawatts of installed solar capacity. The dramatic change

in the economics of solar is a game-changing outcome with profound

implications for Australia. It may well be the driver that enables Australia

to meet the International Energy Agency’s projection of five per cent of

Australia’s electricity coming from solar by 2020.

China’s solar story has an Australian heart. Everywhere I went in China, I

met Aussies. In almost every company I visited, their Chinese leaders were

trained in Australia.Not just in companies like Suntech, which claim to be

Chinese-Australian companies, but also in Trina, JA Solar, Yingli, Sunergy,

Hanwha, LDK, Jinko and many others.

There is a fantastic basis of good will between our respective solar

sectors, and we should be doing more to advance the interests of both

countries in this important sector. But the Chinese remain puzzled to

why Australia does not have a strong solar industry. I confessed I too was

puzzled, but I am confident we are closer to solving that puzzle, and are

beginning to meet our potential as the sunburnt country.

John GrimesPrinted using fSc® mixed source certified fibre by Printgraphics Pty ltd under iSO 14001 environmental certification.

12

Contents

4 3446

Solar societyreview of solar landscape by AuSES

CEO and Solar Progress Editor 2

AuSES state branch reports 42

East solar expo and Conference 47

Auses membership 48

Technical cornerGlen Morris explains grid voltages and inverter output 36

News and viewsTechnical and political solar developments 4

hot water at your service,

by Giles Parkinson 29

The world of distributed energy according

to Nigel Morris 32

Wayne Smith discusses renewable energy targets 40

Solar developmentsthermal storage on the grid, by NREL 8

real world PV testing: ASI funded

CSIRO research 11

Himin’s solar cooking tubes 24

High-performance, cost-effective cells: a high-level undertaking 26

Adelaide solar city sets a shining example 38

Special featuresJanis Birkeland examines building ratings 16

Solar plants and wind turbines –

re resources across Australia 20

smart grids, smart move: SMA well

positioned in the market 22

Affordable solar architecture, by

Tobias Danielmeyer 34

16

8

Front cover: ‘Sunny disposition’Hope and joy radiate from young Pip’s face, but what sort of a clean energy future awaits his generation and those beyond?This issue of Solar Progress reviews a diverse and powerful range of solar energy developments that help lay the foundation for a cleaner, greener economy.

Our thanks to Glen Morris for the image of his son amid sunflowers on the banks of Europe’s Blue Danube.

ediTOr

dr Bill Parker, auSeS

Phone: 0403 583 676

[email protected]

cOnTriBuTOrS: Janis Birkeland, Tobias

danielmeyer, chao lin, Glen Morris,

nigel Morris, Giles Parkinson, Bill Scanlon

and Wayne Smith.

cOnTriBuTinG ediTOr

nicola card

naTiOnal SaleS ManaGer

Brian rault Phone: 03 8534 5014

[email protected]

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.

4 | AUTUMN 2012

Go AUSSie, Go - Silex SySTeMS JOinS The ranKS Of BiG SOlarOperations are in full swing at the Solar Systems’

Bridgewater test facility, which is proudly touted

as Australia’s largest concentrating photovoltaic

(CPV) power station.

Located in central Victoria, the 500 kilowatt

grid-connected facility will be used for the

demonstration and testing of Solar Systems’

proprietary ‘Dense Array’ CPV solar conversion

system.

Solar Systems is the wholly owned

subsidiary of Silex Systems, whose CEO

Dr Michael Goldsworthy was pleased to

announce the successful commissioning of

the eight dish systems (pictured). He explained

that the remaining eight dishes are to be

brought online progressively and the special

technology used at the facility “is expected

to provide very low cost electricity from large

utility-scale solar power stations”.

The Bridgewater facility received financial

support from the Federal Government and the

Victorian State Government.

In further ‘big picture’ developments,

Solar Systems is constructing a larger CPV

Solar Power Station in Mildura, Victoria’s

north west, and is eyeing up opportunities

for additional large-scale solar power

stations in key offshore markets, including

the USA and the Middle East.

On a related matter, Solar Systems has

been awarded a $2 million ASI grant for

the development of high efficiency Multi-

Junction Solar Cells on low cost large area

silicon substrates. Goldsworthy says this

has the potential to slash the cost of energy

production from CPV technologies by as

much as 20%.

Silex Systems – definitely the one

to watch.

International bUSiNeSS In March the three Australian based directors

of the International Solar Energy Society,

monica oliphant (ISES Immediate Past

President), steve blume (Vice President Public

Affairs) and John grimes travelled to Freiburg

in Germany and met with around 15 other

global directors to help set the priorities for

ISES for the coming year.

AuSES believes ISES can play an extremely

important role by becoming the global voice

of solar.

“Our vision for ISES is as a modern,

responsive organisation, focused on member’s

needs,” John Grimes said. “We will travel to

Colorado in May and will again put the case

strongly for a dynamic, responsive ISES.”

Making news

Image caption:

Vale Warren Bonython Warren was a visionary and a great

environmental activist. He was always

interested in and supportive of solar energy

and was instrumental in establishing the

SA branch of the Australian Solar Energy

Society in 1963. The society is greatly

appreciative of his input.

Solar beauty emerges at Bridgewater

6 | AUTUMN 2012

Making news

SOLAR booSTSAustralia’s solar industry recently received

a boost with $12 million channelled into

The Australian Solar Institute (ASI) Round

3 funding to accelerate solar energy

technology development.

The funding was announced by Minister for

Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson during

a visit to Sydney’s Silanna Semiconductor

Pty Ltd, which, as ASI Executive Director

Mark Twidell explained, has used ASI

funding matched with its own investment to

demonstrate efficiency improvements to help

reduce the cost of solar technology.

“It is a great example of how ASI is able to

assist Australian manufacturing companies to

diversify and drive innovation in photovoltaic

technology,” he said. “Silanna’s innovations,

when commercialised, will be suitable for

concentrating photovoltaic applications

including power plants and spacecraft.”

ASI Investment Director Olivia Coldrey

explained that the ASI funding will cover an

“exciting, diverse range of solar technologies,

particularly concentrating solar power

technologies [and] includes $1.6 million for

CSIRO to develop solar hybrid fuels and almost

$500,000 for BlueScope Steel Limited to

collaborate with German researchers to develop

thin-film solar cells which can be integrated

into buildings.”

All up $2.3 million has been committed

to projects funded under the Australia-

Germany Collaborative Solar Research and

Development Program in a bid to accelerate the

commercialisation of solar technologies.

The ASI is also announcing support for

eleven PhD Scholars and seven Postdoctoral

Fellows for the next three years, on top of

eight early and mid career researchers

already announced.

ASI investments in solar technologies have

a total leveraged portfolio value of almost

$260 million.

www.australiansolarinstitute.com.au

Coping with intermittency

intermittency is described as potentially one of the biggest hurdles to the successful adoption of large scale solar energy in Australia and the world. Now, CSiRo has partnered with Australian energy Market operator and energy Networks Association to conduct a world first study on intermittency, and is one step closer to ensuring this is a “manageable variable rather than a daunting unknown”.

Read more about this vital study in

winter Solar Progress.

Successful fUNd RAiSeRAustralian “clean-tech” company Dyesol

Limited has raised $5 million through take-up

by shareholders of the recent Share Purchase

Plan (with approximately $3.9 million of

proceeds) and a supplementary placement to

sophisticated investors (1.1 million in shares

at 18 cents per share). The total number of

shares to be issued will be approximately

27.78 million.

Dyesol Chairman Richard Caldwell (pictured)

says the company looks forward to reporting

“exciting developments in our world-class

partner projects”.

Dyesol is a global supplier of Dye Solar Cell

(DSC) and supplies photovoltaic enabling

technology and materials to manufacturers

seeking to value-add photovoltaic capability

into their products, such as glass building

façade or steel roofing products.

DSC is a third generation photovoltaic

technology enabling metal, glass and

polymeric based products in the building,

transport and electronics sectors to generate

clean electricity and improve energy efficiency.

DSC is a biomimetic nanotechnology which

mimics the natural process of photosynthesis

to generate energy from sunlight. Special

advantages of DSC technology are good

performance in shade, haze/pollution, vertical

installation, and at dawn and dusk, ie “real

world” solar conditions.

Above: Dyesol Chairman Richard CaldwellLeft: The world's biggest DSC

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 | AUTUMN 2012

Here, Bill Scanlon from NReL in Colorado relates how two differing technologies can complement each other. A story from the USA but equally relevant in Australia.

it’s 4:45 on a sweltering summer afternoon, and the rooftop solar panels are

starting to lose juice. The sun’s lower angles

and that huge tree are interfering with the

efficient photon-to-electricity transfer.

What is an environmentally conscious — but

air-conditioning-loving — homeowner to do?

Peak demand for electricity in the United States

typically hits between 4pm and 8pm, which

doesn’t quite line up with the sun’s schedule.

It’s fortunate that the sun is high in the

sky during many of the hours when the air

conditioning is in demand. But in summer,

people tend to need air conditioning during

the dinner hour and beyond, when kitchen

appliances are whirring, lights are on, and TVs

are blaring.

To the rescue comes concentrating solar

power (CSP), a technology being tested and

deployed by utilities in America’s deserts and in

southern Spain.

New analysis at the US Department of

Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) has found that CSP, with

its greater grid flexibility and ability to store

energy for as long as 15 hours, can enhance

total solar power generation and actually give

photovoltaic (PV) systems a greater presence on

the grid.

PV panels generate electricity — and are

grabbing real estate on rooftops across the

Americas, Europe, and Asia.

CSP technologies use mirrors to

convert thermal energy to drive turbines

that produce electricity.

Thermal storage can even out the bumpsLike Edison and Tesla or Dempsey and Tunney,

the two major solar energy technologies never

meant to play nice. Each had its niche — and

its dreams of market share.

But that’s changing, said NREL

analyst Paul Denholm, co-author with

Mark Mehos of the study Enabling Greater

Penetration of Solar Power via use of CSP with

Thermal Energy Storage .

Think of power from PV as a roller coaster

of highs and lows, and power from CSP, via

thermal energy storage, as a gently rolling train.

PV panels and wind turbines contribute

electricity to the grid, but without the ability to

store that power, they cannot supply the grid

after the sun sets, or after the wind dies. Even

passing clouds can cause drops in the amount

of solar energy that gets on the grid.

Large fossil-fuelled power plants can’t be

quickly stopped or started to accommodate

variable energy sources.

CSP can even out these ebbs and flows

because it can store power and ramp up

output when the amount of direct wind or

solar power drops.

Solar developments

Thermal storage gets more solar on the grid

Crews work around the clock installing mirrored parabolic trough collectors — built on site — that will cover three square miles at Abengoa’s Solana Plant. When finished, the plant will generate 280 megawatts of clean, sustainable power.

“The cost of PV has been plummeting, and it has a cost advantage over CSP. But CSP has the advantage of storage, and so teamed with PV can improve the benefits and bottom lines of both technologies.”

Grid flexibility is the key“It all gets down to grid flexibility,” Denholm said. “What sets of grid

technologies do you deploy to make the grid respond faster and over a

greater range to the input of variable energy such as solar and wind?

“If you can’t respond quickly, you end up potentially throwing away

wind and solar energy. We know that the more wind and solar you add to

the grid, the harder it is to balance the grid and maintain reliability.

“When a cloud passes over a PV panel, the drop in energy production

is immediate. But because of the 10 or 15 minutes of thermal inertia, a

cloud passing over a CSP tower doesn’t cause this immediate drop. Nor is

there the immediate surge when sunlight returns.

“The change is more gradual,” Denholm said. “That’s one reason CSP

can bring a greater quality to the grid.”

Still, the greater potential for CSP — and for CSP helping PV to expand

its role on the grid — is its capacity to store the energy it captures from

the sun for several hours, making it a source of reliable energy after the

sun sets.

“CSP can fill in that gap in the evening when there’s peak demand for

electricity,” Denholm said. “Together, the solar resource can provide all

that peak demand. And together they can reduce or eliminate the need to

build new power plants for those peak periods.”

Light is reflected in a 25-foot-wide, 500-foot-long, and 10-foot-high parabolic trough collector at Abengoa’s Solana Plant.

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10 | AUTUMN 2012

Molten salts a low-cost solutionThermal energy storage at CSP plants

“is low-cost because it’s not exotic,”

Denholm said. “It’s large tanks with

salt to store energy before you use it

to boil the water.”

NREL’s Greg Glatzmaier believes

the best medium for storage available

today is molten salt.

The salts are abundant and not

very costly. They work well at the high

temperature needed in a CSP plant —

about 565°C.

At a typical molten-salt CSP plant,

the salts are stored in two tanks, one

much hotter than the other.

The molten salts used for storage

are a mix of sodium nitrate and

potassium nitrate. Sodium nitrate

is mined in Chile, in surroundings

similar to the Utah salt flats.

Potassium nitrate also occurs

in nature and is mined in Chile,

Ethiopia, and elsewhere.

Plants with storage in Spain, Nevada, Arizona and CaliforniaAbengoa Solar is building a

250-megawatt CSP plant near Gila

Bend in Arizona that will cover 1900

acres and use 900,000 mirrors to

direct sunlight to heat a working

fluid inside its tubes. The plant’s six

hours of thermal storage mean it can

deliver electricity after the sun sets to

approximately 70,000 homes.

The 19.9MW power tower run

by Gemasolar in southern Spain is

configured to store enough energy

during the summer to provide solar-

generated electricity 24 hours a day,

Glatzmaier said. In the winter, when

there’s less sunshine, electricity comes

from more conventional sources a

few hours each day. The system aims

to power 25,000 homes and reduce

carbon dioxide emissions by more

than 30,000 tons a year.

SolarReserve is building the

110-megawatt Crescent Dunes Solar

Energy Project near Tonopah, Nevada,

which will use molten salt to store

the sun’s energy as heat for several

hours. It will include more than

17,000 mirrors to focus the sun’s

light on a tower 640 feet high.

BrightSource is building an even

larger CSP project in the Mojave

Desert at Ivanpah that will have

storage for just a couple of hours

a day — but this will be enough to

serve more than 140,000 homes

during peak hours. Company

executives say the plant will reduce

carbon dioxide emissions by more

than 400,000 tons per year.

(Editor’s note: read more about Ivanpah in

the Spring 2011 issue of Solar Progress.)

PV/CSP symbiosis makes economic senseThe cost of PV has been plummeting,

and it has a cost advantage over

CSP. But CSP has the advantage of

storage, and so teamed with PV can

improve the benefits and bottom

lines of both technologies.

Storage does raise the price of

a CSP plant, but “if you’re running

your turbine more hours in a day,

you’re amortizing your turbine cost

over more generation time, and

there’s a real cost benefit there,”

Glatzmaier explained.

The bottom line: when storage is

added to a CSP plant, it increases

the value of its electricity — both its

energy value and its capacity value.

Other thermal storage

technologies being investigated by

researchers include phase-change or

thermal-chemical storage.

Denholm and Mehos caution

that the preliminary analysis in their

study will require more advanced

grid simulations to verify the

actual ability of CSP to help wind

and PV gain a larger presence on

the grid. An important next step,

they say, would be more complete

simulations using utility-grade

software.

That will answer questions on

the realistic performance of the

generation fleet, transmission

constraints, and actual CSP

operations.

This abridged version is used with

kind permission of NREL. The paper

can be read in full at

www.nrel.gov/news/features/

feature_detail.cfm/feature_id=1788

Bill Scanlon is a writer with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

All images courtesy of Dennis Schroeder

The tanks that hold the molten salts at

Abengoa’s Solana Plant are enormous. The salts

can keep the solar-heated fluids very hot

for several hours, so they can be transferred to turbines to produce

electricity even when the sun isn’t shining.

Solar developments

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12 | AUTUMN 2012

Solar developments

Real worldSomeone recently posed a question about the value of spending research

money on understanding photovoltaic performance rather than devoting all

efforts to improving that performance.

The carefully worded response delivered by Dr Chris Fell, Research

Group Leader, CSIRO, covered the limitations of PV certification

conducted in laboratories (using the 25°C standard) in predicting actual

output, with higher panel temperatures actually decreasing the efficiency

of silicon cells. Other matters impact on the output of a PV system –

and when multiplied over a large scale installation the uncertainty is

magnified, with small errors putting large dents in potential earnings.

The performance anomaly is a topic close to Dr Fell’s heart as he is

currently leading a small team of researchers in the ASI funded project:

Improving translation models for predicting the energy yield of PV power systems.

This project that is part of the US-Australia Solar Energy Collaboration

Foundation Project and part funded by the ASI, aims to reduce risk

for large-scale PV plants by investigating the relationship between a

manufacturer’s power rating for solar panels and the energy those panels

generate over time.

In short, deliver and drive benefits through greater certainty.

Variables in cell performance Dr Fell explained that the energy yield of a PV system extends beyond

just the temperature response; variables include the intensity of the

sunlight, angle of the sun’s rays to the PV cells, and the spectrum (colour

mix) of the sunlight. “The yield of a PV system is also constrained by the

characteristics of the array, such as panel mismatch, line losses and the

efficiency of conversion to AC,” he said.

No stone will be left unturned in the project.

To optimise impact, the project will seek to study, compare and

contrast the outdoor performance of all the major PV technologies on the

market, including monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon,

cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide.

“We hope to also provide comment on the outdoor performance of

emerging technologies such as organic solar cells and dye-sensitised solar

cells, placed in the context of the existing technologies,” Dr Fell said.

The collaborative venture involves systematic laboratory measurements

of the fundamental performance of different PV technology types to

changes in irradiance, temperature and spectral composition. These

experiments will be conducted at the NREL in the USA, involving a state-

of-the-art spectrally selective solar simulator not available in Australia,

allowing a true scientific study of the energy yield for the different

technology types, and the impact of the device parameters measured

at NREL.

Left: Grounds for development

PV testing

“The resulting reduction in risk

will also help to attract large-scale

investment, driving economies of

scale and a flow-on reduction in costs.

Through this process, widespread

grid parity by mid-decade is a very

high probability.”

A CSiRo research team is on a mission to boost knowledge of solar PV panel performance under real-world conditions,

thanks to ASi funding. Among the many benefits delivered

by a greater degree of certainty would be more and larger PV projects. As told to

Nicola Card.

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14 | AUTUMN 2012

ASI/USASEC project

Central to the project is research under

Australian conditions delivered via covariate

analysis of data from 19 PV systems operating

for the past five years at the Desert Knowledge

Australia Solar Centre in Alice Springs. The

analysis will incorporate a comparison of

different software packages for predicting PV

energy yield, and results will be compared with

the output of commercial scale systems.

Complementing this will be a purpose-built

outdoor testing facility capable of current-

voltage sweeps of individual commercial-scale

PV panels, which sidesteps the complexity of

array-level performance.

Unique outdoor test facilityCommissioned at the half-way point (12

months), the facility will be constructed on land

at the CSIRO Energy Centre in Newcastle, and

will have the capacity for ongoing, automated

testing of 120 commercial PV modules.

Unlike other facilities around Australia,

the panels at CSIRO will not be connected

into arrays, but tested independently, which

allows their performance to be linked to the

fundamental properties of the technology used,

without the complicating additional losses that

are experienced when modules are connected

into systems.

These fundamental properties include the

response of the solar panels to changes in

temperature, as well as to changes in the

irradiance (brightness) and spectrum (colour) of

the sunlight, and also to whether the sunlight is

direct or diffuse.

“Our testing facility will provide rapid,

automated I-V (current-voltage) testing of

commercial scale modules, with concurrent

monitoring of module temperature, plus very

accurate monitoring of solar irradiance and

spectrum,” Fell explained. “There is no other

facility in Australia with this capability.

“The large outdoor test facility will ultimately

be a valuable asset to our development of new

Our thanks to Olaf Theden for this image

Above: Making way for the future low-cost PV technologies, because it will enable

controlled studies of the energy yield and the

durability of the devices, in direct comparison

with commercially available PV modules.

“Hence the importance of our research:

A good standard method for energy yield

prediction will help consumers understand what

they are buying, prevent manufacturers from

making unrealistic claims about the performance

of their panels, and help Government direct

research funds to technologies that can bring

the most benefit,” Fell said.

“The resulting reduction in risk will also

help to attract large-scale investment, driving

economies of scale and a flow-on reduction in

costs. Through this process, widespread grid

parity by mid-decade is a very high probability.”

Spin offs One of the project’s aims is participation in

development of Australian and international

standards for in-field PV performance predictions.

“We intend to engage with the working

group that develops and maintains IEC60891,

which is the international standard that

underpins predictions of solar cell performance

in the real world,” Dr Fell explained. “The

result may be that we influence changes

in the standard, or at the very least gain a

better understanding of its strengths and

weaknesses.”

With this in mind - and the scope of the

research - we can only conclude that the

project outcomes will lend new meaning to the

saying ‘knowledge is power’.

Dr Chris Fell has been involved in Australian photovoltaics research for 12 years. Since 2006 he has led the Photovoltaics Team at CSIRO’s National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle, focusing on the design and characterisation of new device architectures for low-cost solar cells.

Potential hiccups

Given the variables delivered by

the elements, one question that

is sometimes levelled at dr fell

relates to the impact of weather

and soiling on cell performance

outdoors. “Soiling is definitely

a problem that we’ll need to

manage”, he said. “dust is the

primary source of soiling on an

inland system. our partners at

desert Knowledge Australia will

manage that. Salt in the air can

also be a problem for systems very

close to the ocean. if we don’t get

enough rain we’ll manage it by

rinsing the modules in our field,

but at six kilometres from the

ocean i don’t anticipate this will

be a significant issue. birds are

a problem everywhere. The only

solution for a test facility like ours

is regular inspection and remedial

cleaning and running dust, no-

dust comparsions.”

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16 | AUTUMN 2012

Special Feature

in this second in a series of articles on building design and assessment tools for optimum build, Janis Birkeland examines the rating tools for ‘green’ buildings and concludes that a series of important features are excluded in the final count.

rating tools and point systems have increased

market demand for green buildings. However, to obtain

acceptance of rating systems, green buildings merely had to

do better than average. The strategy to ratchet standards

up over time was sound. However, like building codes, these

tools were based on unsustainable building conventions.

Moreover, the costs of certification applied to green buildings,

not ordinary ones. The tools therefore embed these and

many other biases that may become enshrined in regulations.

The need for open systems thinkingAssessment tools derived from those applied to primary

industries, where net positive impacts are harder to imagine.

The tools took typical unsustainable buildings as a given and

looked to ways to mitigate impacts through reductionist

‘closed systems’ analyses. Closed engineering systems are

good at many things, but not at dealing with the infinite

value and potential total collapse of nature. Eco-positive

design is about open systems thinking. It looks for ways to

increase synergies, benefits, and nature.

Many tools count an increase in water consumption as

a ‘gain’ if a new building uses less water than typical ones.

Even a savings of 50% can be a dramatic increase in total

water consumption. The latent assumption that buildings

can only be ecologically negative has meant ‘reductions in

negatives’ are regarded as positive. If we deduct ‘reductions

in negative impacts’ from negative impacts and then deduct

that total from the positive impacts, eco-positive buildings

would score higher than ‘green’ ones.

Sustainability does not mean ‘downsizing to zero’ which

is the essence of economic rationalism. Zero waste does

not protect specific critical ecosystems or increase ecological

carrying capacity, both of which are necessary for biophysical

sustainability. Before ‘sustainability’ was converted into an

economic framework, it meant increasing life quality ‘within

ecological carrying capacity’. It is now too late for this weak

approach. Development must increase the life support

system just to support existing populations.

Innovation is not encouragedSingle-function spaces and structures seemed ‘efficient’,

from a reductionist viewpoint. But they often create a waste

of space and materials in relation to total functions. Social

and ecological functions can share space and support each

other. Green roofs, for example, provide over two dozen

benefits, but they usually only count as one. Some rating

tools isolate ‘innovation’ in a separate category, or give

credit for applying an old innovation to a new situation.

They do not encourage innovation.

Biases in Building Assessment Tools

SolarProgress | 17

“Tools should value

‘ecological space’ and

structures that produce

clean energy, water, air,

soil and food and other

eco-services.”

Most development is ecologically irreversible

and thus cuts off future options. Many assume

that long-lasting buildings amortize their

impacts over their life cycle, but this does

not actually reduce impacts. Denser, more

durable urban environments, may last a bit

longer and reduce some impacts, like car

usage, but they can create other externalities

and reduce adaptability. A building that can

be altered should rate better than a brittle

building that is likely to be demolished to

accommodate change.

Tools tend to limit responsibility to things

that are predictable. Emergencies are not

avoided by risk-benefit analysis or climate

predictions. When survivors die after a flood,

fire or earthquake, due to a lack of access to the

means of survival, it is a result of development,

not nature. Retrofitting cities for solar energy

can also simultaneously reduce the risks of fire,

flood, earthquake damage, and increase and

distribute life support systems for emergencies

as well as environmental amenity.

Most life cycle assessments and rating

tools award predictions, not performance.

Consequently, it is easier to use products for

which data are available. However, this data

was derived from industrial sources to foster

industrial growth, not ecological growth.

In built environments, many toxic industrial

materials and systems can be avoided by

using more ‘natural’ alternatives. Most passive

systems are easily modified after construction.

We cannot trace the extent of bio-

accumulating impacts on myriad immune

systems and genes in different species over

generations. Thus, we exclude complexities

by drawing system boundaries. Yet ironically,

few assessment tools count natural elements,

because the exact degree of positivity cannot be

reduced to a number. Yet the positive effects of

healthy plants upon immune systems need not

be measured. Singapore simply exempts green

roofs from floor area restrictions, which greatly

reduces administrative costs.

Measuring the air and waterThere are often alternative forms of

measurement that do not fit into existing

assessment methods and are thus forgotten,

while the inability to measure things is used as

an excuse. For example, we waited until there

were accurate ways to predict sequestration in

trees before counting them, when we could

measure upwind and downwind CO2 levels

across cities. We can also measure if the air and

water comes out of a building healthier than it

entered and, if not, require retrofits.

Because tools were designed for owners and

consultants, they do not provide incentives to

address existing urban deficiencies. Developments

often score better if on a brownfield site or near

public transport. Such incidental (non-design)

factors are often used to allow additional negative

impacts, such as an increase in allowable floor area.

Offsetting is not bad, but only unavoidable impacts

should be offset, and they should only count as a

‘reduction in negative impacts’, not a positive gain.

To facilitate measurement, living things are

represented as inanimate elements and often

reduced to one kind of unit, such as energy.

Even eco-services are usually reduced to separate

units of money, energy or carbon. Units cannot

capture the value of interconnected living

beings, and thus subliminally equate nature with

lifeless matter. Nature is seen as a resource to

be optimised, not something to be increased.

Human survival is threatened by biodiversity

losses, yet few tools consider nature.

The alternative To encourage design that makes everyone better

off and increases positive future options, tools

should value ‘ecological space’ and structures

that produce clean energy, water, air, soil and

food and other eco-services.

Dr Janis Birkeland is Professor of Sustainable Design at the School of Architecture and Planning, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

The author welcomes critique and debate:

[email protected]

PArt threeIn the final part of this series the author will

present alternative metrics to encourage

eco-positive design.

“Units cannot capture the value of interconnected living beings, and thus subliminally equate nature with lifeless matter. Nature is seen as a resource to be optimised, not something to be increased. Human survival is threatened by biodiversity losses, yet few tools consider nature.”

the 60l building in melbourne is an example of recycling (two old 1870s buildings re-used). the concept was developed by the Australian conservation foundation (Acf) in the late 1990s; the Acf owns and occupies the present day building, along with several other related organisations.

60l key data: • only 30% of typical energy

consumption• only 20% of typical water

consumption• structure had significant use of

re-used, recycled and recyclable materials.

• minimal output discharged to sewers

• PV system • Zero greenhouse gas emissions.• no onsite car parking, cycling

and public transport usage encouraged.

More information can be found at www.acfonline.org.au/60L

further information about energy rating tools:

Australian building codes board: www.abcb.gov.au

bAsiX: www.basix.nsw.gov.au

bers Pro: www.solarlogic.co

firstrate: www.sustainability.vic.gov.au

nathers: www.nathers.gov.au

Windows energy rating scheme www.wers.net

Special Feature

All images of 60L kindly supplied by the Australian Conservation Foundation

Innovative Renewable Energy Systems

www.bluesun-group.com

With the aim of uncompromising quality and continuity of supply. Blue Sun Group designed its own photovoltaic modules and invested in the construction of a new photovoltaic factory in Shenzen China to produce the modules.

The Blue Sun factory currently employs 170 people, including 120 factory workers, 50 office 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.

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.

Blue Sun Group Pty Ltd is an Australian owned company

with its head office 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 in China.

Blue Sun Group Photovoltaic Modules

Monocrystalline Modules

CEC Approved 80W to 250W

Polycrystalline Modules

CEC Approved 200W to 300W

Blue Sun Group

Unit 1, 68 Northlink Place, Virginia QLD 4014

Phone: 1300 326 688 Phone: 07 3266 8668

Email: [email protected]

We use and recommend

» Australian Owned Production

» Traceable Quality Control

» Continuity of Supply

» Factory Direct or Australian Supply

» Australian Backed Warranty

Smart technology

A sunny outlook for

Making anything smarter sounds like a good idea

– so how do you make poles, wires and electrons “smart”? Let’s travel

to the near future – where the grid has moved to another level of

intelligence. Autonomous, self-directed, flexible, self healing, efficient,

reliable and fully featured.

Sounds like a new iPhone App – well it may well have an App to tell

you that you should be doing your washing today as tomorrow power

prices will be trending up during the afternoon. Yes, Smart Grid is kind of

like ‘Electricity 2.0’ – interoperative, flexible and more like a mobile phone

plan crossed with Facebook - you may want to ‘friend’ your smartmeter.

Smart grids The term smart grid has been in use since at least 2005, and as Wiki

tells us “A smart grid is a digitally enabled electrical grid that gathers,

distributes, and acts on information about the behavior of all participants

(suppliers and consumers) in order to improve the efficiency, importance,

reliability, economics, and sustainability of electricity services.”

A common element to most definitions is the application of digital

processing and communications to the power grid, making data flow and

information management central to the smart grid. In the household,

digital meters that display real-time use enable customers to shut off

devices (and save money) during times of peak demand.

By 2014, the US smart grid industry is set to double its 2009 value of

about $US21.4 billion to exceed $42.8 billion; and the world market is

expected to surge from $69.3 billion in 2009 to $171.4 billion by 2014.

Meanwhile, the European Commission has set the goal of 80% of

smart meter coverage in Europe by 2020, which is an eightfold increase

on today’s rate of 10% penetration. Italy – which boasts 12 GW of

installed PV capacity – currently leads the show, with smart meters

“installed almost everywhere”. During 2013 France plans to follow the

lead by installing millions of LINKY smart meters.

The take up of smart meters in Germany is somewhat patchy, “they are

installed in some areas and there is no doubt that they will continue to be

installed across the country … however, the process appears to be taking

longer because there are several hundred utility providers across the

country,” Stefan Tait of SMA Solar Technology AG told Solar Progress.

That said, there is enormous scope for development as Germans have

embraced renewable energy like none other. In 2011, 20% of German

electricity was generated through renewable energy sources and solar

power is playing a significant role.

Germany today boasts an installed PV capacity of 25GW, and on a

sunny day at noon the nation produces more power from solar sources

than all active nuclear power plants.

smart grids

“Information flow is a key element in intelligent grids, allowing the increasing amount of intermittent energy sources (such as wind and PV) to replace base load capacity, which allows consumers to easily - and potentially automatically - adjust their consumption and save money.”

SMA’s Stefan Tait says intelligent grids are crucial to securing an efficient and sustainable energy supply for future generations. The

phenomenon is fast taking off. As told to Nicola Card

SolarProgress | 21

EMONASydneyTel 02 9519 3933Fax 02 9550 1378

MelbourneTel 03 9889 0427Fax 03 9889 0715

BrisbaneTel 07 3275 2183Fax 07 3275 2196

AdelaideTel 08 8363 5733Fax 08 8363 5799

PerthTel 08 9361 4200Fax 08 9361 4300

email [email protected] web www.emona.com.au

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The trigger for the German PV industry was the ‘1000 PV Rooftop

Program’ which was introduced in line with a growing environmental

movement after the 1989 ‘Fall of the Wall’. The 100,000 PV rooftop

program which followed in the late ‘90s led to the feed-in incentives

which further boosted the take-up of rooftop PV systems.

Tait said “It became necessary to improve the requirements for grid

connection to successfully integrate this large amount of PV, with

significant amounts of wind energy also factored in … (and) a smart

network intelligently and dynamically integrates energy generation and

demand, and seeks the most efficient way to use the available energy.

“Information flow is a key element in intelligent grids, allowing the

increasing amount of intermittent energy sources (such as wind and PV)

to replace base load capacity, which allows consumers to easily - and

potentially automatically - adjust their consumption and save money,” he

explained.

Smart move German based SMA Solar Technology AG anticipated the need for

greater control and autonomy of consumption and developed the

Sunny Home Manager.

Described as “the ideal solution for simple plant monitoring and

intelligent energy management” the smart energy manager uses

location-specific weather forecasts that support the load management

and provides information about electricity generation fed into and

bought from the grid. It considers the current electricity price, the typical

consumption profile of the household and the individually controllable

appliances and displays recommended actions for controlling loads. A

Sunny Backup system with batteries can further increase the amount of

self-consumption.

Tait says the Sunny Home Manager is “definitely a significant step

towards the smarter behaviour of the loads in the grid [as] it can use

forecasts of PV electricity production over the next one to two days and

control devices according to those estimates.”

The Sunny Home Manager will be available in Australia in 2013.

Power conditionersfor a long time, inverters were seen as devices

created simply for the conversion of dC power to

AC power; “however they can do much more by

providing major support for grid stability,” Tait says.

“inverters can provide reactive power to the grid and help

to control the voltage; they can react to changes in grid

frequency by adjusting the active output power, therefore

helping to maintain a stable frequency. Larger PV systems

can communicate via a plant controller, with generation

management features, meaning they can be tied into a

monitoring and control system.”

According to Tait the new grid codes, including

Germany’s AR-N 4105 standard for low voltage

connections or the bdeW (the German Association

of energy and Water industries) guideline for medium

voltage connections, help to define new, relevant

and very useful features for inverters.

Stefan Tait is SMA’s International Product Manager for Australia/Oceania and the UK.

22 | AUTUMN 2012

Innovation on show

SOLAR SMoRGASboRd

fancy a tin-foiled sea cucumber in snow pear? or some Chinese sweet golden steamed bread? They could

be delivered to you on a platter direct from solar powered ovens.

Chao Lin tells us all about China’s 21st century solar banquet.

in china, the use of solar technology

can be traced back by as much as one thousand

years. As the records in some historical

documents show, Chinese ancestors started

to make use of solar energy in Western Zhou

dynasty that ran from 1046 BC to 771 BC.

This story, however, is very much about the

twenty-first century.

Under the leadership of Huang Ming, Himin

Solar Co Ltd has developed several types

of solar cookers, including a series of solar

steaming, solar boiling, solar roasting, solar

stewing, and solar barbecues. The aim was to

develop a range of low-carbon products.

The T-PV CLAS Combi-system is the

representative of Himin solar cookers. (Where T:

thermal, PV: photovoltaic, CLAS: “cook light”.)

Himin’s tech specsThe Himin system adopts a triple solar

concentrating technology which collects

the sunshine from all directions, using the

combination of a trough reflector, a Himin-

patented vacuum tube , and PV panels. Made

of parabolic columnar aluminum, the trough

reflector is a highly efficient solar concentrator.

PV panels on both sides of the cooker ensure

the supply of electrical power for sunlight

tracking and cool lighting in the evening.

The auto tracking system uses photosensitive

resistance. The central control system, which

integrates experimental data of solar cuisine,

namely solar radiation, time, and food category,

facilitates control of the barbecue.

Above:As the deputy to the people’s congress, Huang Ming (in green jacket)

explains the system’s operation to journalists in Beijing during the 2012

National People’s Congress.

Right: Solar barbecue—tin-foiled sea cucumber in snow pear

SolarProgress | 23

SOLAR SMoRGASboRd

Huang Ming, Board Chairman of Himin Solar Energy GroupHuang Ming believes that that nuclear ‘has to be

stopped’ and that solar is the solution. With a goal

to make solar systems for heating and cooling

popular in China, he says China could become a

low or even zero carbon society. He is well placed to

effect major change.

The multi-award winning Huang Ming established

and runs the company Himin Solar in Dezhou City,

aka ‘Solar Valley’ which is a national and global

example for solar as a realistic alternative to fossil

and nuclear energy and rising CO2 emissions. Himin

produces all-glass vacuum tubes, PV lighting, solar-

thermal high-temperature power generation, solar

architecture, and solar water heaters. Huang Ming

also conducts research into biomass, and started

producing and selling three-layer windows which

provide better insulation. He also plans to begin

offering comprehensive concepts for housing and

offices (architecture, insulation, windows, hot water,

electricity).

Sometimes referred to as the pioneer of China’s

clean energy industry, Huang proposed the Law

on Renewable Energy, which came into effect on

January 1, 2006. He now advocates the development

of solar-powered bathing facilities in rural areas

(and thus provide 100 million farmers with proper

bathing facilities).

Huang Ming is quoted as saying: “I have a

dream, a common dream of the people devoting to

renewable energy source around the world, that for

the blue sky and white cloud of the later generations,

qualified products are used to realize renewable

energy substitution. I have a dream that one day

throughout the whole world, renewable energy

sources will take the dominant position. I have a

dream that one day my entire country fellows, even

the global citizens, know about solar energy and

make full use of it. I have a dream that one day solar

industry will be as advanced as IT industry, as mature

as electric home appliances industry, and as large-

scaled and automatic as automobile industry. I have

a dream that one day the sky will be much bluer, the

water will be more limpid; our homeland will be full

of sunshine, tranquil with no war.”

himin’s Aussie connectionsBack in 1991, Dr David Mills ran the research project

with colleague Dr Zhang Q-C at the University

of Sydney that developed the double cermet

sputtered selective absorber coating now used

widely on evacuated tubes throughout China for the

production of solar hot water. Himin, the licensee in

China, now sells more than three million solar water

heating systems annually using 20 million tubes,

but the technology may be the largest scale solar

technology currently in use globally.

“As well as having a solar barbecue in the open

air, this system can be used for recharging cell

phones, amplifiers, and laptop, if desired.”

A panel of control settings enables the

cooker to operate according to the food being

prepared, whether it is toast, vegetables, fish or

meat etc. And the design does more than one

might expect.

Multi-tasking solarAs well as having a solar barbecue in the open

air, this system can be used for recharging cell

phones, amplifiers, and laptop, if desired.

The system incorporates Himin’s new

170mm vacuum tube, while the traditional

one is about 45mm. The vacuum tube,

made of high borosilicate glass, can reach a

temperature of 200ºC with a factor of solar

concentrating of ten. The automatic system

can analyse the sun-earth relationship precisely

for the location where the cooker is being

used, ensuring a higher efficiency of solar

energy usage.

In developing the cooker, the temperature

required to cook different foods was the subject

of many experiments, and overcooking food due

to the high efficiency of the solar concentration

was also a waste of energy. Finally, engineers

added an extra baking oven on the top of the

cooker as a secondary cooking space.

Using a heat circulation system, extra heat

produced by the first cooking space is reused by

the oven on the top, which permits dual food

preparation.

Convenience and safety of operation are key

important factors for designers. The PV sun

tracking system and the protective grid outside the

vacuum tube were added as a result of many trials

to protect the user. Innovation is very important

during the promotion of solar technologies. That

the solar cooker can be operated by any adult in

sunny weather will enhance the promotion of solar

applications to the public.

Above: On a field trip to Beijing, John Grimes encountered the Himin solar cooker

Albany21 MW

Nine Mile Beach

Esperance3.6 MW

Denham990 kW

Carnavon solar farm 290 kW

Carnavon (Fullerton)120 kW

Marble Bar304 kW

Nullagine203 kW

Lajamanu

Bulman56 kW

Kalkarindji402 kW

Ti Tree364 kW

Yuendumu

Kalbarri1.6 MW

Kalbarri tracking solar plant 20 kW

Walkaway (Greenough)

89 MW

Greenough River Solar Farm 10 MW

Uterne (at Alice Springs) 1 MW

Desert Knowledge Australia 201 kW

Cloncurry2.1 MW

Windy Hill – Ravenshoe

12 MW

Colgar (Merredin)206 MW

PERTH SOLAR CITY

DARWIN

ALICE SPRINGSSOLAR CITY

BLACKTOWN SOLAR CITY

Sustainable Sydney

AuSES offi ces (ACT)MORELAND

SOLAR CITY

MAGNETIC ISLAND

SOLAR CITY

Mumbida – Geraldton55 MW

Emu Downs (Cervantes)

79.2 MW

Ten Mile LagoonEsperance2.03 MW

Grasmere(Albany)13.8 MW

Denmark1.6 MW

Hermannsburg

Kings Canyon225 kW

720 kW in total

Solar Dawn – Chinchilla250 MW

Fraser Coast Community

396 kW

Dandiiri Contact Centre

400 kW

Windorah 300 kW

Kogan CreekCLFR 44 kW

Moree Solar Farm150 MW

White Cliffs45 kW

Dubbo50 kW

Queenbeyan50 kW

Ballarat Solar Park330 kWBendigo Solar Park

300 kW

Lyneham146 kW

Glen Innes54 MW

Singleton400 kW

Hampton Park1.32 MW

Blaney9.9 MW

Woodland Tarago50 MW

Crookwell4.8 MW

Gunning46.5 MW

Bungendore140 MW

Capital (ACT)

48.3 MW

Cullerin Ridge

30 MW

Bridgewater Solar Systems

500 kWWaubra192 MW

Challicum Hills

52.5 MW

Oakland Hills67.2 MW

Lake Bonney (stage 1+2+3)

278.5 MW

Starfi sh Hill56 MW

Wattle Point91 MW

Hallet Farmstotal=

350 MW

Waterloo 111 MW

Snowtown 99 MW

Coober Pedy Airport

600 kW

Ernaballa 350 kW

Clements Gap 56 MW

Mount Millar 70 MW

Cathedral Rocks 66 MW

Canunda46 MW

Wyalla CST 40 MW

Wilpena Pound

100 kW

Adelaide Showgrounds

1 MW

Portland 122 MW

Macarthur420 MW

Mount Mercer

131 MW

Woolnorth140 MW

King Island2.45 MW

Studland Bay 75 MW

Musseloroe168 MW

Wonthaggi 12 MW

Toora (Wilsons Prom) 21 MW

Australian Solar Institute (Newcastle)

CSIRO Newcastle150 kW

Liddell9 MW

Silverton1000 MW

Mildura150 MW

University of Queensland

(St.Lucia Campus)1.2 MW

ADELAIDE SOLAR CITY

Liddell CLFR1.5 MW

Alpurrulam226 kW

Crowne Plaza

305 kWAlice

Springs Airport305 kW

Alpurrulam46 kW

BRISBANE

SYDNEY METRO AREANewington 1.1 MW

Olympic Park 175 kWSydney Superdome 70 kWSydney Theatre Co. 384 kW

Johnson and Johnson 200 kW

Codrington (Port Fairy) 18.2 MW

CENTRAL VIC SOLAR CITY

Prominent Solar & Wind Installations

Note: The nation’s largest wind farms only are included on this map; many more smaller wind farms exist or are under construction.

Solar Photovoltaics Solar Thermal Wind Solar City Under Construction Solar Related

Solar

Wind

Biomass

HydroDisclaimer: This map is intended as a guide only to notable solar plants/installations and larger wind farms in Australia. Developments are constant and the publisher accepts no responsibility for any unintended inaccuracies.We welcome informed comment as the map will be updated on a regular basis for Solar Progress.

The Greening of Australia

State-by-State Photovoltaics

Renewable energy represents approximately 5.2% of total electricity supplied in Australia.Of that, hydro power dominates the scene at 63.4%, followed by wind power which stands at 22.9% and biomass at 11.5%. Solar comes in at 2.1%.Room for massive expansion. What will our map look like in ten years’ time?•Source: Wiki (2010)

NSW is estimated at 368 MWQueensland is estimated at 319 MW

Victoria is estimated at 209 MWSA is estimated at 196 MWWA is estimated at 171 MW

NT is estimated at 4 MWACT is estimated at 25 MW

PVs across Australia

total around 1301 MW(Figures as of Dec 2011)

26 | AUTUMN 2012

Highlighted during a discussion with Professor Allen Barnett was the value of building powerful, collaborative alliances for optimum benefit. over many decades the formula has proven powerful for the US PV specialist, who now brings his expertise to UNSW in leading research into new, high performance cost effective solar cells. As told to Nicola Card.

At the

CUTTING edge

Solar developments

Packing punch into PV performance

is the three-year undertaking for a group of

savvy young researchers at UNSW overseen

by a multi-award winning maestro of PV

developments. Their mission: to develop

technologies that will slash the cost of solar

power by 30% and in turn align prices

to parity or even less than those of more

traditional sources, particularly rooftop solar

power systems.

In the bid to reach their goal, the team is

combining three cutting edge technologies: a

base silicon solar cell design that boasts world

record efficiency, a novel high performance

silicon–germanium solar cell, and a new high

voltage gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP)

solar cell. All being well, they will boost

efficiencies of high performance silicon solar

cells by a mighty 40%.

Finding the right formula is foremost on the

agenda, as explained by project leader Allen

Barnett, Professor of Advanced Photovoltaics

at the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable

Energy Engineering at UNSW. “There is a single

metric that will tell us if our solution will work.

That metric is voltage,” he said. “So we expect

to demonstrate the achievement of voltages

that will indicate if this approach will work.

And that is my speciality – assessing what can

be measured early in the process and focusing

on the leveraging techniques that will provide

quantitative indications of the potential of

the design.”

Four of the team at the bench studying devices during the early stages of research

into high performance solar cells.

SolarProgress | 27

Barnett’s research team of nine PhD

students and other faculty members – “a great

combination of people who specialise in high

performance solar cells” – is working towards

demonstrating voltages greater than 1.5 Volts

with the semiconductor GaAsP grown on a

SiGe solar cell which is in turn grown on a

silicon substrate. At their disposal is highly

sophisticated, world leading PV cell test

equipment and talented researchers who are

developing new diagnostic approaches.

“Using very sophisticated tools and a four-

key-step process, we are making solar cells; we

actually design and fabricate them along with our

collaborators. Our contribution is in cell design

and test analyses and that feeds back into the

design,” he said. “We share our results and our

understanding with our partners who then carry

out some of the key crystal growth steps.

“The strength of our work is the ability to

design and develop analytical techniques that

will predict the critical paths to successful

design. A lot of time is spent in the lab

analysing and developing predictive models;

we develop predictive techniques.

“I want to develop techniques to measure

how we are doing every step of the way. For

example there may be 27 steps to make a solar

cell and you need to make sure each step is

right; I get frustrated with people who progress

to the next step without knowing if they are

on the right track. I am all about predictive

models and developing new approaches and

techniques that will guide the design.” Barnett

explained.

“I consult with others widely and have an

open mind to all ideas; I gain my energy from sharing information and pursuing and

leveraging new directions and

opportunities working with others.”

Above: PhD students Ken Schmieder and Martin Diaz holding and testing a GaAsP on Si wafer.

Bright young sparksMost of the researchers are aged between 22

and 28; a demographic that Barnett regards as

“absolutely highly aware of the need for clean

energy. Young people, this generation of young

people, they get it – they absolutely get it,” he

enthused. “Back in the late nineties it was less

fun teaching students as the culture differed

and they were more focused on financial gain,

the goal was to get a degree and go out and

make money. By contrast this generation is

back to basics, namely education and what you

can do with it; there are much higher levels of

idealism.”

A key player on the team, and newly

arrived on Australian soil, is PhD student Ken

Schmieder who caught Barnett’s attention

back in Delaware when they were writing

the project proposal. “Ken embraced the

problem and began to analyse it, and so we

began a very productive collaboration on

solving this problem to that extent he was a

major contributor to the development of the

proposal,” Barnett said.

A lifetime of experienceNot surprisingly, Barnett brings extensive

experience to the equation.

On graduation he was recruited by the

General Electric Company. Ten years later he

was invited to join the University of Delaware

as the Director of their Institute of Energy

Conversion. He subsequently became a full

time faculty member in the Department of

Electrical Engineering. For over 17 years he

28 | AUTUMN 2012

supervised 28 graduate theses. Enough to

keep most fully occupied, but Barnett sought

challenges of a higher order to fuel his relentless

pursuit of more cost effective solar cells, and

in 1983 he founded AstroPower for that very

purpose.

Speedy development and a ready market

quickly led to exponential growth.

“Initially AstroPower employed just 20

people and it was designed to be a small

product development company. We evolved

into the fourth largest manufacturer with

600 employees and a turnover of $93 million,

AstroPower was very profitable due to its cost,

market competitive products based on recycled

silicon wafers.” Barnett told Solar Progress.

In 2004 most of the company’s assets were

snapped up by GE Energy, which coincidentally

had employed Barnett on graduation in 1966 to

work on and eventually lead a program on light

emitting diode arrays. Within six short years he

had developed multiple award-winning devices.

“One product I developed at GE was a new

green light emitting diode, which gained a lot

of publicity and generated a lot of demand.

Unfortunately it only lasted 1000 hours and I

advised the company against manufacturing it.

“I recognised back then that the tools I had

were useful for predictions. I am focused on my

field – I’m not so much an expert in energy but

rather in photovoltaics and where it is headed.

Perhaps because of my education – I had some

enlightened teachers – I’ve developed a clear

vision of the future in my field.”

Today’s beneficiary is UNSW, facilitated

through the USASEC collaborative program.

However, Barnett revealed he had accepted the

position at UNSW before the USASEC project

was written.

“Dr Richard Corkish, Head of School at

SPREE, contacted me when the program

announcement was made and the topics were

listed. He encouraged me to write a proposal

for the development of a high performance top

cell on a silicon solar cell, which is why I lodged

the expression of interest.

“When originally asked, I did not think I had

a solution, the question became whether a

team could be assembled to develop a viable

solution for this problem.”

In other words, Barnett was the right man

in the right place at the right time: a happy

confluence of talent, availability and drive.

The power of collaboration Strong teamwork is clearly one of Barnett’s

many strengths, and a vital asset for dealing

with the raft of partners involved in the GaAsP

project which in itself is symbolic of the strength

of the USASEC program.

A weekly planning and communications

report is circulated to experts at the industrial

partners Veeco and AmberWave and the

University of Delaware. There is also active

communication with the other partners, Yale

University, Arizona State University and the

Colorado based National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) who will help validate test

findings relating to this new solar cell.

Recognising the strength of involving

industrial partners in effecting a solution,

Barnett is harnessing the commercial skills

of Veeco, specialist in process equipment

technologies for manufacturers of high

brightness LEDs and solar cells, and AmberWave

which invented the critical SiGe solar cell and

developed a process which enables the GaAsP

growth over it.

With characteristic fervour Barnett expressed

his delight in dealing with excellent groups with

parallel pursuits.

“I think that is what I do for a living …I am

very collaborative, I have managed groups of

20, or organsisations of 200 or more people;

I consult widely and have an open ear to all

ideas; I gain my energy from sharing information

and pursuing directions and opportunities with

others. I’ve always worked that way.”

Marketing cellsWe queried the prospect of a GaAsP dual cell

becoming mainstream.

Setting the scene, Barnett cited last year’s

industry that generated 37,000MW of power

– roughly the equivalent output of nine nuclear

plants – and $50 billion in solar module

revenues.

“So if this approach we are working on took

a 10% market share it would be a $5 billion

industry in today’s market. We do not need to be

dominant to be important,” he said.

“The natural market for solar power is

rooftops because that is where the electricity is

used. Once you decide to put a solar system on

the roof your space is limited so you want as

much power as you can get. So that is a natural

market where high performance solar cell from

this project has high value”.

“When we complete the development by

the middle or end of the second year we will

be in the early stages of commercialisation,

which is one of the reasons that we started

with commercial partners. And it is a great

relationship – all is well thus far. We will bring in

additional manufacturing partners within a year.

“We are heading right for the solar equivalent

of the home run.”

“The strength of our work is in designing

and developing quantitative analytical

techniques that will predict the critical

paths to successful design … a lot of time

is spent analysing and developing rigorous predictive models.”

Allen Barnett (in centre) leads a top team of researchers

Our thanks to Rob Largent at the UNSW SPREE program for all the team photos.

MAdE IN AUSTRALIA:bringing local solar technology home

Giles Parkinson who earlier this year established online newsletter Reneweconomy ‘Tracking the next industrial revolution’ presents a good news piece on a groundbreaking project.

At last, a potential good news story about Australian solar technology

and its ability to be developed in its home country.

The Australian Solar Institute is sponsoring a $9.6 million project to

return an Australian-developed solar thermal technology to its birthplace

and establish a manufacturing base for the product, which could

deliver highly efficient combination of electricity, heating and cooling to

industrial and commercial rooftops.

The technology is a spin-off from the Compact Linear Fresnel

Technology developed by the Australian founded Ausra, which eventually

set up shop in California after being starved of opportunities in Australia

and was ultimately sold to French nuclear giant Areva. That technology

is now proposed for the $1.2 Solar Dawn project in Chinchilla in

Queensland, and is being installed as part of a 44MW solar booster unit

at the neighbouring Kogan Creek coal-fired power station. It is also being

deployed at scale in India.

30 | AUTUMN 2012

While the utility-scale technology is no longer

in Australian hands, a rooftop version is owned

by Chromasun, a company headed by one of

the co-founders of Ausra, Peter Le Lievre, and

the IP remains Australian owned. The chief

engineer, Andrew Tanner is a University of

Sydney graduate who was founding engineer at

Ausra, and chief operating office Mikal Greaves

is also Australian.

The ASI project is designed to see if the

technology can be returned to Australia, where

a manufacturing base can be established for

deployment for the domestic market and for

export to Asia and the Middle East.

“Chromasun is still majority Australian

owned,” Le Lievre said. “We hope to keep as

much in Australian hands as long as possible.

But it is only in the last year or two that we

have we seen Australia have the right policy

settings and the right market to sustain a

company like ours.” He specifically mentions

initiatives such as the ASI funding, the carbon

price and the Clean Energy Finance Corp. “This

is very much a coming home – certainly on the

manufacturing side.”

Le Lievre says the technology is similar to the

utility-scale units – it has just been “miniaturised

and put in a box” with the help of researchers

from the ANU. Light enters the glazing of

the micro-concentrator (MCT), is reflected off

Fresnel mirror strips and is then concentrated on

the receiver.

Le Lievre says it can deliver heat of up

to 204ºC – considerably hotter than other

solar thermal systems used for residential

water – and is suitable for industrial and

commercial rooftops.

The ASI-sponsored project will be in several

stages. In one of two initial pilot projects,

its MCT units will be installed on the roof of

Echuca Hospital in Victoria, where it will be

coupled with a double-effect absorption chiller

to provide air conditioning directly

from sunlight.

Another project – on the rooftop of the

Little Creatures Brewery in WA – will combine

the MCT unit with an ammonia chiller to

simultaneously provide chilled water and heat

for boiler feedwater.

In the second phase of the project, MCT

units will be hybridised with CPV units at pilot

facilities at ANU in Canberra and the University

of Queensland in Brisbane to provide both

electricity and hot water. The first ever such

hybrid unit was installed by the company in San

Jose last December.

Le Lievre said the technology is well

established, and it was inevitable that it would

develop into a hybrid product. “The technology

is fairly straight forward and a natural extension

of the utility scale (Ausra) technology,” he said.

Editor's Note: The Winter 2011 issue of Solar Progress

also featured the MCT & CST developments at ANU

“It has the same functionality but in a

rooftop product.”

He says because the hybrid product combines

electricity production with heating and cooling,

it should work at around 75 per cent efficiency,

compared with up to 20 per cent for the best

rooftop PV panels. The ability to drive high

efficiency chillers and heat for boiler feedwater

could be useful for a range of industries such as

food, beverages, and steam laundries, as well as

energy-intensive facilities such as hospitals and

sports centres.

ANU's Dr Vernie Everett says he believes

the MCT Hybrid project represents the best

opportunity for establishing hybrid rooftop

concentrators to provide greenhouse neutral

energy independence, for homes as well as

industrial facilities. “An integrated system

comprising several MCT units can provide all the

electricity, hot water, space heating, and solar

cooling for conventional houses,” he says.

Chromasun will be working with auto-

parts group Futuris to improve the design of

the products and to use them as a contract

manufacturer.

Chromasun is currently running a small

manufacturing facility with capacity of 10MW

a year near San Jose in California, and it has

an installation in a building in Abu Dhabi. Le

Lievre said the commercial environment for the

development of technologies such as his had

been compromised by plunging gas prices

in the US, and this provided an opportunity

for Australia to develop and manufacture the

product.

“The cost of gas and electricity in Australia is

rising to a point where renewable technologies

can compete,” Le Lievre says. “If you are a

hospital or an industrial facility with a big roof

and a large energy load, we can become a very

attractive proposition.”

Our thanks to Giles Parkinson for allowing us to run this

article which originally appeared in RenewEconomy.

“An integrated system comprising several MCT units can provide all the electricity, hot water, space heating, and solar cooling for conventional houses.”

Innovation

RenewEconomy

established by Giles Parkinson in late January 2012, online newsletter Reneweconomy presents news and sound analysis on cleantech, carbon and climate issues that are “not found in the mainstream media”.

Popularity is fast growing; according to Google Analytics, it took just 26 week days to reach the first 50,000 views, 17 days to reach the second 50,000, and just eight days to reach the third 50,000. in the four weeks to easter, more than 35,000 people (unique viewers) in Australia and overseas visited the site.

www.reneweconomy.com.au

Left: Giles Parkinson relays good solar news

32 | AUTUMN 2012

Industry perspective

The Energy White Paper and the Australian

Energy Market Commissions March 2012

Review both describe the universal agreement

that our entire electricity market needs to be

modernised to cope with changing demand,

changing generation and for improved

performance. No one is debating the need to

modernise or the benefits of reform.

Interestingly, in both cases there were as

many questions as there were answers; no

one seems to understand the exact recipe

for fixing the problem which made me feel

much better about my own inability to see a

concise solution.

Having said all this, I always try to distil

complex problems into bite sized chunks; so

here is my perspective on the issues with a

focus on the role that PV can play.

Vested interestsThe conventional energy sector in Australia

is worth a staggering amount of money and

has long and deep relationships to policy

makers. When you consider that half of all the

generators connected to the NEM are controlled

by governments you start to understand that

State revenues are at risk if fewer kWh are sold.

Until this changes or incentives are introduced

to reward reduced generation, things are

unlikely to change fast and confounding

government policies will persist.

Paul Guilding (the independent writer, advisor

and advocate for action on climate change and

sustainability) recently and eloquently described

the renewable energy industry’s challenges

when he said “The oil industry alone is a $3

trillion per year economic powerhouse, add

on coal, cars and fossil fuelled power stations

and it’s going to take more than a Steve Jobs

design genius to get that amount of capital to

move aside.”

On the demand side we also have the

persistent issue of split incentives. Around

50% of residential housing is rented and there

is little if any incentive for landlords to make

these homes energy efficient. A similar scale of

problem exists in commercial property.

The underlying issues of vested interest,

appropriately aligned incentives and ownership

need to be addressed to effect change.

Shifting the

MOUNTAIN Nigel Morris offers some sanguine thoughts about managing change in electricity production and consumption

a friend recently asked how my PV work was going and we inevitably ended

up at that old familiar question “Why isn’t

solar scattered across every spare inch of our

sun drenched continent?”

“We’re getting ever closer” I said, “but

it’s just going to take some time to re-

invent the way electricity is generated and

distributed in Australia.”

After struggling to explain what this meant

I resorted to analogies. “Imagine our electricity

network is like your old shed. It serves a critical

purpose and has been there for as long as

you can remember. It leaks a bit, but you

tolerate it. You’ve patched it up, added to it,

even modernised it and for the most part it

continues to do its job. But the day will come

when you can’t keep patching it up and you

need to start from scratch. Our electricity

industry is a bit like that; we don’t need

to knock it down, but we do need to get

back to design basics to update it so it suits

today’s needs.”

“That is one hell of a mountain to shift;

good luck,” he quipped.

I pondered my friend’s comments and the

enormous complexity of issues we are faced

with in this challenge. The prospect of what

needs to be achieved can be overwhelming but

with a wry smile, the irony that the renewable

industry seems to have been handed the

responsibility for moving the metaphorical

mountain struck me; Clive and Gina have got

all the bulldozers, after all!

SolarProgress | 33

The peak problemAlthough average demand has decreased

recently, peak demand in Australia is

skyrocketing, predominantly through the use

of air conditioners. In Queensland for example,

demand during peak hours is growing at 7%

per annum, representing around 1% of total

energy demand but is responsible for as much

as 10% of the electricity distribution and

network capacity cost.

A multi-billion dollar opportunity exists to

reduce network expenditure by managing

peak demand better. Both the Garnaut

Review, and the more recent AEMC review,

highlighted that there are roles for all stakeholders

to play; government in policy, retailers in

getting information to consumers, networks

in incentivising load reductions and energy

consumers in changing behaviour.

The huge legacy problem needs to be overcome

with consumers who believe that low cost energy

is a god given right, too. The recent spate of smart

meter sabotage in Victoria and the quite bizarre

“stopsmartmeter brigade” have their head as

deeply in the sand as some of our policy makers.

Access to electricity is a privilege that comes

with living in a wealthy country; having it metered

intelligently so that demand profiles are better

understood and paying a value commensurate

with network demand is simply the quid pro quo

that we have avoided for far too long.

Addressing the peak problem successfully

requires a wide range of co-ordinated policy,

technology and behaviour changes.

Upgrading the shedReferring to my earlier analogy we also need

to face up the fact that many of the decision

makers in our Government and electricity

industry are simply out of touch with what’s

going on in Australia and abroad. The Energy

White paper for example, citing several

models, forecast PV generation levels by 2020

which are likely to be reached by the end of 2013

and costs forecasts for PV by 2030 which we

have already exceeded.

All around the world, leading policy makers

and utilities are realising they have a simple

choice; you can either marvel at your legacy or

get on with embracing the future and adapt to

change. US Energy Secretary Chu recently stated

publicly that the world’s three biggest energy

users, China, the US and India, each believe

that the cost of utility scale solar will be cheaper

than fossil fuels by 2020 at the latest.

Meanwhile, down-under, too many of our

decision makers seem to be sitting on the back

porch, beer in hand, looking at their beloved

handiwork and yelling over their shoulder:

“You’re bloody dreaming mate, that thing is as

good as the day I built it – just look at it! It’s

a bloody work of art.” It may well have been

in 1950, but you can’t plug your Prius into a

kerosene lantern, pop.

The first round of the Solar Flagships program

highlighted that we have some of President

Obama’s “flat earth society” in Australia

too. One of the simple – and almost entirely

predictable – reasons Round One failed was

because there was no competitive incentive

whatsoever for utilities to offer a Power Purchase

Agreement and the Government’s own polices

had no leverage over them at all. Oops.

Addressing the need to upgrade and

recognise new and wider values for distributed

generation requires leaders with foresight,

accurate data and an objective view of the

issues we face.

So what do we need?We need policy makers with a longer term

view who are free from the mire of short-term

voter preferences. We need corporate leaders

who are willing to break the mould and build

future business models instead of digging up

our history. We need consumers who don’t

take energy for granted, and are incentivised

to save energy.

And we need a rapid, integrated and holistic

solution or the IP opportunity of a lifetime

will join Ralph Sarich and so many other great

innovators – offshore.

Recently, I spoke to one of the world’s largest

industrial companies which is now in PV and

focused on Australia. “Why Australia?” I asked.

“Simple.” they said. “Sunny. Spacious. High

electricity cost. This will be one of the world’s

first unsubsidised grid parity markets. We don’t

understand your Government though.”

Pretty well sum up the whole state of affairs

don’t you think? The AEMC reports are available

at: http://www.aemc.gov.au/market-reviews/

open/power-of-choice-update-page.html

Nigel Morris is owner manager of solar energy consultancy SolarBusinessServices. His company was proud recipient of the 2011 Australian Solar Energy Society award for ‘Industry Advocacy and Leadership’. www.solarbusiness.com.au

“A multi-billion dollar opportunity exists to reduce network expenditure by managing peak demand better.”

34 | AUTUMN 2012

Special feature

An architects' competition aimed at fostering talent and solar design innovation has evolved over the years. Guidelines now place emphasis on cost efficiencies in a bid to boost popularity, says Tobias danielmeyer.

Affordable solar architecture

a number of governments around

the world have recently reduced or discontinued

incentive programmes that supported the

establishment of solar energy generation at both

the household and industry levels.

As a result, major players in the solar

industry started to struggle. During previous

decades, technology advances and increases in

energy efficiency dictated trends in the field of

renewable energies.

Today, the affordability of systems and a

constant and continuous decline in prices are

the most significant drivers of change. The

durability of systems is another significant

factor in related marketing strategies; however,

consumers’ buying decisions are based on cost

comparisons between the initial investment

and total energy generation over a set period

of time.

Although this constitutes an oversimplified

snapshot of the situation at a global level, the

effects of this situation currently redefine and

reshape the industry.

Solar decathlon’s ‘performance architecture’

The US Department of Energy Solar

Decathlon aims to address the situation. The

competition was established to educate the

general public about the potential use of

solar technologies, to encourage technology

innovations and to train future generations

of engineers, architects and planners.

The inaugural event in 2002 required

teams to design and build solar powered

houses and cars; it provided a holistic

perspective on how living and mobility might

be managed sustainably at a domestic scale.

Following a successful first event, the

parameters of the 2005 competition

changed slightly; participating institutions

were now rewarded for innovation and

originality. Participating schools and

universities were glad to oblige and

showcased cutting-edge, groundbreaking

technology solutions directly from the lab.

SolarProgress | 35

“The competition was established to educate the general public about the potential use of solar technologies, to encourage technology innovations and to train future generations of engineers, architects and planners.”

This undoubtedly did justice to the focus

on innovation – but unfortunately, the

solutions were unavailable on the market.

As a result, the general public was unlikely

to benefit from that Solar Decathlon in the

same way as the 2002 competition.

Competition rules were again changed

and the two subsequent events in 2007

and 2009 saw houses that, despite using

components that were readily available on

the market, were predominantly designed

with increases in performance and energy

generation in mind.

At this time, potential sponsors

recognised the marketing value of Solar

Decathlons events. Product donation

became more common and, in some cases,

university teams even had to turn down

sponsorship offers.

The 2009 winning entrance from the

Technical University Darmstadt was literally

wrapped in solar panels; cost estimations

valued the house at about US$800,000.

A comparison of the competition guidelines

at the time and the architecture demonstrates

how the design is tailored to perform well

with regard to the energy generation aspect

of the competition, resulting in ‘performance

architecture’. The average house cost that

year was US$485,000 and with the effects

of the global economic crisis still lingering,

the US Department of Energy modified the

competition rules again, this time with a focus

on affordability.

While economic considerations are key

component of every successful and sustainable

design solution, preparing a decision making

matrix that evaluates and ranks design decisions

is highly complex. Questions that are significant

in this consideration include (but are by no

means limited to): Does a reduction in energy

requirements justify additional costs for improving

the building envelope and/ or installation of

energy efficient appliances? How does thermal

mass compare with smart technologies from a

cost perspective? What are ideal window surface

ratios that allow natural light and ventilation

without creating significant heat gains, heat

losses or glare? Is a heat recovering unit a smart

investment? What temperatures do solar thermal

units need to provide in order to warrant hot

water during peak usage periods?

Cost–benefit thinkingSo how much effort and cost go into a Solar

Decathlon house project? The New Zealand team

used site specific weather data from the past 30

years to simulate and test as many configurations

as possible with the timeframe. As a result of this

intensive research, the team gained invaluable

insights into active and passive technologies and

their respective cost effectiveness.

Furthermore, houses for the Solar Decathlon

competition must be designed with the

competition in mind. In addition to the

substantial set of rules, ease of construction

for student teams who assemble the houses

in only a couple of days must be taken into

consideration.

Additional requirements result from multiple

modes of transport and lifting; this challenge

is particularly prevalent for international teams

from outside the country. Further challenges

arise from the fact that the houses may not

have any foundations, but are required to

comply with building codes and disability

guidelines for public buildings. Comfort zone

levels must be kept between 21.7ºC and 24.4ºC

and humidity levels must be below 60%.

The overall cost estimate must include the

costs for temporary rainwater solutions, as well

as all appliances and technical devices. On the

whole, teams managed to save costs compared

to previous events and the average Solar

Decathlon house price dropped to US$325,000.

It needs to be noted, however, that the

publication of these dollar figures may still be

considered problematic by the organisers. The

final construction costs are still perceived as

expensive by the public - and as the majority

of mass media appears to make no distinction

between regular buildings and the competition

houses, these homes are represented as being

overly and overtly costly. Another factor that is

not taken into consideration is that prices for

such houses are likely to fall as soon as they are

more established in the market.

All competition houses have been subjected

to hundreds of hours of performance modelling

and cost analysis – this is neither feasible nor

necessary in a regular design practice.

Tobias Danielmeier who lectures at Victoria University of Wellington, NZ, is the project leader for the New Zealand entry “First Light” to the Solar Decathlon 2011. The First Light house has been awarded the First Prize in Engineering, First Prize equal in the Hot Water and Energy Balance, and second place in Architecture.

36 | AUTUMN 2012

Why the grid’s voltage affects my inverter output

PV technology troubleshooter Glen Morris explains why inverters sometimes involuntarily and temporarily switch-off in the middle of a nice sunny day.

If you’ve ever had a grid-connected (GC)

inverter system switch-off in the middle of

the day when the sun is shinning – and then

back on again a few minutes later – there’s a

couple of reasons why this might happen.

The most common reason relates to the

“grid protection” feature of the inverter. All

GC inverters in Australia must be tested to

AS 4777.3 for grid protection. This requires

that they disconnect from the grid when the

voltage sensed at their output terminals is

outside of 200-270V measured within a two

second period.

In practice most manufacturers of GC

inverters set their high voltage disconnect in

the 255-265V range. This would appear to be

well above what our grid is supposed to be

operating at. We have a nominal 230V grid

in Eastern Australia which is considered to be

within spec if between 217-253V (within a

five minute window average).

The problem is that GC inverters must

disconnect within two seconds of an out-of-

range voltage and thus are easily “tripped

off” by transient voltage spikes that last only

fractions of a second.

Fig 1 shows a graph of a typical voltage of

a domestic dwelling in Canberra. The logging

was at one second intervals and covered a

one week period. Given that many inverters

would disconnect at 260V this system would

have been turning off hundreds of times over

this one week period for up to a couple of

minutes after each event.

To makes things worse, as a GC inverter

starts to export power it “pushes up” the

output voltage (Ohm’s Law) in order to

export power back to the grid. Depending

on the size and length of the cable from the

inverter to the main supply cables for the

house, this will cause even more voltage rise

and further exacerbate the problem.

Problem solvingWhat can be done? Making sure that the

inverter is as close as possible to the point

of connection to the house, up sizing the

AC output cable on the inverter, even

upgrading the main supply cable from

the street to the house may be required –

particularly for systems with larger output

power capacities (>5kW).

The problem is made worse when more

solar power systems are connected to your

street, further pushing up the grid voltage

during daylight hours.

This problem has led many electricity

distributors to put strict limits on the

maximum size of inverters connected to their

network (typically 5-10kW) and even limit the

number of installations in a particular street

(as is already happening in Brisbane).

Though this phenomena causes no harm

to the customer’s equipment, it means that

there is a reduction in the energy generated

by their system and as the penetration of

solar increases so will this problem.

There are proposals to allow inverters

to decrease their power output, rather

than switch off, or even for the electricity

distributor to control the power output level

but these would require a change to AS

4777.3 and for manufacturers to incorporate

these features.

If you notice that your inverter is turning

off regularly during the day then consult

your system installer as there may be other

strategies that could be used to address

this problem.

Glen Morris of SolarQuip is a specialist in solar technology and renewable energy solutions. www.solarquip.com.au

Tech talk

Why the grid’s voltage affects my inverter output

Asia’s Largest PV Inverter ManufacturerNow available in Australia

[email protected] | www.sungrowpower.com.au

253V 260V230V

16,500

Grid Voltage Measured at Switchboard

Number ofEvents

Log of Grid Voltage in one second samples over one week

38 | AUTUMN 2012

Solar Cities

Adelaide Solar Citysets a shining example With a tagline: “Let’s set a shining example

for the rest of the world” Adelaide Solar City

reckons it has had some measure of success. Is

their pride justified? You be the judge.

It is five years since the city and its surrounds

– Salisbury, Tea Tree Gully and Playford – was

selected as one of Australia’s seven Solar Cities.

Part of the reason was the stress on power

supplies particularly during the peak hours.

“Becoming a solar city would help reduce

electricity supply problems,” said Dario De Bortoli

who is with Origin and Program Manager of

Solar Cities. “The sunny temperate climate is

ideal, and the Department of Climate Change

wanted to develop and trial different business

models; Adelaide differs from other solar cities as

it is led by an energy retailer rather than

a distributor.”

Established in 2007, the Consortium which is

led by Origin and includes Big Switch Projects, BP

Solar, ANZ, Delfin Lend Lease and the four city

councils has rolled out commercial and residential

solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, pricing, smart

metering technology, energy efficiency products,

low income energy assistance programs and

community engagement initiatives.

Supporting the aspiration for every citizen of

Adelaide to be aware that they live in a solar city,

the consortium’s key challenge has been to select

locations or buildings “where the solar panels

can be incorporated or designed in an innovative

and engaging way”, De Bortoli said.

Among the most visible is Rundle Lantern

Solar Project, a 50 kilowatt solar PV system on

the rooftop of Adelaide’s ‘U-Park’ building. And

nearby Central Markets that were established

back in 1900 now boasts 288 rooftop panels

that help demonstrate the sensitive integration of

new energy technologies.

Meantime the 50 kilowatt PV system atop

Adelaide Central Bus Station generates enough

solar energy to power the popular Tindo bus.

Monitors that display solar energy product

and greenhouse gas emission savings are located

at three key sites: The Watershed, Golden Grove

Recreation and Arts Centre (which boasts a 4

kilowatt PV system), and the Playford Aquadome

(15 kilowatt PV system).

Here we continue the series on Solar Cities, showcasing their unique characteristics. Adelaide

throws up a few novel elements, as explained by dario de Bortoli of origin to Nicola Card.

Tindo travels 200 kilometers daily, delivering people as well as the all-important message about solar power.

SolarProgress | 39

The 50 kilowatt solar PV system installed at

Keylink Industrial Estate is the project’s first foray

into a commercial zone.

“To me iconic solar sights are so powerful,”

De Bortoli said. “People want examples of a

visual nature, like the luminous Rundle Lantern

that wraps around a multi-storey car park. It is a

great example of the use of solar energy, people

can relate to it and can see the panels. It is an

exciting concept that serves as a role model; it

shows what can be done.”

A winner in the popularity stakes is

Adelaide’s attention-grabbing 27-seater bus

‘Tindo’ that each day clocks up 200 kilometers

along city streets.

Tindo bus: solar power on wheelsProudly promoted as the world’s first electric

solar powered bus, Tindo (Kaurna for ‘sun’)

sports bright green livery with swirly orange

emblems that evoke the sun’s ongoing

output … all-in-all a rather smart mobile solar

billboard. The bus battery is recharged for five

hours each night from solar power captured on

the rooftop array, as demonstrated on youtube.

“We needed a celebrity in the Solar City project

and Tindo is proving very popular. It provides a

powerful link between the use of solar energy

and its practical function in transportation,” De

Bortoli explained. People treat Tindo differently,

as something special, they respect it for example

it attracts no graffiti.”

Tindo has, however, attracted overseas

interest and featured prominently in a Chinese

documentary on Solar City characteristics

viewed by seven million people. Delegates from

China, South Korea and several other nations

have taken an interest in the bus and the range

of notable PV installations in Adelaide Solar City.

One more major project is taking shape.

Victoria Square makeover On the drawing board are plans to install 1500

solar panels over 500 metres of walkways in

Victoria Square. Origin will progress the project

once funding is approved.

“The question is how to make iconic solar PV

installations more meaningful and engaging,”

De Bortoli said. “The proposed $100 million

development of Victoria Square is innovative;

we plan to create aisles of street level PV solar

panels that are multi-purpose in that they

generate renewable energy, provide shelter and

walkways with open-air archways, and feature

an eye-catching artistic design.”

All the better given that each day up to

200,000 visitors will be exposed to the concept

of solar power.

Community consultation In common with other Solar Cities, local

community engagement is vital. Road-shows

and presentations that address objectives and

strategies have helped engage the community

and new migrants are informed about power

use and costs.

Solar number crunching To date 3500 people have purchased energy

saving products and earned themselves the

moniker of ‘solar citizen’.

• 879homeenergyauditshavebeenconducted

• 101ceilinginsulationpackageshavebeen

installed

• 2564homesboastsmartmeters

• 190householdshavereceivedassistancein

managing energy bills

• 350PVsystemshavebeeninstalledon

rooftops

• 1963homesareparticipatingincosteffective

pricing trials

• 464householdsaretrialingcutting-edge

technology with In-Home Displays

• 19BusinessEnergyEfficiencyProgramshave

been conducted

• 231householdsaretakingpartinaControl

Group

• Thereare21,745GreenPowerhouseholds

within the trial area, and

• 20,980energyefficiencypackshavebeen

provided to households.

A key program initiative is the demand

management trial run by Origin which aims

to reduce demand during peak hours by

encouraging households to change their timing

for non-essential electricity use.

“Nearly 2000 people have participated in

the trial that combines innovative electricity

pricing products, smart metering interactive

communication technology and touch screen In-

home displays that show usage and greenhouse

gas emissions in 30 minute intervals,” De Bortoli

said. “There is a lot of interest in this part of

the program and people appear receptive to

modifying behaviour, for example they will go

to the movies sometime between the peak cost

period of 2pm and 8pm.

“These high-end website communication

technology links facilitate awareness about time

and use, for example we can alert consumers

about upcoming rises in energy costs. It is all

about analysis and lessons learnt, for example

50kWh saves 70 tonnes of greenhouse gas

emissions annually. The intent is to make people

feel they are related to something specific.”

A reduction on the stress placed on

infrastructure was part of the original plan, and

an audit revealed a not-insignificant 7 percent

reduction in energy use. Complementing

this is the decent amount of green power

participants which enables accurate and valuable

interpretations about household energy use.

At the core of the Solar Cities Program is data

collection, reporting and analysis by participant

project managers, who will gather in Brisbane in

October to compare and contrast experiences.

“Government is keen to disseminate

information and bases its funding decisions on

what appears the most effective,” De Bortoli

explained. “We will be comparing and contrasting

issues arising in regional and metropolitan solar

cities. It is all about dissemination and analysis and

then releasing results.”

Solar cities throughout Australia have the

common end date of June 30, 2013 and over

the next 12 months more solar hot water

systems will be installed and energy packs

distributed across Adelaide.

Which gets us back to the tagline “setting an

example” – has Adelaide Solar City succeeded in

this quest?

Given the apparent level of local and

international interest and the changing patterns

of energy consumption, the response must

surely be in the affirmative.

For his part, De Bortoli commented “we are

getting there progressively.”

www.adelaidesolarcity.com.au

From left: Rundle Lantern U-Park lights

up and turns heads after dark; Plans for

Victoria Square are “on the drawing board”;

The market’s rooftop PV array helps power

the market

40 | AUTUMN 2012

With several lobby groups angling for removal or restructure of the Renewable energy Target under a carbon price environment, Wayne Smith forecasts cloudy skies for the solar industry.

Review of The Renewable Energy Target

Political perspective

One of the most significant policy

challenges facing the solar industry over the

next 12 months will be the review of the

Renewable Energy Target (RET).

The commitment to generate 20 per cent of

Australia’s electricity from renewable energy

sources is enshrined in law and supported by

all of Australia’s major political parties, and yet

there seem to be storm clouds over the future

of the scheme.

Of course, storm clouds are bad news

for solar.

A number of loud voices – the Business

Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber

of Commerce and Industry and the NSW

Government, among others – are calling

for the RET to be abolished or significantly

restructured following the introduction of a

carbon price. These calls fly in the face of its

tripartisan support, and the RET’s conservative

foundations and misunderstand the purpose

of the RET.

The Mandatory Renewable Energy Target

was introduced by the Howard Government in

2001 as a means of increasing the proportion

of Australia’s electricity from renewable

energy sources. The target of 9500 gigawatt

hours of renewable energy was the Howard

Government’s greatest policy achievement in

supporting clean energy, and one Coalition

parties should rightly honour as the first step

in putting Australia on the path to a cleaner

energy economy.

The Rudd Government was elected in 2007

on a promise to increase the renewable energy

target to 20 per cent by 2020 – a five-fold

increase. The RET was always designed to

complement a price on carbon. As Mr Rudd

noted on 30 October 2007, “While the

introduction of emissions trading will help

bring renewable technologies into the market

over time, an interim renewable energy target

will accelerate their use, driving cost reductions

with economies of scale – and achieving

overall emission reductions at lower cost.”

The absence of a price on carbon has

made the Renewable Energy Target even

more important in accelerating the uptake of

clean energy.

Without the Renewable Energy Target,

Australia would not have a solar industry, and

without the RET in the future, Australia will

not have a strong solar industry.

The RET has arguably been the primary

driver for investment in household solar

panels and solar hot water systems, with the

upfront discount provided by the generation

of Renewable Energy Certificates providing a

strong financial incentive.

The Small-Scale Renewable Energy

Scheme has helped deliver solar hot water

and solar panels to more than 1.3 million

Australian households.

Solar has not played a role to date in the

Large-Scale Renewable Energy Target, but

that is about to change with the dramatic

reduction in the cost of utility-scale PV

and difficulties in establishing large wind

projects. It is not unreasonable to expect

solar could provide 5 per cent of Australia’s

electricity by 2020, but that will depend,

in part, on the regulatory framework

underpinning clean energy, with uncertainty

around carbon pricing, the Clean Energy

Finance Corporation and the Renewable

Energy Target.

Importantly, the legislation underpinning

the RET requires a review of the RET to be

conducted “as soon as practicable after 30 June

2012 and every two years after that date”.

The Review is broad-ranging and must

consider:

• theoperationoftheRETscheme,andthe

legislation that underpins it; and

SolarProgress | 41

• thediversityofrenewableenergyaccessto

the RET, including a “cost benefit analysis of

the environmental and economic impact of

that access”.

The Review will be conducted by the new

independent Climate Change Authority, headed

by the former Reserve Bank Governor Bernie

Fraser, and must report to Government by

31 December 2012. The legislation does not

provide any indication as to when, and how,

the Government must respond to the Review.

The political argy bargy around the RET

Review began early with calls by the Business

Council of Australia and the Australian Chamber

of Commerce and Industry for the entire RET

to be abolished. This was no surprise, as these

industry groups have been seeking the abolition

of the RET since it was first established.

The more significant action was the call by

the NSW Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher, for

the RET to be abolished, putting a hole in the

bipartisan support for the scheme.

At its meeting on 13 April 2012, the

Council of Australian Governments called

for urgent advice “on how to fast track and

rationalise policies and programs that are

not complementary to a carbon price, or are

ineffective, inefficient or impose duplicative

reporting requirements on business”.

Opponents of the RET will use that mechanism,

as well as the review of the RET itself, to attack

the Target.

The Climate Change Minister, Greg Combet,

has made it clear the Gillard Government

supports the Renewable Energy Target, but

the Review and the COAG process do provide

opportunities for significantly changing the RET.

The Greens have called for the RET to be

expanded, and the Federal Coalition remains

committed to carving out a proportion of the

RET for emerging technologies.

The Coalition’s Direct Action Plan states “a

Coalition Government will create a band within

the Renewable Energy Target to be reserved

for larger renewable energy projects (over 50

megawatt) or for emerging technologies such

as solar fields, geothermal projects or tidal and

wave projects over 10 megawatt. The band to

be reserved for these projects will be for up to

6000 gigawatt hours by 2020”. This has the

potential to provide a strong incentive for large-

scale solar.

The solar industry will need to actively

engage in the review of the Renewable Energy

Target to ensure it provides the right incentives

for the growth of the residential, commercial

and large-scale solar industry.

Wayne Smith is the Director of Clean Economy Services, a renewable energy consulting firm. His clients include the Australian Solar Energy Society, which believes that certainty and consistency in policy should extend across all sectors of the solar energy [email protected] Ph: 0417 141 812Twitter: @cleaneconomyser

The REC Agents Association

The REC Agents Association (RAA) has been

established to represent and self-regulate the

activities of businesses creating and trading

RECs, the trading system that underpins

Australia’s Renewable Energy Target and

facilitates the installation of solar panels and

solar hot water systems.

The RAA will work closely with the

Government and the new Clean Energy

Regulator to monitor and improve

compliance by agents with relevant Acts,

and provide advice to the statutory review

of the RET.

The RAA will be a strong, public advocate

for the Renewable Energy Target and other

market based schemes. It will also address

some of the misinformation around the

cost and effectiveness of these schemes,

in particular that the RET is a major driver

of rising electricity prices. (The Australian

Energy Market Commission has shown

renewable energy schemes are only

responsible for 3% of the likely rise in power

prices over the next few years.)

www.recagents.org.au

“Without the Renewable Energy Target, Australia would not have a solar industry, and without the RET in the future, Australia will not have a strong solar industry.”

“The solar industry will need to actively engage in the review of the Renewable

Energy Target to ensure it provides the right incentives for the growth of the

residential, commercial and large-scale solar industry.”

42 | AUTUMN 2012

State Reports

Noel Barton, Branch President

Our 2012 program in NSW is in full swing.

The normal course of events is to hold

information evenings for the AuSES NSW

Branch on the fourth Tuesday of the month.

In addition, we have a close relationship with

the Sydney Central Branch of the Alternative

Technology Association, and many of our

members also attend their information

evenings held on the second Tuesday of

the month. Typically the audience for these

meetings is between

30 and 40.

Our speakers this year have been Thomas

Bywater of Greenforce Energy (Rooftop PV

Systems with AC Output) and Anton Szilasi

of Beyond Zero Emissions (The BZE Stationary

Energy Plan for Australia).

Speakers confirmed for the upcoming

three months are Alistair Sproul (UNSW); Paul

Dastoor (University of Newcastle) and Muriel

Watt (Australian PV Association). A feature

of these meetings is a 10-minute ‘Future

Directions’ segment by someone at the start

of their solar career, enabling presenters to

gain valuable practice in public speaking and

also to breathe new vitality among our mostly

‘well-matured’ audience.

The first two speakers at the ATA Sydney

Central meetings have been Taru Veijalainen

of Apricus Australia (Solar Hot Water Products

and Applications) and Adriana Downie of

Pacific Pyrolysis (Organic Waste to Energy and

Biochar). The forthcoming speaker is Wolfgang

Spranz of GreenScope Environmental (Energy-

efficient windows).

We also participate in occasional special

events, again often in collaboration with ATA

Sydney Central. One such event held this year

was a sustainability display at the Earth Hour

Family Fun Day arranged by Randwick Council

on March 31 2012. Committee member and

architect, Graham Hunt (pictured below), gave

two presentations on energy-efficient and

sustainable houses. Also pictured on the stand

was Committee member, Mary Hendriks (right).

For further information about activities in NSW, email Noel Barton on: [email protected] or at [email protected]: Matt Scaddan 0402 979 958.

nsw

State

If you live outside the metro area in your

State or Territory, please do not hesitate

to keep us informed about your activities

Victoria: [email protected]

(Dale Brown)

Queensland: [email protected]

0407 121 321 (Antony Sachs)

Act: [email protected] 0408 054 512

(Steve Blume)

tasmania: [email protected]

Phone: 040 648 1283 (Matthew Pettit)

CONTACTING AN AUSES BRANCH IN yOUR AREA

Ishaan Khanna WA Branch President

Our first 2012 solar beers event, sponsored

by Solar-e (www.solar-e.com), was held on

April 3 at the Sustainable Energy Association of

Australia (SEA) offices.

Our guest speaker was Nigel Wilmot, who is

currently the Chair of Standards Australia sub-

committee EL42-3 for Grid Connected Inverter

energy systems. In this role he is leading the

revision of AS4777 standards.

At the AuSES Branch event Nigel presented

a comprehensive overview of the work in

progress.

For further information about AuSES in WA, email Branch President Ishaan Khanna at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Stewart Martin Branch President

IN thE dIAry: AuSES SA AGMThe South Australian Branch will hold its

Annual General Meeting on Wednesday May

2 2012 at 7.00pm, C3-16 Centenary Bld, City

East Campus, University of SA (corner of North

Terrace and Frome Rd).

This will be followed by a presentation from

Assistant Professor John Boland titled ‘Towards

electricity without fossil fuels: finding the best

mix of renewables, demand management and

storage’.

For further information about AuSES in SA, email [email protected]

Prof Jai Singh Branch President

The first of a series of regular seminars

was held on March 15 at the NT Museum

Theatrette. Jeremy Devenish, Managing Director

and founder of Solarflo Pty Ltd., related his

experiences in getting Auxin panels into the NT

“Deemed to Comply” manual.

Paul Shelley, Director of PSE Communication

& Electrical, described his visit to Spanish

Solar Thermal facilities, and lastly Didge “Biz”

MacDonald, the Principal WorkSafe Inspector for

NT Government, presented an overview of NT

WorkSafe’s inspections of solar systems. Our next

public seminar will be held on June 14 at 5.30

pm in the Museum Theatrette.

For further information about AuSES in the Nt, email Prof Jai Singh (Branch President): [email protected] or [email protected]

wa sa nt

44 | AUTUMN 2012

Solar Products & Services

Design developments

In this section we take a bite-sized look at who is doing what in the fast moving world of solar energy.

Asia’s largest Solar Inverter manufacturer enters Australian market

Sungrow has officially launched its full range of string inverters into the

Australian market. The Sun Access inverters range from 1.5kW to 20kW,

and are approved under the Australian Standard. Their centralised

inverters are also ready to be introduced into Australia.

Founded in 1997 in Hefei, China, Sungrow is Asia’s largest inverter

manufacturer. According to IMS Research, the company is a market

leader in China by a large margin; Sungrow has a 43% market share in

China with 2GW production capacity. Sungrow was publicly listed in

2011, and raised more than AUD $200 million.

The company has recently entered the Australian market with a view

towards expanding and growing throughout Australia. Sungrow has a

global presence with offices worldwide, and a manufacturing plant in

Canada. The focus for Australia is providing cost-effective high quality

inverters with a strong warranty and after-sales service.

Gary Ye, Sales Director for the Asia-Pacific market, is “proud to

introduce Sungrow’s Sun Access range into the Australian market. We

see a lot of potential in Australia, and are excited to be involved in such

a promising market”.

He states “Our company’s strategic plan for the coming year is to

expand the Australian market because we see Australia playing an

increasingly important role in the Asia-Pacific solar industry.”

Recent tests by Photon International saw Sungrow’s

inverters perform very well. The SG15KTL received an A Grade in

Photon Lab’s tests in February 2012, with maximum 97.9% efficiency

in symmetrical operation.

As the largest distributor of Sungrow’s products Australia wide, Vigor

Solar’s Managing Director Morris Zhou states “we are very excited to be

partnered with Sungrow for their entry into the Australian market. We

really believe in the company and the products they provide. With their

history and track record over the past 15 years, and the extensive after-

sale service they provide, we are sure that Sungrow can create value for

the Australian customer. This is exactly what we need in such a young,

crowded industry.”

Vigor Solar was founded in 2009, and distributes solar equipment

throughout Australia. The company is backed by Zhenfa New Energy

Co Ltd, and aims to provide Australian consumers with the world’s

most cost-efficient, high-quality products. Vigor Solar works only with

companies which have excellent long-term viability and strong financial

backing, as well as reliable, proven product performance.

www.sungrowpower.com.au 1300 201 106

www.vigorsolar.com.au 1300 551 961

Moving forward and Getting Solar!

the get solAr cAmPAign directory - list your comPAny detAils And contAct Points

As we know changing government policies and shifting compliance

standards have created uncertainty for the markets of solar energy

products and services.

We all know how effective AuSES has been at a political level

representing our immense collective technical knowledge and corporate

base within the organisation. AuSES is a solid cornerstone of solar energy

use promotion and awareness, but it cannot do everything.

Apart from individual lobbying and marketing enterprises, solar

industries can collaborate effectively with a common commercial focus in

the market place. Today we need this more than ever.

While AuSES carries out its important functions at the junction of

industry, academia and government, more is needed to help the solar

industry and associated professions to develop stronger and more reliable

markets.

We all believe that the general public needs to GET SOLAR, hence the

GET SOLAR Campaign!

The GET SOLAR Campaign directory is now posted on the Internet. It

awaits participation by all sectors of the solar industry and professions (it

is prudent to under promise and over deliver).

The categories of listings (though moderated) are flexible at this stage

and we are open to new ones if requested. The listing is free (at this stage

everything is free, with a note on premium listing that although for now

there is no charge it can change in the future).

It is simple to list your company details and contact points.

With strong ties and allegiances to peak organisations such as AuSES,

we believe that we can complement the focus that AuSES provides.

Creation of a new synergy will help consumers, industrial, commercial,

and institutional entities to have the confidence to commit to solar

energy systems and strategies.

GET SOLAR, and know where to get it!

www.getsolar.com.au

SolarProgress | 45

Prompt supply from Victoria Warehouse

Solar Expos & ConferencesMay 2012

World renewable energy forum 13-17 may, denver coloradowww.wref2012.org

Solar Power Mexico 2012

15-16 may, mexico city, mexicowww.greenpowerconferences.com

menAsol 20124th north Africa & middle eastsolar conference & expo 16-17 may, Abu dhabiwww.csptoday.com

global solar forum 23-25 may, singaporewww.globalsolarforum.com

June 2012

2nd csP optimisation summit5-6 June, madrid, spainwww.csptoday.com

solar energy forum 201221-22 June, shanghai, chinawww.cdmc.org.cn/sef2012

With the theme “Draw on Advantages and

Avoid Disadvantages—What Course to Follow

during the New Situation?” Solar Energy Forum

2012 is designed to look into emerging long-

term strategic issues.

With proven success in Renewable

Series, events attract 2000 participants

from government, association and research

institutes, power & energy groups, PV project

developers and system integrators, PV system

installers and cell & module manufacturers,

silicon & wafer manufacturers etc.

This flagship event on the solar calendar

2012 brings together leading industry players

to achieve commercial and technical excellence

across the whole value chain. This event is a

joint effort of China Renewable Energy Society

and CDMC.

intersolar europe 11-15 June, munich germany www.intersolar.de/en/

renewable energy World conference and expo12-14 June, cologne, germanywww.renewableenergyworld-europe.com

solar south Africa 19-20 June, Johannesburg south Africa www.greenpowerconferences.com

» continues next page

46 | AUTUMN 2012

AuSES Events 2012

June 2012 (cont.)

csP today usA 20126th concentrated solar thermal Powerconference and exhibition27-28 June, caesars Palace, las Vegaswww.cstpower-conference.com/home.aspx

the ises Asiasun 2012 conference: “technologies for low carbon cities” 29 June–1 July, china solar Valley, economic development Zonedezhou, shandong Province, chinawww.isesasiasun.com

The International Solar Energy Society (ISES)

continues to work toward a vision of 100%

renewable energy for all, used efficiently and wisely.

This ISES AsiaSun Conference presents insights into

renewable energy activities in the Asia-Pacific region

and enables delegates to mix with colleagues, build

business relationships, and advance the movement

to a renewable energy world.

The conference will feature a number of

esteemed renewable energy professionals from

Australia and around the world, along with many

local experts, supported by the Chinese Renewable

Energy Society (CRES).

ISES AsiaSun 2012 will address a broad

spectrum of key topics, including: Policies to

increase RE penetration; New business models

for commercialisation; Solar thermal power and

process heat;

Solar heating and cooling; PV materials and

cell technologies; Standards and testing (PV

&SWH); Solar energy storage; Low carbon built

environments and communities, and Training and

education to achieve a low carbon future.

Up to 3000 will attend the three-day event,

making it a great networking opportunity.

Invitations are being extended to engineers,

planners, architects, consultants, researchers,

students, policy-makers, and educators from

around the world, in particular China and the Asia-

Pacific region.

July 2012

international conference on solar heating and cooling for buildings and industry 9-11 July, san francisco californiawww.ises.org

September 2012

12th china Photovoltaic conference and international exhibition 5-7 september, beijinghttp://www.ch-solar.com/en/

solar power international 12 10-13 september, orlando floridawww.solarpowerinternational.com/2012/public/

enter.aspx

eurosun 2012 18-20 september, rijeka croatiawww.ises.org

27th european Photovoltaic solar energy conference 24-28 sept, messe frankfurt germany/www.photovoltaic-conference.com/

Solar Expos & Conferences (cont.)

AuSES proudly celebrates its 50th year with TWO conferencesBuilding on the Australian Solar Energy Society's 50 year history of running Australia's pre-eminent Conferences focusing on solar and renewable technologies, sustainable built environments and leading policy-maker presentations, AuSES this year is running two major events in Melbourne.

East Solar Expo & Conference tuesdAy August 21 And WednesdAy August 22 At the melbourne conVention And eXhibition centre.

The East Solar Expo & Conference offers a great

opportunity to review over 100 exhibitors'

stands and attend a series of forums and

presentations. Registration is FREE, and you

are urged to register as soon as possible via

the website: www.eastsolarexpo.com to secure

your place, and to qualify for the Delegate

Draw Prize

With AUPVSEE, AuSES' international

partner from the very successful Solar 2011

Conference in Sydney last December, East

Solar Expo & Conference will be free to attend,

and offers a unique platform to forge new

opportunities, build relationships, and establish

new partnerships in research, development,

manufacturing and distribution in the

renewable energy/sustainability industries across

the Asia-Pacific region.

East Solar 2012 will showcase hundreds

of products and components, suppliers,

SolarProgress | 47

AuSES VisionBoth of these conferences support the AuSES vision: 'Solar for a

Sustainable Future' and will reflect the diverse interests of the industries

and activities involved. These include:

• Solar PhotoVoltaics (PV) - for distributed electricity generation at

residential or commercial scales

• Solar Thermal - for renewable generation on commercial scales, as

well as for solar water (SWH) and solar air heating (SAH), extending

into the production of low grade process heat for industry

• Built Environment - commercial and residential buildings - and

extending into urban design, landscapes, transport infrastructure etc

• Energy Efficiency - electricity and fuel, heat/cooling, lighting, water,

transport

• Public policy - economics, education & environment

• Solar system design - installation, integration, monitoring and

performance measurement

• Sustainable design and sustainability implementation

• Grid integration and remote power systems

• Other renewables - including wind, biomass, geothermal, wave/tidal

and waste methane recovery

distributors, advisory groups, agencies and

non-government organisations in addition to

ASX and Fortune 500-listed companies involved

in solar and renewable energy, energy efficiency

and other sustainable technologies and related

aspects, in Australia, China and the Pacific.

A series of topical and timely presentations

and forums covering a diverse range of topics

by overseas and local experts. Starting on the

hour - no prior booking necessary - these will

address matters such as Australian and State

renewable energy policies in a ‘carbon priced’

world; monitoring and measuring PV system

performance; community-owned renewable

generation opportunities; PV, solar water and

solar air heating; energy efficiency in the built

environment, and other topics.

A parallel series of presentations will address

the Australian solar and renewables market.

(Depending on demand, this stream may

be translated into Mandarin.) This will allow

foreign Delegates wishing to enter and partner

the Australian renewables industry an insight

into opportunities, policy and programmes,

barriers and potential partnerships.

East Solar 2012 offers an excellent

opportunity for those in governments, lobby

groups, businesses, consumers and the media

to seek unbiased and objective comment about

our national and international sustainable and

clean energy future.

Visit the East Solar Expo & Conference website

www.eastsolarexpo.com, and for details of

sponsorship opportunities or to Exhibit, please do not

hesitate to contact Margaret Reid of Margaret Reid

Pty Ltd, 2/303 Penshurst Street, Willoughby NSW

2068 Australia. Ph: 61 2 9882-2688,

Fax: 61 2 9882-2648

www.conference-organisers.com.au

The Solar 2012 “Golden Jubilee” Conference sWinburne uniVersity of technology, hAWthorn cAmPus, on thursdAy december 6 And fridAy december 7.

This will be a more formal event, in line with

our tradition of high quality, multiple streams

of paper presentation; our Gala Awards

Presentation Dinner, including the Wal Read

Awards for undergrad and postgrad submitted

papers excellence emphasis on peer-reviewed

papers, and a number of associated events.

These are planned to include optional

excursions to solar and renewable sites within

reasonable distance of Melbourne; a ‘Train the

Trainer’ day aimed at the technical and high

school instruction in solar and renewables,

energy efficiency and sustainable practice in the

built environment; and other events. The APVA

traditionally holds its AGM and a short seminar

series at our annual event, and we anticipate

that it will do so again this year.

A Call for Papers will be made soon, with

Abstracts requested to be submitted before

mid-year, to allow ample time for peer review

and preparation of selected high quality papers.

Our thanks to Swinburne University of Technology for these images

48 | AUTUMN 2012

Membership

Win an iPad2! Great news - it is now even easier to join,

re-new or manage your AuSES membership on-

line. You can now choose your own password

… gone are the days of using a cumbersome

password such as ‘4ZypW3’.

Members who log in and update their

records before Saturday June 30 will go in the

draw to win a brand new iPad2. All you have to

do is update your contact details (if necessary)

and add your credit card details.

When your annual membership renewal

comes up, your membership will be renewed

automatically and a tax receipt will be emailed

to you. Simple!

* Note that our new system is fully secure

and PCI-compliant to safeguard your details. *

Running a Solar-related business? There's more for you!The front page of the AuSES website

features the logos of all corporate members,

and these logos also appear on the corporate

members’ page.

All corporate members are welcome to

download the AuSES logo to display on their

business website as a symbol of participation

in Australia's biggest and most proactive solar

industry group.

exclusive content – Shortly we will be

introducing exclusive content for members,

including webinars and on-line training. We will

soon advise you of these services.

With corporate membership starting at just

$200, why wouldn't you upgrade?

What now?Logon to www.auses.org.au using your email

address and you will see simple instructions

for changing your contact details, credit card

details and password.

Future access will be

fast and trouble-free.

In the unlikely event

you suffer hiccups

just shoot an email to

[email protected]

and we will promptly

respond.

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Pty LtdSunTrixSustainability VictoriaSustainable Works Pty Ltd

t - ZTCK Solar Pty LtdThe Modern GroupThomas + Naaz Pty LtdTodae SolarToward Sustainable

FuturesUniversity of QueenslandUreco Solar Hot Water

(WA) Pty LtdWise Earth Pty LtdYork Electrical Service

AuSES Members

Affordable Home Energy Management

Australian Made

1300 336 737 www.sicleanenergy.com.au

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Solar Progress Autumn 2012

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