Solar energy is coming, ready or not

Solar energy has the potential to become the leading source of ‘green’ energy in Australia, however, with so many means of delivering it and the various complexities associated with them, there is a danger that we may choose the wrong path and impede the effectiveness of solar energy in curbing greenhouse gas emissions. These choices not only need to be made by governments, but also private enterprises, the community and the electrical industry.

In the last federal Budget, $1.6 billion was allocated to developing four large-scale solar plants to produce 1000 MW but, in the process, the government closed down virtually all other solar programs. It didn’t consult the electrical or solar-energy industries on how to structure the scheme for maximum benefits to the community and environment; a decision which may limit the potential growth of electrical jobs.

There are essentially two solar-energy technologies we can deploy to generate electricity: solar-thermal and crystalline/thin-film photo-voltaics (PV).

Solar-thermal involves ‘farms’ of mirrors to heat a boiler, generate steam and turn a turbine, like conventional power generation. In Australia, two companies lead the market - Ausra and Wizard Power. Ausra is working on several large-scale projects to supply power to utilities for genuine ‘carbon-neutral’ electricity. To counter the challenge of not being able to generate electricity at night, solar-thermal companies overseas use ‘molten-salt’ heat-storage systems to run boilers at night. Sadly, Ausra couldn’t convince the Australian Government to back this technology, so the company took it to the US, where it received huge support from the Californian government.

Wizard also developed solar-thermal technologies and is perfecting a means to create, store and transport energy by separating hydrogen and nitrogen from super-heated ammonia. In the future, it could be exported as a commodity, like we do with coal and uranium, but with far less negative environmental implications. It’s currently being considered by some countries for reducing peak loads.

Crystalline PV systems can ‘upload’ electricity directly onto the grid. This proven technology is being extensively utilised overseas, with a significant commercial by-product of job creation in the electrical industry. In Germany, for example, an estimated 120,000 new direct and indirect jobs have been created to install PV systems and grid connections.

One reason for this success is the fact that gross feed-in tariffs are paid to owners of grid-connected PV systems - paid for every kW produced, not just the surplus power they don’t use. This latter arrangement - net feed-in tariff - is what all Australian states do or are proposing, which is proving to be insufficient incentive for the community to move en masse to PV technology. Only the ACT and Northern Territory offer gross feed-in tariffs, where the demand is appreciably higher than elsewhere in Australia.

An ETU delegation that went to Germany to inspect PV systems was convinced that Australia should adopt gross feed-in tariffs in the best interests of the electrical industry and the broader community. Following the visit, the ETU lobbied the federal government for this transition but, to date, there has been no action from government.

The worldwide output of PV systems in 2009 is expected to exceed 15 GW, so it’s no longer a ‘fringe’ energy resource. With its projected growth, it will become a major source of electrical jobs in design, installation, supply, commissioning and maintenance.

Thin-film PV has lower production costs than crystalline PV, but is slightly less efficient; however, new technologies are closing the gap. At the recent Australian and New Zealand Solar Energy Society (ANZSES) conference, a Swiss/Japanese consortium announced it would be introducing thin-film PV systems that could achieve price parity in generating electricity by 2010, based on today’s energy costs; so imagine how appealing that will be when energy costs rise.

To assist the electrical industry successfully address solar energy, ANZSES* is launching an accreditation program for electrical contractors to install PV solar systems.

* John Grimes is CEO of ANZSES, a not-for-profit organisation whose members include solar professionals, researchers, industry and the general public. Grimes has extensive experience in the commercialisation of new technologies in the environmental space and a background in the federal public service.