Posts tagged ‘solar’
Brunswick MP highlights solar homes program needs urgent restructure
Solar installs in contraction due to poor implementation of Solar Homes Package
Brunswick Greens MP Tim Read has highlighted in state parliament the urgent need for the solar hones program to be restructured.
This is a flagship program by the Labor’s Dan Andrews Government for residential uptake of solar panels and growing renewables in Victoria. But the program is so popular and demand is being capped so that it is driving renewables installation businesses to the wall. The industry and jobs are in contraction.
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Moreland roofs now generate 12MWh power annually from Solar PV
Welcome to the local solar revolution.
Moreland City Council has just installed an extra 100kW of solar PV panels – 390 new panels in all – on the Coburg Civic Centre roof. This adds to the existing 9kW system that was already functioning.
These panels will meet 30 per cent of the building’s energy needs, as well as saving 160 tonnes of greenhouse gases every year, with an estimated saving of $23,000 from Council’s electricity bill each year,
Read more at MEFL: Coburg Town Hall gets solar-powered.
We think this is great news. Keep up the good work City of Moreland in transitioning to zero net emissions.
It is not only our Council that has been going solar, another item from the MEFL newsletter uses figures from the Clean Energy Regulator to show that at the end of February 2015:
- 3,961 solar power systems had been installed in Moreland with a capacity of 10,708 kW
- 414 solar power systems (1,622 kW) have been installed the 2014-15 financial year
- 86 households have installed solar (244 kW) through the current bulk-buy coordinated by MEFL’s Positive Charge initiative
- On average, householders in Moreland have installed 3.9 kW solar power systems
I also checked the latest figures for March 2015. In December 2013 I looked at the penetration of solar PV in Fawkner and more broadly across Moreland. Figues in brackets are from November 2013 data, so you can compare the change.
| Suburb | Total Dwellings | Dwellings installed | Percent | Installed capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fawkner 3060 | 4520 | 328 (246) | 7.3% (5.4%) | 940kW (571kW) |
| Hadfield, Glenroy and Oak Park 3046 | 11482 | 811 (635) | 7.10% (5.5%) | 2167kW (1391kW) |
| Coburg 3058 | 11303 | 1092 (835) | 9.7% (7.4%) | 3178kW (1990kW) |
| Pascoe Vale 3044 | 9127 | 680 (546) | 7.5% (6%) | 1716kW (1238kW) |
| Brunswick 3056 | 7014 | 504 (389) | 7.20% (5.5%) | 1264kW (835kW) |
| Brunswick South, Brunswick West 3055 | 3933 | 303 (246) | 7.70% (6.3%) | 756kW (563kW) |
| Moreland LGA | 51330 (56139) | 4027 (3343) | 7.80% (6.1%) | 10950kW (7666kW) |
Congratulations Moreland. We now have a power station the equivalent of a 12MWh of annual generation capacity operating during the day on the roofs of Moreland. A good proportion of this energy would be used near production, saving in energy transmission losses. Of course Moreland is not the only municipality enjoying the solar PV revolution. Here are the latest stats of some Melbourne northern region solar PV installations:
| Municipality | Total Dwellings | Dwellings installed | Percent | Installed capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moreland | 51330 | 4027 | 7.8% | 10950kW |
| Moonee Valley | 36135 | 3050 | 8.40% | 8583kW |
| Darebin | 46499 | 4400 | 9.5% | 11316kW |
| Hume | 54920 | 8007 | 14.6% | 24692kW |
| Whittlesea | 52770 | 7394 | 14.00% | 20888kW |
| Banyule | 43137 | 3681 | 8.50% | 9959kW |
| Maribyrnong | 23539 | 2026 | 8.60% | 5753kW |
| Melbourne | 10236 | 551 | 5.40% | 2132kW |
As you can see from this table the urban/rural fringe municipalities of Hume and Whittlesea have a much greater penetration of solar PV, now exceeding 14 per cent. These are not wealthy areas, with new estates where people have a substantial mortgage but also see solar PV as a cost effective way of saving on their utility electricity consumption. Moreland at 7.8% is second lowest after the City of Melbourne.
This graph shows the solar PV monthly aggregate installation across Moreland postcode areas time series:
Click to open larger version
There is still a lot of opportunity for take up of solar PV in Moreland.
If you are thinking of doing so, Moreland Energy Foundation (MEFL) offshoot Postive Charge offers a solar PV bulk buy to save when purchasing.
This is one reason why consumer demand for electricity is falling.
But due to the loss of the carbon price from July 2014, utility scale energy production from both black and brown coal is rising. We need action at both state and Federal level to enhance emission standards that will result in the closure of some of our ageing coal fired clinkers like Hazelwood, which is the most polluting and inefficient power station in the industrial word, and produces substantial population health impacts and social costs.
Victorian Premier warns 100,000 premises may lose power during extreme heatwave
The Premier Denis Napthine warned Victorians that 100,000 premises may lose power during the extreme heatwave due to demand on the state’s electricity grid. Thank you Premier, for your incompetence at managing electricity generation in Victoria.
Climate scientists have been warning of the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, with a long term trend of increasing temperatures and 2013 being our hottest year on record. (See this 2009 study by Alexander and Arblaster – Assessing trends in observed and modelled climate extremes over Australia in relation to future projections (PDF))
Much of the electricity system is about managing peak demand through ensuring adequate generating capacity in the network. Victoria’s continued reliance on aging brown coal fired generators with impediments to diversification through renewables has let down the electors and residents of Victoria, badly. We are now seeing the results of poor climate and energy policy at the state level.
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Walk in SOLARdarity with the community of Port Augusta
For many of us, the town of Port Augusta in central South Australia is synonymous with the detention of refugees with its proximity to the infamous Baxter Detention Centre as well as to visit those inside.
Baxter was completely dismantled in 2007, and the enormous front steel gates even sold off at auction. But the town of Port Augusta is now becoming famous for another reason – as the site of a vibrant community campaign to build Australia’s first big solar plant.
Port Augusta has long been home to two large coal fired power stations, both of which are reaching retirement age. The South Australian government has proposed replacing these power stations with gas but the local community has grown tired of the health effects of burning fossil fuels and are calling for the building of a clean renewable energy instead.
The semi-arid lands around Port Augusta will greatly suffer from the fall in rainfall that we’ve already seen as a result of climate change, and will need clean energy solutions if these areas are to remain habitable.
The local community are joined by climate groups throughout the country such as Beyond Zero Emissions, 100% Renewables, and the Australian Youth Climate Coalition to take the quest to the Federal and South Australian governments and to people across Australia.
Many of you have taken our survey on the importance of building large scale renewable energy in Australia. And in the next couple of weeks we’re going to be taking the results of that survey to our local member, Kelvin Thomson and we’ll update you on what he says about the campaign to build big solar. If you’d like to get some lobbying experience get in touch with us: climateactionmoreland@gmail.com.
Walk in support
But until then, we invite you to be a part of the Port Augusta campaign! This week a group of around 100 people are walking from Port Augusta to Adelaide and solidarity (or SOLARdarity) walks are planned around the country, including Melbourne:
12pm, Sunday 30 September 2012
Walk from CERES to Energy Minister Martin Ferguson’s office in Preston
On the ashes of the coal fired power station, let’s build something we can really be proud of! For more information about the campaign see: http://repowerportaugusta.org/. For more information about the Melbourne walk see:https://www.facebook.com/events/409101889150904/
Report back on community solar
And while we’re on the joyous topic of solar – a report back about our community solar project. How inspiring would it be to have a community scale community owned rooftop solar park in Moreland? Or how about ten?
We’ve been working hard over the last couple of months investigating all aspects of what’s necessary to make community owned solar project work and we’ve decided it’s definitely do-able! The search for the perfect roof is now on.
If you’d like to get involved in this great community project, we’re looking for a couple more people to join our core organising group. No experience in solar necessary, just enthusiasm, some time to commit to the project and an interest in community solar is all you need. Email us at climateactionmoreland@gmail.com if you’re interested. Meetings are fortnightly on a Monday evening.
September 26, 2012 at 3:11 pm morelandclimategroup Leave a comment
Climate Action Moreland community solar project
Would you like to see community owned renewable energy in Moreland?
CAM wants to kick start a community owned solar park in our area – and we want you to be involved!
What is community solar?
We all know about solar panels on household roofs. Community solar is a bigger version of this, about fifty times bigger, and instead of being owned by the householder the panels are owned co-operatively by community shareholders.
Has it been done before?
You might have heard of Hepburn Wind – two community owned wind turbines outside of Daylesford that can power the whole town! We can do that here.
Come to the first community solar meeting:
7pm, Monday 19 March
Edinburgh Castle (Function Room)
Cnr Albion Street and Sydney Road
If you can’t make it but want more information please contact us at climateactionmoreland@gmail.com or call Ellen on 0408 583 694
Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change 