Reports

Short Reports by ASI-supported SolarPACES Attendees

Following their attendance at the SolarPACES2012 conference in Morocco in September, four of the ASI-supported SolarPACES attendees submitted a Short Report describing their key learnings from the conference and what they see as being the key challenges and opportunities for the development of concentrating solar thermal power in Australia.

These reports are now available for download via the links below.

Please note that the reports represent the views of the authors and not necessarily those of ASI.

Solar Generation Australian Market Modelling

ASI commissioned ROAM Consulting to conduct detailed modelling of the interaction between solar generation and the Australian electricity markets in order to identify the potential value of solar generation (including storage and gas hybridisation) in the market.  The resulting report includes forecasted solar plant revenues, and forecasts the impact of varying levels of large scale solar generation on the National Electricity Market.

Download the report: Solar Generation Australian Market Modelling, ROAM Consulting (PDF 5.3MB)

Solar intermittency: Australia’s clean energy challenge 
 
With ASI support, CSIRO in partnership with the Australian Energy Market Operator and the Energy Networks Association conducted a world-first study into the effects of solar intermittency in order to produce a reference for the Australian solar industry.

Download the report: Solar Intermittency: Australia's clean energy challenge (PDF 6.3MB)  

Realising the Potential of Concentrating Solar Power

ASI commissioned IT Power to undertake a review of the potential for concentrating solar power in Australia. After extensive stakeholder consultation, including a series of workshops with participants from industry, research and government, the resulting report and Summary for Stakeholders are now available:

Realising the Potential of Concentrating Solar Power in Australia – Summary for Stakeholders (PDF 2MB)
Realising the Potential of Concentrating Solar Power in Australia (PDF 10.7MB)

Benchmarking Report – Solar RD&D Funding Sources and Models

Baker & McKenzie’s report for ASI identifies a range of innovative funding models used to support solar and renewable energy research, development and demonstration (RD&D) activity internationally.  It represents the first attempt to systematically review and analyse different funding models for solar RD&D, with findings that are relevant to solar research and industry in Australia and around the world.
Global Benchmarking Report for the ASI: Solar RD&D Funding Sources and Models, Baker & McKenzie (PDF 784KB)

PV modelling

With ASI support, the Australian PV Association has developed a set of techno-economic projection models and applied these to predict changes in the cost of electricity generated by solar photovoltaics (PV), compared to prevailing grid electricity prices. Three models were developed, one for residential systems, one for systems on commercial buildings, and another for systems designed for generation on a large scale, resulting in three reports:

International Energy Agency PV Power Systems Programme activity

ASI supported the Australian PV Association (APVA) to contribute on behalf of Australia to the International Energy Agency PV Power Systems Programme (IEA PVPS). This Programme spans fourteen tasks to enhance international collaboration to accelerate the development and deployment of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy as a significant and sustainable source of renewable energy. Reports developed as part of this work include:

Task 1: Exchange and dissemination of information on photovoltaic power systems

  • PV in Australia 2011

This report, which covers installed PV power, costs and prices, PV production and investment in Australia in 2011, represents Australia’s contribution to the Annual PV Power Systems Trends in Photovoltaic Applications report, prepared by the IEA.
PV in Australia 2011 (PDF 1.1MB)

Previous annual PV status reports available at www.apva.org.au 

Task 11: PV Hybrid Systems within Mini-Grids

The reports below are outputs of the IEA PVPS’s Task 11 activities and are provided here for the purpose of information dissemination.

  • Communication between Components in Mini-Grids

This report gives an overview of data communication systems standards used within PV-hybrid systems and mini-grids. Several existing communication protocols used in PV hybrid systems are reviewed to provide an overview of the existing state of the art. New, open source, protocols that will improve interoperability of components in PV hybrid systems are presented.
Communication between Components in Mini-Grids (PDF 1.83MB) 

  • Social, Economic and Organizational Framework for Sustainable Operation of PV Hybrid Systems within Mini-Grids

In remote parts of the world where hybrid photovoltaic (PV) systems have been installed, it has been shown that, in addition to suitable system design and proper installation, non-technical aspects have to be considered. The social and economic aspects described in this report deal with long-term conditions for operation and management of hybrid PV systems and their overall sustainability.
Social, Economic and Organisational Framework for Sustainable Operation of PV Hybrid Systems within Mini-Grids (PDF 1.95MB) 

  • Design and operational recommendations on grid connection of PV hybrid mini-grids

This report proposes design and operational recommendations for grid connection and disconnection of a PV hybrid mini-grid to a main grid. It draws on control methods currently implemented at existing mini-grid sites; existing technical requirements for grid connection in Japan, Europe, and the United States; and the role of PV hybrid mini-grids in large-scale renewable energy deployments.
Design and operational recommendations on grid connection of PV hybrid mini-grids (PDF 807KB) 

Task 12: PV Environmental Health And Safety

  • Methodology Guidelines on Life-Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaic Electricity

    The guidelines provide guidance on assuring consistency, balance, and quality to enhance the credibility and reliability of the results from photovoltaic (PV) Life Cycle Assessments (LCA).  The guidelines represent a consensus among the authors, PV LCA experts in North America, Europe, and Asia, for assumptions made on PV performance, process input and emissions allocation, methods of analysis, and reporting of the results.
    Methodology Guidelines on Life-Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaic Electricity (PDF 400KB)

Task 14: High Penetration of PV Systems in Electricity Grids

ASI supported APVA and the UNSW Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets (CEEM) to undertake research relating to Task 14 activities. This work involves the preparation of a number of Australian case studies including

  • Alice Springs – A case study of increasing levels of PV penetration in an electricity supply system

This report describes key technical experiences with increasing levels of PV penetration in the Alice Springs electricity grid.
Alice Springs: A case study of increasing levels of PV penetration in an electricity supply system, APVA and CEEM (PDF 2MB) 

Further case studies are planned for Magnetic Island (Townsville), Norfolk Island, Blacktown (Sydney), and other sites with high levels of PV.

Other reports

A Review of Solar Energy Forecasting Requirements and a Proposed Approach for the Development of an Australian Solar Energy Forecasting System

The Australian Energy Market Operator identified a need for solar energy production to be forecast in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in light of the proposed construction of two large scale Solar Flagships power stations, the rapid increase in smaller distributed PV systems and an expectation that solar generation capacity in the NEM is likely to continue to increase over the coming years.

ASI commissioned a review of solar energy forecasting (SEF) requirements to identify the current status of SEF in Australia and overseas, identify SEF areas requiring further research and development, and to help inform the development an Australian Solar Energy Forecasting System for the NEM.

The resulting report is A Review of Solar Energy Forecasting Requirements and a Proposed Approach for the Development of an Australian Solar Energy Forecasting System, by Dr Peter Coppin, CSIRO (PDF 836KB)