A remote West Australian town to test a renewable hydrogen microgrid

Source: One Step off the Grid

A remote coastal town in Western Australia (WA) called Denham is now powered by four old wind turbines and a diesel generator. The community pays a high price for having the diesel trucked in and the turbines are at least 20 years old.

To generate most of their own power, the plan is to have a 704kW solar system, a 348kW hydrogen electrolyser, a compressor for hydrogen storage and a 100kW fuel cell to make electricity from the stored hydrogen when needed. There will be enough power for 100 homes but the new items will be connected to the existing system which will act as a backup. The hydrogen electrolyser, powered by solar energy, will split water to make green hydrogen. A Hydro Harvester could be used if water is scarce. 

The project is getting funding assistance from ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) which will use it as a test case for use in other remote Australian communities. "The potential for these communities to generate, store and use their own renewable energy could simultaneously reduce costs and reduce emissions without sacrificing the reliability of energy supply." said ARENA CEO Darren Miller.

Read more: Australia's first remote, renewable hydrogen microgrid wins ARENA backing. One Step off the Grid, November 27, 2020. 

Victorian town in bushfire zone adds solar and battery for community sports centre

Hepburn Sports Centre with Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance (One Step off the Grid)

The community sports centre of Hepburn, Victoria, has a solar and battery storage system which will reduce its electricity costs and emissions as well as supporting its role as a last resort community shelter in the case of a bushfire. Electricity power is one of the first supplies to be cut during severe bushfires. 

The Hepburn Recreation Reserve now has a 25kW solar system and a 13.5kWh Tesla Powerwall 2 battery. This system continues to operate when there is a grid outage. This large solar and battery combination will supply power day and night particularly in summer. Alone, the battery will provide power for a day and will be topped up quickly when it is sunny (a little slower if it is smokey or cloudy).

“The $31,818 cost of the solar and storage system was contributed to by the Hepburn Shire Council ($12,000), local community renewables outfit Hepburn Wind ($4,500), and the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance ($15,318) with $12,500 of that amount from a Bank Australia grant and $2,818 from the Hepburn Solar Bulk-Buy.” 

Read more: Solar and Tesla Powerwall offer Victorian town bushfire resilience. One Step off the Grid, July 24, 2020.

British Manor saves US$12,280 a year with biomass boiler

Barrington Court, Somerset, UK (photo: J May)

Barrington Court, Somerset, UK, now belonging to the National Trust, is saving 10,000 pounds per year (A$18,550, US$12,280) after replacing its oil boiler with a biomass boiler. The energy comes from burning wood pellets from local sustainable forests. 

The building is a very large 16^th century manor and a popular tourist attraction. Being an old building, keeping it warm in winter requires a great deal of heat. The oil boiler emitted a lot of fossil fuel CO2, so with these renewable wood pellets there is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. 

“Although wood does emit carbon dioxide when burned, it is considered close to carbon neutral as the amount it emits is the same amount as it has absorbed during its lifetime. It is a sustainable and renewable process so long as woodlands are allowed to regrow following harvesting and that the wood-fuel is not transported far. Even if you include the energy used to make a biomass boiler, using wood will emit 94% less [excess] carbon dioxide than oil.”  (Barrington Court, 2015). 

For more information: 

- Barrington Court, National Trust 

- Biomass boiler project, National Trust 

- Biomass heating system at Barrington Court, 2015. pdf

Solar energy produced “water battery” wins global award and saves 40% of university’s energy use

"Water Battery" and solar panels at the USC (USC website)

The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), Queensland, Australia, wins an award at the 6th Global District Energy Climate Awards which was presented in Iceland in September 2019. The award was for their “water battery”, featuring 6,000+ solar panels and a thermal energy storage tank, that is cutting grid energy use at the Sunshine Coast campus by 40 percent.

The USC has a goal to become carbon neutral by 2025 and to operate sustainably. The Sunshine Coast campus uses a lot of electricity, so in order to achieve that goal they had to come up with a way to store energy without using chemical batteries which have a waste problem.

In collaboration with Veolia, the USC installed a massive rooftop solar system and built a thermal energy storage battery with a thermal chiller. When the sunshines (which is often in this location), solar energy powers the thermal chiller to cool water which is stored in a massive tank. The chilled water is used to air condition the entire campus.

Read more:
- Sunny approach to cooling campus wins global award. University of the Sunshine Coast, October 28, 2019.
- Clean Energy (How it Works): Sustainable USC, University of the Sunshine Coast.
- Sustainable USC, University of the Sunshine Coast.

100s of NSW and ACT pubs save on energy through a PPA on solar

Source: RenewEconomy

A large Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between over 300 pubs/hotels/breweries in NSW and the ACT and the energy giant Engie will enable the building of a large scale solar farm at Narrabri; reduce the participants’ carbon footprints and their energy costs.

The partnership is between Lion Breweries, the Australian Hotels Association, Tourism Accommodation Australia and Engie’s retailer subsidiary Simply Energy. These hotels, pubs and breweries will secure a supply of renewable energy at a much lower price than current wholesale electricity spot prices.

The deal will lock in wholesale electricity prices for the venues at $69/MW for 10 years, compared to the current prices which are around $85/MW. For example, for a typical hotel its energy prices will drop from 11.5c/kWh to 6.9c/kWh. This is 40% less which means a saving of $18,000 per year.

It is part of a wider trend which allows Australian corporations to reduce their energy costs by forming these PPAs and enabling the construction of new renewable energy sources.

Read more: XXXX! Hundreds of pubs slash energy costs through Lion deal on solar. Renew Economy, October 4, 2019.
Post Script: How to benefit from renewable energy power purchase agreements - an explainer. The Green List, August 22, 2019.

“Massive 3MW of solar installed on rooftop of Sydney logistics company”

Morebank Logisitcs Park's solar installation. (Source: One Step off the Grid)

“Another notably large commercial rooftop solar array has been completed in Sydney, this time a 3MW installation on the roof of the Moorebank Logistics Park, operated by diversified logistics and infrastructure provider, Qube. The completion of the solar rooftop, installed by Modcol, was announced on Monday by LG, which supplied the more the 7,500 PV panels for the project.”

“LG said the 3MW installation was expected to deliver around 4800MWh of energy per year, the equivalent of powering more than 7,300 homes…The PV system – once activated – would feed into a high-voltage embedded power network, meaning that the solar power it generated could be used by nearby warehouses or distributed to other parts of the precinct…The 400W LG NeON® 2 solar panel used in the installation are designed for commercial systems seeking an efficient use of space with great output efficiency.”

““During the next 25 years the Moorebank solar project is expected to result in net emission reductions of more than 1.2  million tons of CO2-e,” said Markus Lambert, LG Electronics Australia’s general manager of solar and energy.”

Read More:
- Massive 3MW of solar installed on rooftop of Sydney logistics company. One Step off the Grid, August 26, 2019.
- Qube Logistics: https://qube.com.au/

Renew helps Indigenous community in WA go solar

Part of the solar system at Kurrawang (Source: Renew)

A solar project jointly set up by Renew and an Indigenous community in Western Australia three years ago is benefiting households and cutting greenhouse emissions. The 139-panel solar system is set up on a workshop and machinery shed at the Kurrawang Aboriginal Christian Community near Kalgoorlie. Renew is a not-for-profit organisation which aids and inspires sustainable living.

Renew member, Robin Gardner, said “The savings are averaging, since start up, at 4550 kilowatt hours a month. The system generally supplies almost all the power needs of the community during the middle of the day for the 25 houses, school and workshop, and returns less than 5% to the grid.”

“To the 6th of December, the system had generated 145,584 kilowatt hours of electricity, which has resulted in the saving of 145 tonnes of carbon dioxide or the equivalent of removing 42 cars from the road for a year.”

Read more: Kurrawang: solar success. Renew, January 31, 2019.

"Aged care company to cut grid power consumption in half with solar, LED lighting"

Opal’s Macquarie Place aged care home near Newcastle. (One Step Off the Grid)

"Australian company Opal Aged Care is looking to cut its grid electricity consumption almost in half, with a business-wide rollout of rooftop solar and energy efficient lighting.

In a program coordinated by solar and energy efficiency specialist Verdia, Opal will install just over 3.4MW of solar PV and more than 28,000 LED lights at 54 properties across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

The project, which is expected to be completed in early 2019, will cut onsite grid electricity use by about 42 per cent, greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent, and pay for itself in little more than five years......"

Continue reading at: Aged care company to cut grid power consumption in half with solar, LED lighting. One Step off the Grid, December 6, 2018.

Five year cost of owning a Hyundai Ioniq EV vs Toyota Corolla Hybrid

Hyundai Ioniq EV (Green Car Guide)

Drive Zero has done the cost of owning Australia’s current cheapest electric vehicle, the Hyundai Ionic EV, compared to the Toyota Corolla Hybrid. The reasoning and calculations are complex and not repeated here. Please go to the cited article below for full details.

The article takes into consideration purchase price; registration (Victoria [and the ACT] give some discount for low CO₂ emission cars), energy consumption; energy price; total energy spent and servicing over 5 years and 150,000 km; and depreciation for the same period. Over that time, the energy, servicing costs and depreciation are less for the EV but the purchase price still makes the Corolla cheaper. However when some factors below are considered, the EV is better value than the Corolla hybrid.

There are other situations to consider such as EVs will be cheaper to run if one owns solar panels [and a solar battery]; they will run mostly on renewable energy in South Australia, Tasmania [and the ACT]. With most charging done at home, it makes it unnecessary to go to a petrol station. The drive is smoother, quieter and more responsive. Petrol prices will most likely go up and electricity prices will most likely go down. The more EVs on the road in cities, the cleaner the air will be. The tipping point for EV/ICE parity is expected around 2022 [Bloomberg predicts 2024]. (ICE=Internal Combustion Engine).

See full details at: Cost of Hyundai Ioniq Electric vs Toyota Corolla Hybrid. Drive Zero, December 16, 2019.
See also these similar articles:
- Tesla Model 3 costs less than a Toyota Camry to own. The Driven, April 18, 2019.
- Toyota Camry & Honda Accord buyers, don’t assume Tesla Model 3 is beyond your budget. (U.S.) CleanTechnica, October 28, 2018.

Major Australian winemaker is to power its largest site with solar and wind

Source: Inhabitat

A large wine producer, Australian Vintage, is to power its largest site with solar and wind farms. The company signed a hybrid renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) with corporate retailer Flow Power.

Australian Vintage is the country’s third largest wine producer. Its PPA with Flow Power enables the wine company to purchase some of its renewable energy off-site. However, it will also have some solar on-site both on the ground and on its roof tops. In total, the agreement with Flow Power will provide its Buronga Hill winery, NSW, with 90% renewable energy.

But it is just the latest such deal sealed by an Australian business, seeking to lock in lower energy costs by sourcing off-site solar and wind energy. The article referenced below names other Australian businesses that have recently signed similar agreements.

Read more: Major winemaker Australian Vintage inks solar and wind PPA with Flow Power. One Step off the Grid, November 26, 2018.

Farming co-op to trial a solar and battery storage microgrid

Source: One Step off the Grid

"A Victorian solar and storage microgrid project geared at helping Australian farmers to tackle energy-related “pain points” including rising power prices and unreliable supply, has won state government backing. The agriculture co-op Birchip Cropping Group will receive $210,000 to develop the project at its local facility in the Mallee region."

"The microgrid, including 51kW of solar and 137kWh of battery storage capacity, will be developed by energy technology company SwitchDin and commercial microgrid developer Walnut Energy."

"According to a statement from SwitchDin, the Birchip project aims to demonstrate the value of energy resilience and self-sufficiency for rural industries. This will include testing the “islanding” capabilities of the microgrid – in which it cuts itself off from the grid to keep power on in the event of a network outage."

Read more: Farmers to tap solar and battery storage, in latest Victoria microgrid trial. One Step off the Grid, October 3, 2018.

Australian window shade maker installs a 800kW rooftop solar system.

Hunter Douglas' solar PV. (Source: One Step off the Grid)

“Sydney-based window furnishings company Hunter Douglas has become one of the latest Australian manufacturers to invest in a solar power system, to cut costs and boost their business’s sustainability.”

“According to the company’s website, the 2080 panel system will generate 29,955,000kWh of power a year – enough to power 4,608 Australian homes and abate 24,862 tonnes of CO2 emissions.”

“”This installation is notable for the cutting edge technology that we have chosen, and its cost effectiveness which will see it pay back the investment in a little over four years,” said Tony Politis, Hunter Douglas managing director for Australia and New Zealand.”

Read more: Australian window shade maker taps solar with 800kW rooftop rooftop PV system. One Step off the Grid, July 19, 2018.

New transparent solar PV glass has huge energy making potential

A building such as the Shard, centre, could generate 2,500MW/yr if fitted with Polysolar panels (photo: Julie May)

Polysolar glass panels, from Cambridge UK, are based on a range of thin-film PV technologies. One panel measuring 1,200mm by 600m can generate an average of 5kWh of power per month – equivalent to half an average home’s power consumption per day.

“The panels have already been installed in certain spots around the UK, for instance, in the first solar-powered bus shelter in Canary Wharf, London…...They have also been deployed in a domestic setting, having been installed as part of a garage roof and workshop in a trial that saw the panels meet the complete power needs of the owner’s home and electric car.”

“While not the first company to target windows capable of harvesting solar energy for commercial use, Polysolar believes it has cracked the problem of creating functional PV film that doesn’t distort, tint or dim natural light.” The company is looking for funding.

Read more at: Solar panel glass could turn skyscrapers into power stations. Power Technology, June 8, 2018.

Almost half of Australian businesses are going to renewables

Almost half of Australia’s large businesses are actively transitioning to cheaper renewable energy, including many going off the grid by building their own generators and battery storage, as power bills threaten their bottom line.

The main motivation is increasing energy prices. The average household and small-business energy bill is more than 80% higher than a decade ago. Gas prices have increased threefold in five years.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/15/almsost-half-of-australian-big-business-moving-to-renewables

Subsidy-free wind farms return money to Canberran consumers in 2017

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government received dividends from its first two wind farms built towards its goal of matching 100 percent of its electricity needs with renewable energy by 2020.

The Ararat wind farm actually delivered a dividend to ACT energy consumers of nearly $90,000 from its opening early in 2017 to the end of December. The smaller, but lower cost, 19.8MW Coonooer Bridge wind farm delivered an even bigger dividend of $480,000 over the calendar year. It should be noted, not all the ACT renewable energy contracts will deliver dividends. Some of the early solar farms were constructed when prices were higher.

When holding auctions for renewable energy capacity, The ACT government delivered guaranteed prices for the wind farm developers. That meant that if wholesale electricity prices at the time of generation were lower than agreed, then the ACT would make up the difference. But because this was a specially structured “contract for difference” it meant that if the prices were higher than agreed - as they were for most of 2017 - then the excess is returned by the wind farm owners, and given back to the ACT and to energy consumers.

“Not only does this mean the ACT has some of the cheapest electricity in Australia, it means our previous renewable energy contracts are helping insulate the Territory from future wholesale market price spikes.” said Shane Rattenbury, ACT Government Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability.

More details at: The subsidy-free wind farms that returned money to ACT consumers in 2017. RenewEconomy, May 4, 2018.

"Low income homes to be offered 'no-cost' solar and batteries"

Source: One Step off the Grid

“A new solar and storage scheme aims to tackle the problem of “power poverty” in Australia head on, by offering low income households around Australia the option to install both solar and battery storage for no upfront cost.

The scheme, unveiled by “solar marketplace” ShineHub on Wednesday morning, will initially be open to 1000 households across all states except the Northern Territory and Tasmania.

Households that sign up – people can register their interest via the ShineHub website – will be given the opportunity to install between 3-10kW of rooftop solar PV and 5.7-22.8kWh of battery storage, depending on their consumption profiles and energy needs.”

Read on at: Low income homes to be offered “no-cost” solar and batteries. One Step off the Grid, April 18, 2018.

"Lendlease fund sets 2025 net zero carbon target."

Melbourne Quarter buildings project (Source TheFifthEstate)

“Lendlease’s Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial (APPFC) will become net zero carbon by 2025, one of the tightest targets set in the property sector. The goal is being supported by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which has tipped $100 million in equity into the $4.5 billion commercial property fund.”

“The investment would help Lendlease meet the new industry benchmark for carbon targets while specifically helping the Melbourne Quarter development pursue a precinct-wide energy solution, including the integration of energy efficiency, renewables, storage and virtual network technologies across multiple buildings.”

There will also be a tenant engagement component. There is a trend towards smart data, tenant engagement and whole-of-building approaches, and part of the deal struck with CEFC was that learnings would be shared with the wider industry. CEFC finance is helping developers forge new standards in sustainability and building design across the built environment.

“The Lendlease-masterplanned Melbourne Quarter is targeting 6 Star Green Star ratings for all commercial buildings and will host one of the city’s largest solar installations. The first stage is set to be completed this year, and when all stages are completed will accommodate 13,000 workers and 3000 residents.”

Read more:
Lendlease fund sets 2025 net zero carbon target. TheFifthEstate, March 29, 2018.
Melbourne Quarter precinct the centrepiece of new CEFC and Lendlease sustainability plans. Clean Energy Finance Corporation, March 29, 2018.

"How I learned to slash my power bill, with solar and storage"

Reposit phone app data (One Step off the Grid)

In the article linked below, Roger Rooney outlines his first year with solar panels, battery storage and Reposit battery management system at home in Canberra and how this has given a massive 81% savings on his power bill. His system is part of Canberra’s Virtual Power Plant (as is my system) and thus we earn Grid Credits of $1/kWh when power is taken from our batteries during peak demand times. This means, at times, we are sharing our stored power with others to help avoid blackouts.

His savings are substantial, as are mine and he states: “After 12 months, I am happy to report that my 25 panel solar array and medium sized battery set-up (together some better demand management) has meant my wife and I have cut our electricity bill down from $2,100 per annum to just under $32 average per month (~$384 per annum).”

Read his full story at: How I learned to slash my power bill, with solar and storage. By Roger Rooney, One Step off the Grid, March 14, 20018.
See also: My House and Graphs of my home energy use and costs updated in this blog. Julie May

City of Sydney encourages rooftop solar to avoid costly grid upgrades

 Source: RenewEconomy

The City of Sydney, Australia, is injecting funds into its electricity grid supplier, Ausgrid, to encourage the uptake of more rooftop solar in the city council area. Sydney will lift the money available to subsidise rooftop solar and other initiatives by 50 per cent. Ausgrid claims the costs of more solar will be vastly outweighed by avoiding expensive grid upgrades.

The grant program is available for rooftop solar installations, as well as LED lighting, variable heat pumps and smart building control systems. With many of the buildings being occupied during the day and not at night, most of the solar energy will be used and will help delay peak demand times.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the initiative would help the City of Sydney reach its targets to reduce emissions by 70 per cent and source half of the electricity supply in our area from renewables. “We’re covering as many of our own buildings with solar PV as we can, but we can’t control the buildings we don’t own. Initiatives like this encourage building owners across the city to invest in renewables and energy efficiency measures.”

The project could also realise a solution that would possibly increase the number of solar installations on apartment buildings and leased commercial properties. There are systems available that enable the sharing of solar energy with tenants. See: Queensland develops a simple energy efficiency investment program for commercial buildings and their tenants.

Further reading: City of Sydney buys into Ausgrid network’s push for more solar. RenewEconomy, March 8, 2018.

Canberra arboretum adds 30KW of solar + 82KWh of storage

Canberra National Arboretum - horticultural depot. (One Step off the Grid)

Canberra’s National Arboretum – a 250 hectare tourist centre that hosts 94 forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees – has gone off diesel, after the installation 30KW of solar and 82KWh of battery storage. The arboretum’s horticultural depot is not connected to the grid and has been using a diesel generator. The system should be paid off within eight years via fuel savings alone.

The arborists and gardeners are now using clean, solar-powered electric chainsaws, hedge trimmers, lawn mowers and so on for their work, instead of fossil fuelled tools. There now are fully electric, lithium-ion battery powered and cordless alternatives to most power tools and lawn mowers, available to buy in Australia. With the solar panels installed, these arboretum tools are now powered by the sun and are emission-free.

Further reading: Canberra arboretum goes green-er, ditching diesel for solar and storage. One Step off the Grid, March 2, 2018.