In the wake of last week’s heatwave across large parts of Australia information just collated shows that solar photovoltaic power generation played a significant role in avoiding blackouts and helped to keep power prices down.
The Australian Solar Council (ASC) says modelling now shows that solar PV played a significant role in slashing energy prices for the entire community during last week’s heatwave in South Australia and Victoria.
The ASC says electricity was generated by more than 350,000 privately owned PV systems installed in homes and businesses in South Australia and Victoria, which brought down demand, and added some capacity to the electricity network.
Modelling released by the REC Agents Association (RAA) now shows that during periods of peak demand solar was contributing 606MW to the grid in those two states.
ASC says electricity generators sell the energy they produce into the electricity market in half hour blocks.
This wholesale price fluctuates according to demand, and during periods of low demand it may sit at $0.03 a kilowatt-hour.
However, during peak demand it can rise as high as $13.10 a kilowatt-hour.
ASC points out that in similar conditions, the lead up to Victoria’s Black Saturday bushfires in January 2009, the average wholesale price in Victoria was $4.62 a kilowatt-hour.
That stands in stark contrast to the average wholesale price of $0.51 a kilowatt-hour during the recent heat wave on the afternoon of Thursday January 16.
ASC says this difference can be attributed, in large part, to the heavy lifting being done by 350,000 solar PV systems slashing peak demand and adding capacity in 2014, as opposed to virtually none in 2009.
ASC also said that an analysis of the amount of electricity produced by solar PV installations on Wednesday January 15, showed that that at its peak solar was producing, as a percentage of state electricity use: 9.41 per cent in SA; 9.13 per cent in WA; 8.64 per cent in QLD; 2.80 per cent in VIC and 3.59 per cent in NSW.
ASC says massive blowouts in the wholesale cost of fossil fuel energy are a key driver for increased power bills.
This massive cost burden is spread across all electricity users throughout the entire year, in the form of fixed electricity tariffs.
RAA modelling also shows that at other times of lower demand, such as last Sunday, January 19, solar PV was producing nearly 25 per cent of South Australia’s afternoon electricity demand and eight per cent of Victoria’s.
John Grimes, Chief Executive of the ASC said, ”It is time to stop the attacks on solar PV and recognise the real and positive contribution of solar in reducing power prices for the entire community.
“The community benefits of these solar PV investments will continue to do so for 30 years and more.
“Ordinary people in the mortgage belts of our big cities and in rural and regional Australia have invested a significant amount of their own private capital in solar PV.
This is a valuable contribution to our national energy network and time our solar citizens were recognised.”
