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NSW solar feed-in tariff halved for 18/19.

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The NSW solar feed-in tariff is set to halve in 2018/19 as the New South Wales regulator (IPART) has flagged changes to its price guide, citing lower wholesale prices as the main catalyst.

NSW solar feed-in tariff

NSW Solar feed-in tariff 2018
NSW Solar feed-in tariff 2018 (source: ipart.nsw.gov.au)

IPART (Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal for NSW) released a draft publication entitled ‘Solar feed-in tariffs: the value of electricity from small-scale solar panels in 2018-19‘ on Tuesday. It sets the benchmark for exported solar back into the grid for 7.5c/kW rather than the 11.9-15c/kWh range we saw in 2016/17.

It’s important to note that this is merely a benchmark and supply/demand will continue to define how much solar export it worth. With the wholesale prices currently falling and tipped to continue in 2018/19, it makes sense to see the FiTs adjusted accordingly.

IPART justified their decisions by explaining retail prices would rise if they didn’t slow down the FiT given the rapidly sinking wholesale prices (the most recent forward contract wholesale price from the ASX is 7.4c/kWh):

“We set the draft benchmark for the all-day solar feed-in tariffs based on our forecast of the average price that retailers would pay for solar exports across the day (weighted by solar output) if they were buying them on the wholesale market,” the report advises.

“For 2018-19, our draft all-day benchmark is 7.5c/kWh. We consider this benchmark is reasonable, and that setting a higher benchmark would lead to unacceptable outcomes.

“In particular, if retailers were required to pay more for these solar exports than they would pay for wholesale electricity on the NEM, retail prices for all customers would need to be higher to recover the difference,” the IPART report continues.

We’ve written previously about the NSW solar tariffs with regards to retail purchase or electricity – there’s a large disparity between offers and we expect that to continue. Whether you are feeding back into the grid or not, it’s important to be across the solar deals so you’re getting maximum return from your investment / paying as little as possible for your electricity.

Any questions? Please ask below!

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Two bidders for Liddell power station.

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Delta Electricity have entered the contest with Alinta Energy to buy the Liddell power station – a coal-fired, ageing plant that still pumps out 1680MW and is owned by AGL, who have advised that they’ll close it by 2022.

Liddell Power Station

Liddell Power Station
Liddell Power Station (source: wikipedia.org)

Following the shutdown of the 1600MW Hazelwood coal-fired power plant last year, customers saw power shortages and a spike in power bills. The government is concerned that the same thing will happen if the Liddell power station is shut by 2022 – with PM Malcolm Turnbull directly telephoning AGL chairman Graeme Hunt this week to talk about the sale.

AGL haven’t allowed Alinta Energy or Delta Electricity to do any due diligence on the plant – with Delta MD Greg Everett telling the Sydney Morning Herald is was a major hindrance for the company who have been shut out from performing any in the past, as AGL advised they weren’t willing to sell:

“Would we be interested? If it was for sale we would definitely be interested in doing due diligence on it,” Mr Everett said.

“So we’d be in the same position as Alinta.”

Everett and Delta already operate the Vales Point coal-fired generator in NSW and the company was previously owned by the NSW government. Everett has been quoted as saying there is a ‘reasonable’ chance of extending the life of the program past 2022.

Alinta chief executive Jeff Dimery made a statement this morning confirming that their company are interested in Liddell, and if they sign a deal they aren’t going to apply for any government subsidies. Dimery advised that Alinta are willing to invest ~$1 billion AUD to buy the plant and extend its life by five to seven years. This would see the plant shutting down around 2027-2029 instead of 2022. 

AGL are keeping fairly taciturn about the situation:

“AGL is relying on Liddell to generate power for our customers until 2022 and we will require its infrastructure for our replacement plans into the future,” an AGL spokesman told Fairfax Media.

“AGL received an approach from Alinta last night expressing an interest in entering negotiations to acquire the Liddell Power Station. No formal offer has been received.

“Should a formal offer for Liddell be received, it would be given consideration in order to meet our obligations to customers and shareholders.”

There’s no doubt that Australia are moving towards renewable, clean energy and this is a good thing. The transition, however, needs to be done in an intelligent way – it’s be great to be totally renewably powered as soon as possible but it’s going to be a patience game as the technology increases and we work on reliable baseload power while we invest as much in renewable energy generation as we can. Where will we be in 2022, RET wise? It’s hard to say. We’ll keep you updated with any news about the plant’s potential sale. 

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Sydney Markets solar installation turned on.

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The Sydney Markets solar installation at their Flemington location has been turned on – the $8.9m solar system is Australia’s largest private solar rooftop installation and is expected to save the markets millions of dollars in electricity bills. 

Sydney markets solar installation

 

Sydney Markets solar installation
Sydney Markets solar installation (source: Sydney Markets Facebook)

According to Fairfax Media, the panels were installed by Autonomous Energy over a five month period and the 8,600 panels are able to generate more than 3MW – which is about 11% of Sydney Markets’ annual power usage. The markets are the largest food distribution centre in the Southern Hemisphere and turnover around $3b each year, so to see a company this big working on their sustainability is great.  

Brad Latham, the chief executive of Sydney Markets, said after stringent modelling, watching the market and seeing what other private solar investment was doing in Australia, they decided it was the right choice:

We’ve been examining solar panels for around five years, the financial models really stack up now,” Mr Latham told Fairfax Media.

“And with current electricity prices and the efficiency of solar panels it makes sense.”

Latham discussed how the Flemington-based Sydney markets already recycle about 70% of their on-site waste and how the renewable energy fits into their wider plan to make the markets as sustainable as possible:

“It’s part of our strategic plan to be leaders in sustainability. This solar power system will enable us to generate sustainable energy, as well as drastically reduce our carbon footprint,” Mr Latham said.

“In order to extract the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, 676 hectares of trees would be need to be planted each year.”

Chairman of the Sydney Markets, John Pearson, said this was just the beginning and they have big plants to expand the private solar system: 

“Sydney Markets has additional roof capacity to more than triple the generation of this solar system,” Mr Pearson said.

“We may continue to build upon and expand this system to meet our future energy needs.”

Pearson discussed how they think energy storage technology hasn’t quite reached the point where they’re ready to shell out for it, though: 

“We don’t think batteries are quite there yet, they are still a little ways off but it depends on the financial models,” Mr Latham said.

Another step forward for Australian businesses installing solar systems! 

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Newcastle Solar Farm Grant – CEFC

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Newcastle Solar Farm grant – the Newcastle City Council has received $6.5m from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to help pay for the 5MW solar farm to be built in Australia’s coal heartland. It’s fantastic to see them start to transition to clean energy, especially to see funding for the project for public access buildings and other council administrations.

Newcastle Solar Farm Grant

Newcastle Solar Farm Grant
Newcastle Solar Farm Grant (source: www.carnegiece.com)

We first wrote about the $8m Newcastle Solar Farm in February when it was purchased by Carnegie Clean Energy’s fully owned subsidiary Energy Made Clean. The design phase has started  and plant commissioning is expected to be at the end of Q3 2018.

The CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Nutali Nelmes, talked about how Newcastle council will be able to use the power for their complexes and move towards the future with regards to clean/renewable energy:

“Councils across Australia administer a vast network of streetlights, community centres, libraries, sport and recreation facilities and other public access buildings,” he said.

“Newcastle is leading the way in financing a solar farm through the CEFC to help it manage the energy costs of these facilities.

“We encourage other councils to also invest in clean energy, which can free up council finance for other community-enhancing projects while locking in longstanding environmental and economic benefits for their communities.”

According to Newcastle Lord Mayor Nutali Nelmes, the Newcastle City Council are planning to cut electricity usage by 30% within 2 years:

“I’d like to thank the Clean Energy Finance Corporation for its incredible support of the City of Newcastle’s sustainability charter,” he was quoted as saying on the Newcastle City Council website.

“We are building sustainability into everything we do after reiterating our commitment last year to generate 30 per cent of our electricity needs from low-carbon sources and cut overall electricity usage by 30 per cent by 2020.

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Large scale solar in NSW to explode in 2018.

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Large scale solar in NSW under the Berejiklian government is about to kick up a notch, as 11 large-scale solar energy plants have been approved in the last 12 months. 2018 is also off to a great start with the 500,000 PV solar panel, 170MW Finley Solar Project in the Riverina being approved. 

Large scale solar in NSW

Large Scale Solar in NSW
Large Scale Solar in NSW (source: smh.com.au via NSW Government)

NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin contends that NSW is helping lead the charge (for our money South Australia and Queensland are well ahead right not, but in any case) for solar power in Australia: 

“These projects will ensure our energy security and with many more in the pipeline, NSW is in a stronger position than other states,” he said.

Although NSW only has half the amount of rooftop solar PV as Queensland and South Australia (15% as opposed to 30%) – these figures are definitely a step in the right direction.

 According to Planning Minister Anthony Roberts quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, 1800 jobs have been created and the ten solar plant approvals in 2017 were double the 2016 number: 
 
The solar plants “collectively reduce carbon emissions by over 2.5 million tonnes, which is equivalent to taking around 800,000 cars off the road”, Roberts said. 
 
Estimates from the Smart Energy Council (an amalgam of the Australian Solar Council and the Energy Storage Council which occured late last year) project that 1.4GW of rooftop solar and 2.5-3.5GW of solar farms will be added to Australia’s solar arsenal in 2018, a massive increase from the record 1.3GW for both rooftop and solar farms that we saw in 2017. 

“With some of the best sunshine anywhere in the world and lots of good locations available, it is not surprising that NSW is up there with Queensland as one of the national frontrunners for new large-scale solar power projects,” Kane Thornton, chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, said.

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