It may well be that investing in a Solar Power system in Australia will never be cheaper.
Why ?
1. The world market for solar panels is hugely over supplied and as such many manufacturers are selling even below marginal cost of production - Read this link
2. Whilst generous Australian Government rebates are still in effect, this may not last.
The Productivity Commission has called on the Government to scrap support for solar (read here) and the recent review of the Renewable Energy Target (which forms the basis of support for solar) suggested potential reductions support.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Why Micro Inverters are not a good option in Australia
A number of micro inverter systems have come onto the market over the past couple of months. However, at this stage only one has made it onto the Western Power approved list - the APS YC range (This is freely available on the wholesale market).
Infinite Energy has done some thourough research over the past 3 months into micro-inverters with a view to adding them into our range.
At this stage the overwelming conclusion was that micro-inverters are not a good option in most parts of Australia.
Our reasoning:
1. Most micro-inverters are only rated to 65 degrees. The temperature on a hot roof in most parts of Australia (under a solar panel) often gets a lot hotter than 65 degrees. This has two implications:
- the inverter will not function as it should
- it is a very harsh enviroment for an electrical device to operate for 15+ years
2. There are large number of failure points in the solar system (especially given the harsh enviroment described above)
3. Once a failure does occur, it can be very expensive to fix as access can be difficult.
4. Not one micro-inverter manufacturer we have come across will provide an "on-site" warranty - meaning either the customer will have to pay for the diagnosis to occur (on the roof), the unit to be removed from under the panel, returned to the manufacturer (freight) and then the replacement reinstalled. (Compare this to a simple swap out policy for an SMA inverter which is at ground level).
5. The MPPT voltage range is often quite high in relation to the voltage of a single panel meaning that in a lot of cases the panel may not be able to supply enough voltage for the inverter to work (this is exactly when the system should come into its own - for example when the panel is shaded).
6. Micro-inverters are currently very expensive - not withstanding the above, any potential upside is not justified by the increased cost of the system.
7. The technology is currently unproven at large scale particularly in a harsh environment such as in Australia.
Be aware there are a number of solar companies touting their micro-inverter solutions as unique (that's simply not the case - there is only one micro inverter on the Western Power approved list and it's widely available).
The major upsides of a micro-inverter (shade minimisation, reduced DC voltage, arc protection, increased energy harvesting) are available without the downsides through systems like Solar Edge and Tigo.
At this stage the overwelming conclusion was that micro-inverters are not a good option in most parts of Australia.
Our reasoning:
1. Most micro-inverters are only rated to 65 degrees. The temperature on a hot roof in most parts of Australia (under a solar panel) often gets a lot hotter than 65 degrees. This has two implications:
- the inverter will not function as it should
- it is a very harsh enviroment for an electrical device to operate for 15+ years
2. There are large number of failure points in the solar system (especially given the harsh enviroment described above)
3. Once a failure does occur, it can be very expensive to fix as access can be difficult.
4. Not one micro-inverter manufacturer we have come across will provide an "on-site" warranty - meaning either the customer will have to pay for the diagnosis to occur (on the roof), the unit to be removed from under the panel, returned to the manufacturer (freight) and then the replacement reinstalled. (Compare this to a simple swap out policy for an SMA inverter which is at ground level).
5. The MPPT voltage range is often quite high in relation to the voltage of a single panel meaning that in a lot of cases the panel may not be able to supply enough voltage for the inverter to work (this is exactly when the system should come into its own - for example when the panel is shaded).
6. Micro-inverters are currently very expensive - not withstanding the above, any potential upside is not justified by the increased cost of the system.
7. The technology is currently unproven at large scale particularly in a harsh environment such as in Australia.
Be aware there are a number of solar companies touting their micro-inverter solutions as unique (that's simply not the case - there is only one micro inverter on the Western Power approved list and it's widely available).
The major upsides of a micro-inverter (shade minimisation, reduced DC voltage, arc protection, increased energy harvesting) are available without the downsides through systems like Solar Edge and Tigo.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Trees A Green's New Solar System
Infinite Energy have just completed installation of a 10kw Commercial Solar PV System at Trees A Green in Wattle Grove.
It's a great looking system featuring Suntech 230W solar panels and an SMA Sunny Tripower 10000TL inverter with a remote online monitoring system and will deliver a investment return of over 24% per annum for Trees A Green.
It's a great looking system featuring Suntech 230W solar panels and an SMA Sunny Tripower 10000TL inverter with a remote online monitoring system and will deliver a investment return of over 24% per annum for Trees A Green.