Power and Water’s Manager Sustainable Energy, Trevor Horman, recently shone a light on solar through an illuminating and informative presentation to members of the Master Builders Association.
The presentation covered a range of aspects including how the Northern Territory’s photovoltaic (PV) industry has grown since 2001.
Mr Horman talked about current trends and new technologies and how they are impacting on the market and the network. PV prices are falling and energy prices continue to rise. However feed-in rates are reducing and all these factors need to be reconciled to ensure the desired economies of scale are achievable for those installing rooftop solar systems.
Mr Horman emphasised that residential and business load profiles are important for effective optimisation of solar energy use. Solar energy peaks during the day when typically residential power is not being heavily used. A business profile demonstrates optimum use during the day however reduced use on a weekend.
He then explained the challenges and issues this presents for the network and the expectations of customers.
The presentation concluded with energy efficiency and the best way to get readily achievable energy cost savings. The NT is generally 17 per cent below the national average in energy efficiency. Making a 30 per cent improvement is an easy goal.
A range of considered questions were offered including concern about myths in the solar markets and through the media. The audience demonstrated that there is a genuine interest in factual information regarding solar PV in the NT.
