Download - Solar Progress Issue 1 2013
03/13 issue 1
ISSN: 0729-6436
Access to sunlight Not always that simple
Storage options A look at what is around
Solar 2013 Conference & Expo Speakers and events
Energy Rating Systems Are we achieving the objectives?
The OffIcIal JOurNal Of The AustrAliAn solAr CounCil
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SolarProgress | 1
Contents
306
33 36
edITOr
dr Bill Parker
Phone: 0403 583 676
cONTrIBuTOrS: Steve Blume, Mark Byrne,
Greg combet, Peter fries, craig froome,
Paul Meredith, Nigel Morris, Peter Pentland,
Priyadarsini rajagopalan, rob Selbie, Jenny
Sharwood and Wayne Smith.
cONTrIBuTING edITOr
Nicola card
NaTIONal SaleS MaNaGer
Brian rault Phone: 03 8534 5014
deSIGN & PrOducTION
annette epifanidis
cOMMSTraT MelBOurNe
level 8, 574 St Kilda rd Melbourne 3004
Phone: 03 8534 5000
auSTralIaN SOlar cOuNcIl
ceO John Grimes
PO Box 148, frenchs forest NSW 1640
www.solar.org.au
aBN 32 006 824 148
commStrat aBN 31 008 434 802
www.commstrat.com.au
Solar Progress was first published in 1980. The
magazine aims to provide readers with an
in–depth review of technologies, policies and
progress towards a society which sources
energy from the sun rather than fossil fuels.
except where specifically stated, the
opinions and material published in this
magazine are not necessarily those of the
publisher or auSeS ltd Trading as australian
Solar council. While every effort is made
to check the authenticity and accuracy of
articles, neither aSc nor the editors are
responsible for any inaccuracy.
Solar Progress is published quarterly.www.solar.org.au
SOLAR PROGRESS is published by CommStrat for the Australian Solar Council (ASC).
Solar Progress subscriptions: contact Anna Washington Executive Assistant, ASC [email protected] or call 0409 802 707
Solar CouncilReview of solar landscape by ASC CEO and Solar Progress Editor 2
Solar 2013 Conference & Expo 20
The Golden Jubilee Conference 26
Hall of Fame recognises solar power pioneers 28
State Branch activity 46
Corporate members 48
Solar advancesCraig Froome on storage 8
Solomon Islands’ solar program 47
Special featuresSolar access versus shade, by Mark Byrne 12
A closer look at Energy Rating systems 14
Steve Blume on solar funding channels 22
Solar One pioneer Peter Fries 30
The vision of one UNSW student 33
STELR in schools 36
Industry developmentsWayne Smith takes a look at The RET Review 18
Minister Greg Combet and clean energy 24
News and viewsLocal and global solar developments 4
Nigel Morris compares solar to Icarus 32
Following the Sun book review 35
Fossil Fools, says Peter Fries 38
Products and servicesAussieWide Solar, GSES, Regen Power, SMA, Solar Clips and SolPac 42
Front cover: This source of energy will run out – eventually. In about one billion years, water on Earth will not exist as the Sun will have heated up such that terrestrial life will have gone. Time enough to deploy all the solar technologies we have to hand.Image courtesy NASA
2 | ISSUE 1 • 2013
Bill Parker Editor
John Grimes Chief Executive, Australian Solar Council
We live in extraordinary times. The Bureau of Meteorology has released
data for January from weather stations around the country: (http://www.
bom.gov.au/climate/current/special-statements.shtml) with a number of
reports and many superlatives across the pages.
The report showing high temperatures is extraordinary, with locations
where very high temperatures are normal but many where they are not,
and some daytime maximums approaching 50°C . (As I write this in
suburban Perth, my max/min thermometer is showing 45°C in the shade.)
The extraordinary rainfall data is contained in another BOM report.
It is not appropriate to relate one weather event (or a month’s
pattern) to climate change, but summing the extreme events by their
difference from the norm in any one year by extreme, it is valid to test for
correlations between that summing and climate change.
NASA is more direct: “NASA scientists say 2012 was the ninth warmest
of any year since 1880, continuing a long-term trend of rising global
temperatures. With the exception of 1998, the nine warmest years in the
132-year record have occurred since 2000, with 2010 and 2005 ranking
as the hottest years on record.”
Is the science of climate change now a lesser issue than bureaucratic
and governmental complacency or worse, the clever marginalisation
of science? We can do fracking but wind turbines cause actual disease
symptoms?
If you were at Swinburne University early last December you would
have concluded that solar science is alive and well. Here were the
investigators relating their work to the Solar 2012 attendees. All of it in
one way or another contributing to global warming mitigation, whether
at the laboratory bench or in the business world. We now look forward to
Solar 2013 in May.
Politics will play a front and centre role during the next seven
months, and crucial to the solar industry, its R&D support, and the
basic research that goes on, is recognition of the importance and
viability of solar technologies.
As 2013 rolls on the high temperatures of January will be forgotten,
as might global warming (which might even be bumped off the
election agenda).
However, nothing will diminish, or stop the role solar energy plays in
moving towards a society that consumes less fossil fuelled energy.
Bill Parker
The year 2013 is set to be critical for solar in Australia. Coming off another
big year for domestic solar – just on 1GW of solar PV was installed in
Australia in 2012 – there are some big challenges and opportunities ahead.
Here is just one of them:
Solar PV’S Policy Blind SPotThere is a gaping policy blind spot when it comes to commercial and
industrial scale solar PV in Australia.
Unique in the world, Australia’s policy makers have targeted domestic
solar but have ignored the benefits of powering our businesses and factories
with solar PV.
It is a fundamental mistake, and needs to be fixed.
Unlike domestic customers whose peak electricity usage is in the early
evening (during the setting of the sun), commercial uses demand power
exactly when the sun is up – during the working day.
When it comes to delaying or eliminating the need for expensive grid
infrastructure upgrades, and taking load off the grid during the day,
distributed commercial and industrial solar PV is the real ‘low hanging fruit’.
At a time when our leaders are scratching around for ways to cut power
bills, this one policy area can make serious inroads into cutting the $120+
billion electricity infrastructure investment now underway.
The rest of the world targets this sector for good reason, and we should
too. At the moment the policy argument at the federal level is focused on
cutting imagined future costs by reducing federal government support for
installations over 10kW (down from the current 100kW).
The focus is all on the cost side, instead of quantifying the potential
savings, and where the business case stacks supporting businesses to
invest in their own on-site power generation and booking a saving for all
power users.
We need to become more sophisticated when it comes to solar policy, and
we need to get our political leaders engaged in the substantive issues, and
away for the mindset that solar PV subsidies are a basic way to curry favour
with the electorate by ‘feeding the chooks’, and nothing more.
John Grimes Printed using fSc® mixed source certified fibre by Printgraphics Pty ltd under ISO 14001 environmental certification.
4 | ISSUE 1 • 2013
News and views
Sunny outlook More than $14
million has been
pledged to a suite
of solar projects
for the CSIRO-led
US-Australia solar
energy collaboration,
the most significant of
which is the creation of a $7.6 million solar
forecasting system.
(Read all about this progressive step in the
next issue of Solar Progress.)
Next generation solar cell technology Still on big picture
developments,
an historic $35
million Australia–US
partnership presents
new opportunities
for boosting solar
cell performance
and cost reduction,
and aims to foster
rapid development
of PV technology. To be known as the US-
Australia Institute for Advanced Photovoltaics
– USAIAP – this is one of the largest solar
research investments in Australia’s history and
will be led by UNSW.
The new Institute combines the expertise of
several US Research Centres and universities,
Australian universities, the CSIRO, three state
governments, Suntech Australia, BT Imaging,
Trina Solar Energy and BlueScope Steel.
UNSW Scientia Professor Martin Green said
“The Institute will establish Australia as the
photovoltaic research and educational hub
of the Asia-Pacific region. It combines our
expertise with America’s world-class facilities
and creates a tangible pipeline to ‘over the
horizon’ photovoltaic technology.
“The Institute will also be fundamental
to the training of the next generation of
photovoltaic research scientists and engineers.”
Solar thermal to powEr ahEadCreating solar technology that supplies supply
cheap, zero emission, secure energy for Australia
and the world ... that is the mission of CSIRO and
six Australian universities who are joining forces
with US based NREL, Sandia National Laboratories
and Arizona State University.
To be known as the Australian Solar Thermal
Research Initiative, the $87 million, eight year
collaboration which is being led by CSIRO was
made possible with ASI and ARENA’s $35 million
contribution, and cements Australia’s leading role
in global solar research.
ASTRI outcomes could well transform the
energy industry in Australia by slashing the cost of
solar thermal power in producing electricity, heat
and fuels.
Guiding the research will be Dr Manuel Blanco
who recently joined CSIRO as Director of ASTRI.
The world-renowned solar scientist boasts
almost three decades of academic, research and
development managerial experience and helped
pave the way for Spain’s first commercial solar
thermal system.
In an upbeat statement Blanco said “We will
reduce the cost of
solar thermal to just
12 cents a kilowatt
hour by 2020 and
provide zero-emission
energy to people
when they need it.
It’s a technological
leap but we will do
it. We are working
with the best in the
world.”
Big ticket research collaborationsuNSW takes charge UNSW is involved in five other significant solar
research projects and will take the lead in two: a
$5.3 million initiative to develop Tools for design
and scale-up of solar thermochemical reactors;
and a $6.7 million project to produce low cost,
high efficiency copper-zinc-tin-sulphide (CZTS)
on silicon multi-junction solar cells.
High level aspirations and top level brain
power – a potent mix. Future issues of Solar
Progress will focus on solar achievements that
pave the way for a clean, green future.
PV streets ahead …Can you picture yourself driving on roads
constructed from glass, PV and re-cycled landfill
and compost? Such is the brainchild of Solar
Roadways entrepreneurs Scott and June Brusaw,
whose “intelligent” asphalt free roads, pavements
and driveways are designed to generate power.
Scott Brusaw makes use of many technologies
to develop glass that “is tough as steel”, does
not shatter, is fire proof, anti-glare and provides
traction. By his estimates one kilometre of his
solar roadway would generate enough power
for about 265 homes and significantly reduce
greenhouse gases.
His prototype 12 x 12 foot panels include
three white and three yellow LEDs which send
signals to microprocessors to generate ‘text’
traffic warnings for road users, eliminating the
need for traditional road signs. LEDs could also
be used to ‘paint’ road lines from beneath and
light up roads during night time, and with the
addition of a heating element would have the
capacity to melt snow and ice.
The multi-faceted Solar Roadways model also
factors in recharging of all-electric vehicles to
help sever dependency on oil.
As Brusaw states “We cannot keep
building petroleum based asphalt roads, it’s
antiquated.”
Belectric’s solar downunder The Australian subsidiary of German-based
Belectric has been granted approval for its first
solar plant in Australia, a 5MW solar power
plant in Mildura, Victoria.
Belectric said this was "The first step
toward implementing further solar projects in
Australia” and that the company has already
signed an agreement with Clean Technology
Partners for subsequent projects.
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6 | ISSUE 1 • 2013
News and views
Fall in love with Solar – says Greg evans of Perfect Match Valentine’s Day saw a public show of solar
affection by former Perfect Match host and
marriage celebrant Greg Evans, who performed
a novel commitment ceremony by marrying
“cheated on” electricity users to an Energy
Matters solar panel.
The media stunt was staged to highlight the
massive price hikes to energy bills over the past
five years.
“It’s time to save money, use our abundant
Australian sunshine and find a sustainable energy
solution without being held to ransom … I’m a
bit of an expert when it comes to relationships
and I think we’re being had,” said the man who
is the latest celebrity to catch the solar love bug.
Westpac’s $8 billion, five-year Sustainability StrategyIn a move designed to address “society’s most
pressing issues”, Westpac is targeting three areas
for lendings: Demographic and cultural change;
Identifying new avenues of wealth creation, and
Economic solutions for environmental challenges
The bank is pledging $2 billion to lending
for social and affordable housing and $6
billion in lending to the clean technology and
environmental services sector. Saying that the
environment and the economy are
“often seen at odds”, Westpac’s focus will
be on providing innovative solutions
to enable customers to “manage environmental
outcomes” and presenting specific support for the
CleanTech and environmental services sector.
Bunbury correctionIn our last issue (10/12) it was incorrectly stated that Bunbury Sports Facility’s evacuated tubes absorb both solar energy and UV; however the only energy that can be used is in the short wave IR between 0.5 and 5.5 microns. The evacuated tubes were also said to be up to 80% more efficient whereas they are up to 95% efficient compared to flat plate collectors, with a 70% maximum efficiency most commonly achieved.
Overdeveloped, overshadowed As the trend to develop high-rise, high-density
living around urban transport hubs continues, so
does the battle for space and sunlight.
In Victoria, where more homes are being
blocked in by multi-storey developments, new
laws could be developed to protect homes fitted
with solar panels from being overshadowed; a
move that would reduce ad-hoc decisions by the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
“There [needs] to be consistent and clear
guidance on a statewide basis to create greater
certainty about what might be regarded as
acceptable impacts," said a VCAT member.
"This would be of great benefit to affected
landowners, proponents of new developments
and decision-makers."
Victorian Planning Provisions state that new
buildings should be positioned and designed
to ensure energy efficiency of existing dwellings
on adjoining lots is not unreasonably reduced,
but in one unhappy case taken to VCAT the loss
of solar power was estimated at between 50 to
70% which was decreed “unreasonable”.
The Clean Energy Council hailed the tribunal
decision “significant” and said it was imperative
for developers to consider shadowing in projects.
europe soars ahead in solar Italy has leapfrogged Germany to become the
most solar-powered industrialised nation in
the world, supplying 5.6% of the country’s
electricity demand in 2012.
Italian solar power, which is almost entirely
PV, produced a total of 18.3 TWh of energy last
year, up a massive 72% on 2011 output and
pushing solar capacity in Italy to 17GW from
around 470,000 rooftop PV systems. The 2012
figures give rise to optimistic forecasts of 7%
solar production during 2013.
Meanwhile Spain’s share of solar rose to 4%, a
quarter of which stemmed from its large-scale solar
thermal power stations supplying power 24/7.
Housing one third of the world's solar panels,
Germany clocks up a 4.8% share of solar in the
electricity supply.
Data reveals countries outside Europe added
more than 13 GW of solar capacity last year,
compared with less than 8 GW in 2011, the
strong suits being China, the US and Japan.
For its not insignificant part, Australia added
about 1 GW of solar PV last year, lifting the
country's capacity about 70% to 2.4 GW.
Demand this year is anticipated between 840
MW to 1 GW.
embark on a plan In three years’ time the top of Sydney Convention
Centre will undergo a transformation with the
installation of a 400 kW rooftop community
solar farm.
Due for completion in 2016, the Sydney
Community Solar collaboration between Embark
and Lend Lease will enable local residents to invest
in the solar project, and is described as “a highly
visible example of medium scale solar PV”.
Embark is a NFP organisation that helps
communities create and participate in renewable
energy projects, emphasising they can benefit from
new clean energy without relying on subsidies.
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8 | ISSUE 1 • 2013
storage optionsfor grid connected PV
Solar Advances
The energy storage industry within Australia is still fairly immature
with only a small number of distributors and even a smaller number
of manufacturers and R&D effort. Many of the larger international
companies have shown little interest due to the current size of the market
within Australia.
Numerous countries are establishing ambitious renewable energy
portfolio targets similar to Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET),
requiring a portfolio target of 20% by 2020. With the most viable
renewable technologies being intermittent in nature, reaching a target
in excess of 15% may not be possible without storage. Given the relative
lack of relevant storage activity in Australia, this may be a particular
problem for us.
The distribution network providers, seeing and understanding the
grid issues with intermittent (and particularly distributed) generation are
now showing substantial interest in storage. This, coupled with both
the Renewable Energy Target and state based feed-in tariffs for PV, is
increasing deployment. The questions now arising are centred around
how to best use the energy generated with the time of generation not
necessarily matching network demand.
Significant penetration of solar and other renewable energy sources
into the national grid will highlight a number of operational concerns
over maintaining system power balance. With the proliferation of large
scale solar penetration into the grid, electricity networks will become
two-way power flow systems. Sudden changes in weather conditions
can cause big power fluctuations within several seconds. Because the
conventional generation has to be uncommitted to allow usage of solar
and other energy sources, the sudden power deficit may not be easy to
compensate quickly. This is predicted to result in power system instability
and poor power quality problems having an impact on operating reserve,
imbalance in energy, and voltage and frequency regulation of the grid.
Therefore, these technical issues need to be addressed within the existing
distribution network systems.
Available Electrical Storage TechnologiesIt is possible for energy storage to be used to improve system
responsiveness, reliability and flexibility or for load levelling and peak
shaving. It is these issues which are of greatest interest to the distribution
companies. Whilst there are various storage options, those technologies
that can be best utilised by solar energy rather than renewable energy
systems as a whole are of greatest current interest because of the rapid
growth of PV penetration.
The obvious need for storage in applications such as PV is not the only
motivation for its widespread deployment. Many other consumption and
peak-related issues would almost certainly also benefit from having a
local reactive storage resource. For example, recent research indicates that
there is a 40% probability of a summer peak load reduction if commercial
customers would be able to deploy appropriate storage. Also highlighted
in this research were alternative uses of stored energy including: i) local
load management; ii) utility load management and; iii) emergency critical
load management.
Ultimately, the choice of storage technology will be guided by:
1. Energy efficiency
2. Environmental impact
3. Location dependence
4. Lifetime
5. Economics, and
6. Space and weight requirements
Looking initially at battery storage options, both lead-acid and nickel-
cadmium batteries are made from toxic substances, so if considering
from a life-cycle viewpoint, these would cause some degree of concern
with disposal and recycling. Sodium and lithium-based batteries are
suitable for large-scale projects, but it is critical to consider the ability
of the technology to “scale-up” based on the demand needs of where
It is often said that storage is the limiting factor in the wider deployment of photovoltaics and other forms of intermittent generation. Given this intermittency, and the prominent role of solar and wind supply in the future renewables roadmap, will Australia’s 20% Renewable Energy Target be achieved by 2020? What are our options? In this article, Craig Froome and Paul Meredith review storage for grid connected PV.
SolarProgress | 9
the storage is being deployed. The economics and lifetime of competing
technologies has been highlighted as an area for future research, with
deployment of flow batteries currently considered the preferred option.
Deployment of storage technology on the UQ 1.22MW PV array at
the Brisbane St Lucia campus is an interesting case study highlighting
these considerations. In the first instance flywheel technologies and super
capacitors were not considered because of their limited ability to store
energy (periods up to one hour).
Option Technology SupplierA. Batteries
Lead-Acid RedFlowEcoult
Nickel-CadmiumSodium based NGK Insulators
GEMES DEA
Lithium based SAFTLi-TecBYD CompanyEnerSysOxisEnergy
B. Flow BatteriesZinc-Bromide RedFlow
ZBB CorporationPremium Power
Vanadium Redox Prudent EnergyOrganic Acid PlurionOther Enstorage Inc.
Extreme PowerDeeya Power
C. SupercapacitorsSAFTLi-TecBYD CompanyEnerSysOxisEnergy
Three types of storage technologies with a partial list of suppliers (bold indicates Australian presence)
The better options for the UQ project appeared to be lithium-ion
(Li-ion), sodium sulphur (NaS) and zebra (Na-NiCl2) batteries. However,
manufacturing capacity and the ability to scale-up to utility level is
questionable locally. Flow-battery designs utilising different chemistries
include polysulphide bromide (PSB), zinc bromide (ZnBr), cerium zinc
(CeZn) and vanadium redox (VRB). The major disadvantage of flow
battery systems is the additional capital and running costs.
A number of the above technologies for energy storage have
already been deployed internationally, although we believe that current
technologies support the use of lead-acid, sodium-sulphur, nickel-metal-
hydride, zinc bromide, lithium-ion and vanadium redox storage systems.
A key consideration for the UQ array application was the fact that both
zinc-bromide and lithium based batteries were locally available at a scale to
meet the project design requirements. A review of local suppliers, together
with consideration of research potential to scale a prototype to utility scale
resulted in the zinc bromide battery being selected for the project.
For a University the research benefits of testing various systems
generally outweighs economic decisions, but the same rules do not apply
to large-scale deployment by utilities. Therefore it is important to consider
both the life and cost of the competing technologies.
While the lead-acid and sodium based batteries are relatively
inexpensive, they only have a life expectancy of 10 years compared to
flow batteries which have an expected life of 30 years, resulting in the
cost per kilowatt being similar over the life of the battery. Further, the
market anticipates that these costs will come down even further as the
technology matures. (This could lead to decision makers adopting least-
cost technology in the short-term, while waiting for economies of scale in
emerging technologies.)
Using data from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), we
have modeled the medium growth scenario for battery deployment.
Preliminary indications show that the cost of battery storage, which is
dependent on the technology choice, is approximately $1 million/MWh,
making large-scale deployment in the near future unlikely.
The target price for significant deployment in a PV scenario is thought
to be of the order of $750,000/MWh (although this has changed
through innovation and competition since the original research article
was published).
High PowerE.C. Capacitors
Lead-AcidBatteries
Long DurationE.C. Capacitors
CAPITAL COST PER UNIT POWER – $/kW
Better for UPS & Power Quality Application
Bett
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for
Energ
y M
anagem
ent
Applic
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ons
10,0003,000
10
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10
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cien
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CA
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IT E
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$/k
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TP
UT
Pumped Hydro
Flow Batteries
Metal-Air Batteries
CAES
Ni-Cd
High PowerFly Wheels Long Duration
Fly Wheels
Zinc-Air Bat.
Rechargeable
Li-ion
NaS Battery
The most recent information prepared by the US Energy Storage Association (2009) based on capital costs in 2002 and the anticipated reduction of those costs as technology matured indicates that both sodium-sulphate and flow batteries will have a similar cost structure.
10 | ISSUE 1 • 2013
An extension of our research with this initial ZnBr deployment
will be to review current actual costs of the competing
technologies based on a typical installation within Australia,
commencing with the University of Queensland flow battery study.
However, as noted earlier, this will be limited due to the number
of active participants within the Australian market and the diverse
range of technology options.
As has been suggested, “renewables can do for energy what
micro-chip driven computers have done for information” (Hall
(2008) Energy Policy 36). However it is unlikely that this will occur
without efficient storage options to remove the intermittency
of the renewable energy resource that is so freely available and
demonstration sites made available so that the network companies
can model the implications to both new and existing infrastructure.
The current research at The University of Queensland will provide
the opportunity to assess the ability of storage to remove much of
the criticism directed to intermittent renewable technologies, while
also determining how storage can be best used within a distributed
energy system.
This article is an abridged version of a paper presented at Solar2010,
the 48th AuSES Annual Conference 1-3 December 2010, Canberra,
Australia, and is available on-line at www.solar.org.au/solarpedia
The University of Queensland deployed a 1.22 MW Photovoltaic (PV) array at the St Lucia Campus in 2011 looking at not only energy generation and reduction of its carbon footprint, but also at building on research and teaching opportunities within the renewable energy sector. The ability to model the advantages of energy storage under a range of scenarios within this array provides a number of opportunities. A RedFlow M90 zinc bromine flow battery system was added to the array in 2012.
Solar Advances
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SolPac_Mag Ad print.pdf 1 26/02/13 2:47 PM
12 | ISSUE 1 • 2013
Not everyone has the roof space or the
money to move PV systems – and they
shouldn’t have to. This is where solar access
rights come in. They are essentially an extension
of long-standing property rights — to peace
and quiet, for instance, or to prevent trespass
— to guaranteed access to sunlight.
Views have not traditionally been protected
by legislation or the common law, and generally
access to sunshine hasn’t been protected in
Australia. State governments have only recently
begun introducing legislation to prohibit tall
hedges or trees from blocking views or access
to sunlight, but even then, the right protected
is to sunlight through windows into houses,
not onto roofs.
It sounds simple — just ensure adequate
setback from boundaries, ban overshadowing
of roofs, or guarantee a set number of hours of
sunlight per day — but as these three options
hint, it isn’t. When you get down to designing
a standard, it can get complicated. For setbacks
to work they depend on the height of buildings
and the pitch of roofs also being restricted;
and it depends on their orientation too. You
can ban overshadowing where one house
exists and neighbouring land isn’t yet built on,
but this is not the most common situation.
The most common proposed guarantee — 6
hours of sunlight between 9 am and 3 pm
in mid-winter — does not correspond to the
period of maximum household demand. To
be comprehensive, controls need to apply to
vegetation and signs as well as walls, chimneys
and roofs. And so on.
As a result, there has been little legislation
to protect solar access, and most protections,
such as they are in Australian law, have tended
to be either in local planning instruments or
in codes or standards that lack legal force or
When ABC presenter Geraldine Doogue installed solar panels on her roof while there was a feed-in tariff in NSW, she was expecting credits on her bills of around $150. Instead, she received a credit of only 43 cents. When energy consultant Nigel Morris looked at her panels for an episode of Radio National’s Saturday Extra in August last year, he noticed that her panels were being overshadowed by a neighbour’s skyward extensions. What to do? Move the panels, he suggested. Mark Byrne examines how far we have to go to achieve perpetual solar access.
how not to feel overshadowed
that use words like “consider”, “excessive” and
“minimise” that are open to interpretation,
with decisions usually favouring those with the
money to hire lawyers.
The situation is better in some US states,
with the Californian Civil Code, for instance,
deciding that since promoting renewable
energy is good public policy, adequate access
to sunlight to operate solar energy systems
should be protected and facilitated. More
specifically, that state’s Solar Shade Control
Act of 1978 provides for a maximum shadow
of ten per cent between 10 am and 2 pm by
trees on any solar collector on adjacent land.
But what about overshadowing by buildings,
provision for future solar systems, or the impact
of sloping land on shadowing?
Other states such as New Mexico and
Wyoming have gone further by applying the
principles governing water law to declare solar
access a property right, but the extent of this
right and its impact on the development of
neighbouring land are still being worked out
in litigation.
A hypothetical solar fence in the ACTThe best response in Australia so far has been
in the ACT. It adopts the idea of a hypothetical
solar fence. This means that no building or
tree can be erected or planted on one block
of land where the effect will be to cast a
shadow on neighbouring land longer than
the shadow cast by an imaginary fence of a
designated height on the property boundary
line between specified hours in mid-winter. It
is probably the simplest approach, although
it has problems coping with sloping land and
high density areas.
Recent changes to the ACT’s Territory Plan
apply a hypothetical solar fence 1.8 metres
high to southern property boundaries. Because
the sun is only 32 degrees above the horizon
at midday in midwinter in Canberra, any new
building to the north of this 1.8 metre fence
must sit under the 32 degree envelope. For
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properties facing north-east or north-west, this
increases up to 42 degrees. The hypothetical
solar fence is 3.5 metres high for side boundaries,
where the envelope increases to 45 degrees.
Turn aroundThe apathy of other Australian governments
will need to change if we are to encourage
more people to reduce their use of fossil fuelled
electricity and to become responsible for their
own power supply. We also need to think
beyond discrete solar panels to a future with
more building-integrated solar power — not
only using PV panels as roofing tiles but also
PV-integrated windows and paints. This will
create greater flexibility in where and how we
can generate power from our own houses
and offices, but most of these emerging
technologies have lower efficiency factors than
good old flat panel PVs, so access rights will still
be required.
Make a differenceIf you want to help this process along, make a
submission to the NSW planning white paper
in February and March – see www.planning.
nsw.gov.au for details. The TEC will be asking
for a high-level state policy covering renewable
energy in general (so wind farms, for instance,
are not subject to much stricter controls than
coal mines or coal seam gas wells) and a
statutory right to solar access in particular. We
will probably advocate adopting the ACT model
in NSW as well.
aBout the authorMark Byrne is Energy Market Advocate at the Total Environment Centre and is a former urban planner. This article draws on Adrian Bradbrook’s paper Solar access law: 30 years on Environmental Planning Law Journal (2010, (27), 5), and the NSW EDO’s briefing note to the TEC on solar access. Adrian Bradbrook also authored Solar Energy and the Law, The Law Book Company, 1984.
Typical building envelope. Side or rear boundary. Northern boundary of an adjoining or residential block. X° can be 32° - 42°of an adjoining or residential block.X° can be 32° - 42°