Installing Solar energy for your home won’t only save you money, but you’ll also be contributing toward the reduction of using non-renewable forms of energy.
In 2006, Queensland was the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in Australia due mainly to its reliance on coal as a means of energy production. It’s no real surprise as Queensland has about 98% of all of Australia’s reserves of coal seam gas and its needs for energy production is rather large.
Since then, there have been a number of renewable energy developments, however according to Clean Energy Australia’s 2019 report, only 9.5% of Queensland’s electricity came from renewable sources, making it the lowest of all the states. So there’s a long way to go for Queensland to start catching up to the rest.
It’s not all bad news for the Sunshine state. There have been plenty of projects finished or in construction that are making good use of all that free energy the sun provides daily. Solar farms they’re called, and Queensland have been making some of the biggest in Australia. Making use of all that space and sun, there are currently about 2GW of solar farms either completed or in construction. That’s 2 million kW in case you were trying to do the maths.
The largest of these – Pacific Hydro’s Haughton Solar farm – began construction in 2018 – 60 km west south-west of Townsville. Once completed, the site will generate a capacity of up to 500MW, enough energy to power around 170,000 homes!
So how does Brisbane make use of all this sun produced energy?
Already, 30% of houses in Brisbane have solar panels installed on their roofs. It makes sense considering that Brisbane’s climate is in an ideal location for gathering all those photovoltaic cells. Averaging 5.5 hours a day of ‘peak sun’ makes Brisbane the 3rd sunniest capital behind Perth and Darwin. In terms of converting that sun to solar energy, if you were to install a 5kW solar system you will produce around 7,200 kWh a year.
You’re not alone if that last sentence made no sense. Essentially it means that if you run an average household, you can pretty much produce all your own energy for a year. In terms of the ever rising cost of living, this means you can as good as tear up your energy bill.
A typical cost for a 5kW system is around $6,500, so after about 5 years of this tearing up of electricity bills, you will have paid off the system and your debt begins to turn into savings! But other than money, is Solar actually as effective as coal and how much of a difference does one little house make?
While it’s difficult to make a proper comparison between the efficiency of coal and solar, as they are completely different sources of energy, there are some distinct characteristics that makes solar particularly impressive:
Solar panels convert between 15 – 20% of the sunlight that hits the surface into electricity, the rest is reflected away. Coal-fired power plants can convert about 30% of coal into electricity. At first glance coal’s efficiency seems higher than solar, but without taking into account that solar’s energy source is limitless (the sun, in case you were wondering), and that coal has to be mined, transported, processed and refined, transported again and then burned, solar power really starts to look good.
Let’s do a comparison…
Solar’s real strength however is in its impact on health and the environment – but this isn’t the perfect fairy-tale: the construction of solar panels do emit nasty chemicals, (and they take up much more land than Coal-fired power plants) but once they are installed, they produce no emissions whatsoever! Compare this to the ongoing destructive emissions of coal production, it’s a case of a grain of sand on the beach.
The average coal-fired power plant emits 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Add to this, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulates, in other words, much more nasty things than the construction of solar panels. Looking globally for a second, coal power plants are also the largest source of mercury emissions in the world – the impact of this on rivers, lakes and oceans cause a huge amount of devastation to these natural habitats, and their inhabitants.
What can you do to help make a change for our planet and your cost of living?
How can one little household in Brisbane make a difference to the enormity of these emissions you ask? Well, if every single one of the 900,000 dwellings in the Greater Brisbane area answered that question with ‘better one than none’ .. well, you can do the math on that one.
Are you ready to be one of the leaders in your neighbourhood for Solar? Or even just start converting those energy bills into savings? Give Arkana Energy a call!
It’s no secret that without the sun, life here on earth wouldn’t be
possible at all. As long as humans have been around there’s been a fascination
with the sun. To our ancient ancestors the sun was often thought of as a god:
the source of light and life to the earth. To the ancient Egyptians it was
known as Re – the dominant figure amongst the high gods. In ancient India,
Surya was an all-seeing god who observed both good and evil actions. To the
Romans, the sun god Sol was so significant nearly all other gods took on some
kind of solar quality. When Greek philosopher Anaxagoras suggested that the sun
was a burning ball of fire and not the god known to the Greeks as Helios, he
was threatened with death.
However, it’s no real
wonder why our ancestors thought the way they did about the sun. Our sun
contains more than 99.8% of the total mass of the Solar system! And while there
are bigger suns in the universe our sun is actually about double the size of
the average star in our galaxy. The sun’s temperature at its core is around
15.6 million Kelvin and its pressure is millions of times that of the surface
of the earth.
When speaking of
energy, the sun’s power is about 386 billion billion mega Watts. In
other words, a lot. This tremendous energy is produced by what is called
nuclear fusion reactions, that is, when two or more atomic nuclei collide and
fuse together into a new nucleus. Depending on the mass of the nuclei involved
in the fusion will depend on either the release or absorption of energy. This
process is in a constant cycle and so energy never runs out. If you feel your
head spinning that would be considered normal. Ever heard of Einstein’s famous
equation E=mc2? Well, that’s all about how mass and energy are equivalent
and convertible and that’s what’s going on in the sun in these nuclear fusions.
It’s extremely complex and has major scientists somewhat baffled as to how they
can harness this intense yet ever regenerating energy.
Harnessing Solar Energy
So, then what is solar energy? Let’s first take a little trip down
history lane to see a few of the ways we’ve tried to harness the sun’s energy
here on earth.
Sunlit Fires – Around the 7th century BC, humans figured
out how to make fires by concentrating sunlight through a magnifying glass.
Sun drying- From the 1200’s people have dried fruits, vegetables and meats to
preserve them.
The Solar Oven – Horace de Saussure, a Swiss physicist invented the
first solar oven in 1767. A miniature greenhouse with five layers of glass
boxes turned upside down on a black table to cook fruit. This simple idea is
still used to this day in areas where access to electricity is limited.
The Discovery of the Photovoltaic Effect – This discovery is the
most significant in current usage of solar energy. In 1839 Edmund Bacquerel, a
French Physicist only 19 years old, discovered that when material is exposed to
light a creation of voltage occurs.
Photoconductivity in Selenium – Photoconductivity is a phenomenon where
a material becomes more electronically conductive due to absorption of
electromagnetic radiation i.e. the light and radiation that the sun is sending
out all the time. Willoughby Smith, an English engineer, discovered this
phenomenon in the element selenium.
First Design of the Photovoltaic Cell – American inventor,
Charles Fritts, made use of the discoveries of the Photovoltaic effect and photoconductivity
in Selenium and was the first to design plans to make solar cells in 1883.
Single–Crystal Silicon – Polish scientist, Jan Czochralski’s
discovery in 1918 to grow single–Crystal silicon laid the foundation for solar
cells based in silicon.
The Photovoltaic Cell – In 1954 David Chapin, Calvin Fuller and
Gerald Pearson of Bell laboratories put all this together to finally invent the
first solar cell. Essentially, this was the first device that converted
sunlight into electrical power and is used to this day with ever increasing
efficiency.
Modern Day Solar Panels
Solar power is now a major and rapidly developing energy source for
Australia and around the world. It is an incredible source of energy as it
generates electricity without waste or pollution. Because of Australia’s dry
climate and latitude, it is an ideal place for solar energy production. While
the kind of heats that hit outback, Australia doesn’t quite reach the Eastern
coastline, Brisbane is situated in an ideal climate for Solar energy
production. In Brisbane, over 30% of homes have solar panels – one of the
highest rates in Australia’s capital cities. Perhaps it’s no coincidence it’s
the capital of the Sunshine State!
Australia’s
relationship with Renewable Energy Sources continues to go from strength to
strength, with 2018 being one of the most successful years to date. The
percentage of renewable energy production for Australia’s overall electricity
use was at a record high of 21%, a massive leap from 2017’s 17%. A snapshot of
some of these excellent statistics would show you:
100%
increase in investment in large scale renewable energy projects
1 in 5
Australian Households now have Rooftop Solar
45% growth
in commercial solar installations throughout the country
At the
rate of Solar Roof Installations, 6 panels are installed every minute in 2018
In
Queensland alone, 17 projects in Renewable Energy Generation has either begun
of been given secured financial backing.
From these stats
alone, it is clear that Australia is feeling a groundswell of support for
energy production alternatives and are ready to take a global lead on this
issue.
In Australia there are
three main generators of renewable energy; Wind, Solar and Hydro. Biomass and
Geothermal generation are available and used in some small scale areas, but are
largely inefficient in large scale needs.
Wind Power
One of the cheapest
technologies available in the industry, Wind Power continues to be a popular
investment in rural areas as well as in the southern states such as Victoria,
South Australia and some parts of Southern Western Australia. With the rapid
improvement in technology, it also continues to be a highly efficient method of
generation – in 2018, of the 21% of renewable energy consumed, 33.47% of it was
Wind Generated. The general premise of the technology is simple: harness the
naturally available wind of the area by using this to spin the turbines of a
‘windmill’, transferring this power into other areas of need. The real genius
of this almost ‘traditional’ method of renewable energy is the technology
implemented, maximising its power generation and converting this power into
storable, transferrable electricity for a multitude of commercial and domestic
needs. The only real drawback is the need for its location to be in
consistently windy areas. Previous problems of maintenance issues have widely
been diminished due to investment projects across the nation for improving the
longevity and fine details of the technology.
Hydro Power
One of the most popular, safe and efficient large-scale methods of renewable energy generation, Hydro Power continues to grow. Large scale networks, such as the ‘Snowy Hydro Scheme’ and ‘The Hydro’ in Tasmania contribute the largest percentage to Australia’s overall renewable energy consumption, sitting at 35.16% in 2018. These are also some of the oldest and most trusted methods of generation, with schemes starting in the early 1900’s. The science behind Hydro power is impressive to say the least and takes massive cooperation and coordination from large networks of people and government bodies. Reading into the history of any large-scale Hydro Power scheme often shows the best side of humanity; with stories of mateship, support, job growth, small community growth, leaps and bounds in safety technology and rights for workers – all working towards the same goal of reliable, clean energy for generations to come. By creating meticulous dam networks, the pressure of heavy water flow over expertly designed turbines generates massive amounts of kinetic energy, which is converted into storable power and is harnessed to power both residential needs and commercial plants as well.
Solar Energy
Solar Energy continues
to be one of the fastest growing, popular and democratic methods of Renewable
Energy Generation. The early years of small-scale solar generation have proven
its worth, with 2018 being one of the best years for residential solar power
installation rates. With households on average saving $540 per year on
their electricity bills, its no surprise that individuals are either investing
in their first panels or are upscaling their systems. Solar Energy continues to
capture the interest of government bodies as well, with incentive offers
continuing to evolve and support both the industry sector and Australian
Households who are feeling the crunch with the growing cost of living. The
science behind Solar Panel technology also continues to improve, with
independent and governmental bodies working together to fine tune and maximise
the potential of this excellent renewable energy generation, making the most of
every dollar invested by Australians, nationwide. Moreover, this sector is
responsible for some of the most consistent job growth, contributing to
thousands of jobs being created, and thousands more in securement, with
electricians getting reskilled in this industry, adding longevity to their
individual careers.
Overall, the future of
Australian Renewable Energy continues to look bright. With Domestic and
Commercial scale Solar projects being funded and actioned nationwide, Solar
Energy proves itself to be one of the most popular technologies available. This
means it is also one of the technologies experiencing the most rapid
improvement, as the science gets sharper and filters down to more efficient and
effective panels being created. Wind and Hydro schemes are also proving to be
the generators with the most potential for large scale energy solutions;
government investment and independent science working together to create a
healthy future for Australian Energy Generation for the years to come.
For any further
reading, please click through to these excellent resources and find out more
about the science, current and future renewable energy projects and the
fascinating history of some of these energy schemes.
