Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Abstract
The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games incorporates an athlete's village which is part of a larger new residential development called
Newington, aimed at creating a practical example of more sustainable living for the 21st century. Newington has a range of
environmental features including solar hot water, solar photovoltaics, energy e$cient design and water recycling for irrigation and
toilets. Each home will have 1 kW (peak) of roof integrated PV connected to the grid via an inverter system. This paper presents a case
study of the management, design, installation and testing of the solar village PV systems and also discusses related policy issues and
requirements. The Newington development demonstrates that using today's technology a high concentration of solar power may be
readily integrated into a residential development with bene"ts to all participants. However, work is needed to allow sustainable
options to be made available to the mainstream market. 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
0301-4215/00/$ - see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 0 1 - 4 2 1 5 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 9 2 - 6
1060 E.D. Spooner et al. / Energy Policy 28 (2000) 1059}1068
4. PV system design
4.1. PV electrical system overview Fig. 2. Inverter enclosure and house switchboard external to house. (b)
Schematic of single house.
Each of the 629 permanent homes in Newington solar
suburb has 1 kW peak (at STC) of photovoltaic on the 4.2. Building integrated design
roof, connected to the local low voltage (240/415 V) grid
via an inverter. The PV consists of one string of 12 by Paci"c Power worked with BP solar to perfect a build-
85 W frameless BP solar laser buried grid mono-crystal- ing integrated roof design which:
line silicon single glass tedlar modules. The inverter used
is a BP Solar GCI 1200 badged SMA Sunny Boy 850, E Satis"ed the architects desire to have a variety of
mounted in a weatherproof box adjacent to the house roo"ng material to provide interest and diversity in the
switchboard which in Australia is generally "tted to the building design.
outside wall of the house. See photo and schematic E Provided a cost e!ective and simple method of
Fig. 2a and b. mounting the PV.
1062 E.D. Spooner et al. / Energy Policy 28 (2000) 1059}1068
of grid connection issues and BP solar contracted resource and the probable mismatch between generation
UNSW to conduct-type testing of inverters for guidelines and load. The inverters used for Newington are some of
compliance. the most sophisticated inverters on the market with
This has led to a very careful assessment of the issues respect to protection systems and they were extensively
relating to: tested in single and multiple units to assure authorities of
the viability of their protection systems.
E the AC side of the inverter and grid connection and
E the DC side of the inverter and PV array. 4.4.3. Impact on fault levels
A large number of PV inverters or other distributed
One of the main problems at the time of design and generation can have the e!ect of increasing the time
installation of the PV systems was the lack of standards taken by normal grid protection systems to clear faults.
both in Australia and internationally to cover building This is because, under fault conditions the PV inverters
integrated PV. There is still a considerable amount of can supply some of the fault current, thus decreasing the
discussion on standards and various drafts of standards current drawn through the normal grid protection
are in preparation, many of which are very general in device.
nature. This led to a survey of what standards and guide- In Newington the contribution of the inverters to any
lines existed, in order to provide the very best installation fault situation is small, due to the small supply impe-
without going to unreasonable extremes. The Interna- dance and the high level of supply security in the area.
tional Energy agency produced very good reference
document (IEA, 1996). 4.4.4. Voltage regulation
Normally, the voltage pro"le in any distribution sys-
4.4. AC side issues tems allows for load-induced voltage drop from the
source of supply to the end consumer. Where PV inver-
4.4.1. Australian guidelines for grid connection of ters are feeding into the network during the day there is
energy systems via inverters a possibility for voltage rise instead of drop toward the
In 1996 in Australia a committee, comprised of people end of a line, which could, in some installations, cause
from electricity utility and inverter manufacturers, was out- of-tolerance conditions.
formed to develop guidelines for grid connection energy In the case of Newington, the output of the inverters
systems via inverters. One of the major reasons for form- will be almost pure watts. This will assist in maintaining
ing this committee was the rapid increase in activity in a normal voltage pro"le because reactive power will still
grid connected photovoltaic systems. This has led to the be imported. Also, Newington is part of a new network
development of a set of guidelines (Australian Guidelines development and, in-line with current Australian design
Committee, 1998) which allows for type testing of an standards, the cabling is of large cross-sectional area.
inverter for acceptance for grid connection by authorities Additionally, system loading and network arrangement
in Australia. The development of this document has been have been given particular attention due to the import-
pivotal in streamlining the approval of the connection of ance of this part of the network. Computer simulation
inverter systems without the need for external protection studies show only a 1% worst-case change in regulation
relaying. The Australian guidelines are currently under due to the solar generation.
review in the light of international discussion on anti-
islanding protection requirements. A committee is 4.4.5. Harmonics
currently being formed to move this document to an Because the distribution system impedance in Newington
Australian Standard is very low, a simple check of worst-case harmonic volt-
EnergyAustralia is one of the leading utilities in Aus- ages at the extremity of the suburb was carried out.
tralia in the implementations of renewable energy onto The results of calculations of harmonic voltages at the
their grid. This has provided a positive environment for extremity of the network are less than required by IEC
managing the process of resolving grid connection as- 61000 limits. Under actual operating conditions the har-
pects of Newington. monic current components are expected to be signi"-
cantly less than the worst-case simulation.
4.4.2. Disconnection of inverters to prevent islanding
Distribution authorities require that all PV systems 4.4.6. In situ test and commissioning
disconnect from the grid if the grid fails due to a fault or In many housing development projects it is very di$-
operator intervention. If PV inverters maintain supply to cult to perform islanding and harmonic testing under
an islanded section of the distribution system there are controlled conditions because developers understand-
signi"cant safety issues for the public and for line sta!. ably want to sell houses as quickly as possible after
There may also be signi"cant problems with quality of completion. This inevitably means that there is never
supply in an island due to the variability of the renewable a large block of houses available for testing. Once the
1064 E.D. Spooner et al. / Energy Policy 28 (2000) 1059}1068
houses are occupied the last thing that owners want is for the environmental conditions in which they have to oper-
the grid to be switched to perform islanding tests. One of ate and over their expected lifetime. In these systems
the unique features of Newington is that a large number a single fault will not compromise safety. If an unlikely
of houses will be unoccupied until the Olympic games. earth fault should occur on the DC system the inverter
The houses are being constructed and locked away in includes detection systems which will illuminate a warn-
a security zone, providing an ideal test site. ing light to alert the resident of a fault so repairs may be
Actual measurements of harmonics in Newington are undertaken.
currently being carried out and matched load testing of
the islanding protection systems in situ in Newington is 4.6. Builders perspective
scheduled to occur in February 2000. The results of these
tests are expected to be very good and will assist in The main issue for the builders has been the DC wiring
assuring authorities and developers of the safety and from the PV array. Because it is something that they have
quality of the PV systems. not until now been familiar with, it was initially of some
concern to them because the DC cabling is live while
4.5. DC side issues there is light and the open-circuit voltage of the array is
of the order of 250 VDC. The main concern was the
The major problem with tackling a design and installa- possibility of a contractor drilling through the wall and
tion of this type is the lack of standards both in Australia striking a DC conductor. The builders' concerns were
and internationally which cover PV systems in buildings. addressed by providing information to assure than that
In order to establish the best practice possible for the array was completely isolated from earth and the
Newington, a survey of international standards and draft double insulated cabling was carried through the build-
standards was undertaken and the major issues identi- ing in separate conduits.
"ed. These can be broken down into two key areas: This has demonstrated the need for education of all
people in the building and architectural professions to
E Personal safety. the important issues with respect to PV systems. It also
E Installation and equipment protection. highlights the need for standards. Where standards are
available it re-assure trades people that important safety
The key, from a personal safety point of view, is that issues have been discussed and addressed. Without
while the sun is shining the array is not easily turned o! appropriate standards, installations can be either over
and is capable of generating high voltage, even at low engineered at a high cost, or under engineered at the cost
levels of irradiance. of safety.
Many grid connected systems installed around the
world have DC voltages above 120 V, for reasons of
e$ciency and cost of inverter systems. This places the DC 5. Metering
voltage at a potentially lethal level. For this reason the
Newington DC systems were carefully installed to worlds The metering arrangement for each house is shown in
best practice and maintained double insulated to avoid Fig. 4. Each meter is detented so it will only measure
any personnel or equipment problems. energy #ow in one direction. This allows the electricity
The method of installation is called `ground fault and utility the #exibility to set di!erent rates for import and
short-circuit proof a (Laukamp and Bopp, 1996) and is export of energy or to use a simple net metering tari! (by
considered to be su$cient to virtually exclude the occur- subtracting the two meter readings). Currently, con-
rence of one of these faults and also exclude the possibili- sumers pay a quarterly grid connection charge and
ty of human contact.
In the case of Newington, the DC array wiring can be
broken down into four major areas:
energy in each direction is priced at 10.15 c/kWh. The use E Investment decisions in network augmentation are
of two meters adds cost to the system but allows #exibil- often taken on the basis of quality of supply consider-
ity. A much simpler system when net metering is to be ations. Excessive investment in network capacity may
used is to use one bi-directional meter. result unless distributed ancillary service options are
given appropriate consideration.
Another advantage of decentralised renewables over individual contracts (State of Vermont Public Service
traditional centralised supplies is the lower risk it o!ers Board, 1999).
in upgrading capacity. The ability to follow load growth For many utilities, net metering is seen as good
more closely by adding incrementally to supply reduces marketing strategy, with minimal "nancial risk and the
the period of over-capacity that inevitably follows the possible added value of distributed generation in grid con-
installation of a large system, and hence also the period of strained areas. It could also be a very cost e!ective means of
low prices experienced until load growth catches up. In reducing the need to purchase power during summer peaks,
periods of uncertainty, the risks associated with under- when spot prices have been as high as $50/kWh. However,
utilised assets may add considerably to the costs. Excess even if net metering is mandated, utilities can still apply
new capacity can also lead to premature retirement of high connection or supply charges as a disincentive.
older plant and hence reduce the returns on previous The cost e!ectiveness of rooftop PV systems has been
investments. improved in NSW with SEDA providing capital cost
Grid access for distributed systems is still an issue in rebates and will be improved Australia- wide from 2000
Australia. For systems less than 30 MW, the local dis- under a new Commonwealth Government PV subsidy
tributor currently has an e!ective monopoly on grid scheme. The availability of standard net metering rules
access. There have been several cases where prices o!ered would assist both programs.
to distributed generators have been signi"cantly lower
than those available on the open market. Signi"cant 7.2. Overcoming market barriers in Australia
changes to the market signals and regulation are obvi-
ously needed before distributed generation will be able to Market barriers to PV and other renewables occur in
prove its value. the areas of market access, price, acceptance and regula-
tion. Experiences at Newington can be used to lower
7.1.5. Tariws these barriers and make sustainable options an easier
Many European countries and US states have intro- choice for the mainstream market. The following strat-
duced minimum buy-back rates for renewable-based egies are suggested for Australia.
electricity feeding into the grid from small generators.
Typically, these rates are higher than standard bulk rates 7.2.1. Market access
which would otherwise be paid, and have been e!ective At least for systems up to a certain size, standard
in stimulating the renewables market, particularly when procedures and requirements must be developed for grid
the rates are guaranteed for long enough to achieve connection, incorporation into buildings, and other
acceptable returns on investment (Goldstein et al., 1999). points of access to the mainstream energy market. This
Even if they are not much higher, the availability of will minimise the costs and time required for project
standard rates removes uncertainty during the feasibility evaluation and approval. These procedures and require-
phase of new projects and reduces the time and cost ments must be transparent, so that the existing energy
otherwise associated with tari! negotiations. industry does not have an unfair market advantage.
Net metering can be a practical way to provide A readily accessible database of information should be
transition support for small-scale grid-connected renew- developed which covers solar resources, nodal prices,
able energy generators. A single meter is used to measure trends in load growth, plans for infrastructure develop-
both the export of electricity to the grid and the import of ments, "nance available and other market information.
electricity from the grid. This eases market access for This will make the process of site selection, project feasi-
renewables by reducing administrative costs and me- bility studies and economic assessment much faster and
tering complexity. In addition to the simplicity and low more reliable, thereby reducing the costs and the risks for
cost of this arrangement, customers receive the retail rate new projects.
for electricity exported to the grid until their exports Service centres need to be established which can sup-
exceed their imports. This in turn encourages appropri- ply information, prices trained personnel for installation
ate sizing of renewable energy installations and e$cient and maintenance of PV systems. Customers are used to
energy use. Net metering is particularly useful once the having this level of support infrastructure for their energy
performance of a technology is reasonably well under- services and without it they will not have the con"dence
stood, since the single meter removes the monitoring to try new technologies. Industry credibility will also be
function that would otherwise be provided by a separate enhanced by the availability of standards and regulations
meter. for PV applications, although these need to be #exible
Typically, a cap is placed on installations qualifying for enough to incorporate new developments.
net metering, based on MW installed or a percentage of
electricity generated in the area. There is a move to 7.2.2. Price
encourage standard application procedures, as a further Price, particularly initial capital cost, is the most vis-
means of easing access, rather than using a system of ible barrier to PV. Government and utility investment
E.D. Spooner et al. / Energy Policy 28 (2000) 1059}1068 1067
should be actively used to provide viable market sizes, onstrations, as well as to increase public con"dence in
while options to pool their purchasing power to achieve renewables.
cost reductions, which could be passed on to smaller Information on general "eld performance is also
users, should be examined. Governments should con- needed. Systematic monitoring and standardised report-
tinue to examine the need for targeted long-term subsides ing formats must be developed, as well as a coordinated
for market stimulation. Standard "nance packages for system of user feedback. The latter would be particularly
certi"ed systems should be developed, to assist pur- useful in the short term as a means of ensuring that any
chasers. scale up of production to meet demand growth has taken
Standard net metering guidelines should be developed into account problems with existing systems.
and made mandatory across the country for small-scale A range of educational programs is necessary, as
installations, up to an agreed percentage of electricity is targeted promotion and training for trades and
sales, to reduce up front costs and boost economic viabil- decision-makers.
ity for PV and other renewables. For larger systems,
on-cost assistance for feasibility studies, project develop- 7.2.4. Energy industry restructuring and regulatory
ment and approval processes should be made available, requirements
to lower up front costs and reduce risk. To be supportive of the introduction of signi"cant
Emission taxes on fossil fuels would ensure that their increases in renewable energy contributions to Austra-
prices more correctly re#ect true costs, hence reducing lia's electricity supply, the current restructuring of the
price di!erentials with renewables. energy industry must provide e!ective regulation for
Regulatory processes should also be used to long-term energy goals. Key strategies include:
ensure transparent pricing of energy supplies, with E the adoption of a form of electricity industry restruc-
clear indications of cross subsidies, to allow PV to target turing which ensures that distributed resources receive
those areas where it is most cost e!ective. Further, the use equal consideration to traditional centralised options,
of life cycle cost calculations must be encouraged in E e!ective regulation, to ensure that the external impacts
public sector energy decision-making and re#ected in associated with the electricity industry are taken into
funding allocations to capital expenditure and running account in operating and investment decisions, e.g.,
costs. legislation covering the environmental and social im-
pacts of major investment projects,
7.2.3. Market acceptance E industry development policies that encourage e!ective
Market acceptance of renewables is very low at pres- innovation in renewable energy technologies and local
ent, despite a high level of community support for its participation in research, development and commer-
development and use. Signi"cant e!ort is needed to raise cialisation,
levels of awareness and credibility. Information on re- E breaking of the current distributor/retailer link, with
newable options must be made readily available to the its associated supply side bias, and
general public, for household applications and for trades, E if retail competition is delayed, the introduction of
professions, investors, insurers and planning agencies for mechanisms to support customer requirements for sus-
all applications. Certi"cation procedures and standards tainable energy.
must be developed to enhance credibility and perfor-
mance.
Customers are often surprised by the low level of 8. Conclusions
renewables in existing electricity supplies and have
generally been supportive of Green Power and other Newington solar suburb is a clear demonstration of
renewables support schemes, when given the choice. the practicality of large-scale PV systems in residential
Disclosure of fuel mix details on electricity accounts applications. There are many international projects to
should be mandatory under competitive market electric- install PV systems such as the US Million roofs program.
ity sector regulations, to facilitate customer choice. This development in Australia is a signi"cant step to-
Well-documented and monitored demonstration of wards providing information which it is hoped will lead
technical and nontechnical aspects of PV projects is to future Australian and international developments and
critically necessary * information on design, installation policy initiatives. The development has provided a key
requirements and procedures, performance, costs or opportunity for Australian designers to develop a best-
"nancing arrangements should be published for all pub- practice residential PV power system solution. It is pro-
licly funded projects. Few such examples are available in viding an opportunity for builders and developers to
Australia. Most utility or industry installations, whether experience and learn about the application of many sus-
or not supported by government funding, have provided tainable development principals. The experience gained
very limited information to the public. Government in- is being fed back to the international community through
vestment and use of PV should be used to provide dem- test reports and international publications.
1068 E.D. Spooner et al. / Energy Policy 28 (2000) 1059}1068
Newington is assisting in the development of Austra- Goldstein, L., Mortensen, J., Trickett, D., 1999. Grid-connected renew-
lian and international standards (through IEC com- able electric policies in the European union. NREL/TP.620.26247,
mittees) for building integrated PV and providing US. Department of Energy.
IEA, 1996. Grid-connected photovoltaic power systems: status of exist-
opportunities for testing the operation of PV systems in ing guidelines and regulations in selected IEA member countries.
large-scale developments, providing useful input to assist IEA Task V Report IEA-PVPS V1-01. International Energy
the further international development of these systems. Agency, Paris.
Newington will also leave a legacy for Sydeny of a IPART, 1998, Pricing for electricity networks and retail supply, Issues
viable solar powered suburb and will assist in the estab- Paper. 67.
Laukamp, H., Bopp, G., 1996. The new German electric safety standard
lishment of other suburbs based on similar principles in for Residential PV system. IEEE Specialist Conference.
the future. However, a number of policy actions are Outhred, H., Watt, M., 1999. Prospects for renewable energy in the
necessary to allow the manistream market to have access restructured Australian electricity industry. World Renewable
to the sustainable options demonstrated at Newington. Energy Congress, Perth, WA.
Spooner, E.D., Zacharias, P., Morphett, D., Grunwald, G., Mackay, J.,
1998. Solar olympic village, design and testing experience. Proceed-
ings of 2nd World Conf on Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion,
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