With rapidly declining costs and seemingly unlimited sunshine, the choice of solar in Australia seems obvious. Yet despite its many advantages, homes with solar remain completely dependent on the electricity grid for reliable supply, which in Australia implies mostly coal-fired generation. Indeed, even countries that have invested heavily in solar, such as Spain and Germany, have been unable to deflect the trajectory of fossil fuel dependence.

The reasons for this apparent paradox are varied, and this book provides a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the practical applications of photovoltaics (PV) in modern electricity systems. While the conventional life-cycle assessment (LCA) boundaries as prescribed by the IEA-PVPS provide a consistent methodology for comparing evolving PV technologies, the narrow boundaries exclude many critical downstream energy costs. Similarly, simple cost comparisons of PV versus conventional power sources overlook the significant economic and energy costs of intermittency and grid integration. Yet distributed storage, which could provide potentially valuable network support, is frequently given a low priority by advocates of solar.

Treating PV as an extension of, rather than as a substitute for, the fossil fuel enterprise enables a more productive discussion of PV's potential role in electricity generation. The sunburnt country of Australia, which has a modern electricity system, is an ideal case study for exploring the potential of solar PV. With a focus on rooftop solar, energy storage, grid integration, and electricity system issues, Energy in Australia offers valuable insights into the practical challenges of solar power. Although many national economies are already confronting a downward trend in energy return on investment (EROI) of oil and gas from both conventional and unconventional sources, the large-scale deployment of low-emission energy sources that lie below a critical minimum EROIthreshold may ultimately prove counter-productive.

Represents the first comprehensive net energy analysis of rooftop solar within a modern electricity grid Provides an in-depth analysis of grid integration and the use of storage Extends life-cycle boundaries to provide a comprehensive estimate of EROI for solar power in Australia Has broad implications for the potential of renewable energy sources to seamlessly substitute for fossil fuels Written by an experienced engineer with expertise in power systems and renewable energy

Autorentext

Graham Palmer is a researcher who divides his time between industry and academia. He has an industry background as an engineer and researcher in manufacturing, HVAC and electronics. He has published in the area of biophysical economics, renewable energy, life-cycle analysis, and energy-economic modelling. Graham obtained his PhD in the area of energy-return-on-investment (EROI) of electricity supply. His current research interests include the future roles of energy storage systems. Joshua Floyd is a researcher and educator in the area of energy and societal futures. His work draws on training and experience in futures studies and strategic foresight, and systems thinking and practice. His early engineering career focused on technology development and commercialization in the extractive metallurgy industry. His qualifications include a Master of Science (Strategic Foresight) and Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical). He is Energy, Systems and Society Fellowat The Rescope Project.

Inhalt

Preface.- Chapter 1: Introduction - One million solar systems.- Chapter 2: Quarry Australia building Australia on coal.- Chapter 3: Towards optimized complexity integrating intermittency.- Chapter 4: Electricity networks - managing peak demand.- Chapter 5: EROI of Solar PV.- Chapter 6: Driving down emissions: the role of carbon pricing.- Conclusion.- References.- Index.