Excess electricity generation capacity in Western Australia is such that power stations will have be to be closed down.
“Given the excess capacity on a good day – 42 per cent – and also the growth of solar … and declining demand, we have excess capacity”, the ABC reports Western Australian Energy Minister Mike Nahan as saying.
The Minister said some power stations will need to be closed, but didn’t go as far as naming the facilities. He stated Synergy will advise him on which plants should shut down.
Speaking at the Energy in Western Australia Conference 2015, Dr. Nahan also said the government expects the majority of electricity generating capacity during sunlight hours in the Perth metro area will be provided by rooftop solar power systems in around 10 years time.
Dr. Nahan says small scale solar is growing at a rate of “20, 30 per cent a year” and the technology is “actually quite cheap”.
The Energy Minister also stated electricity generators have been taking advantage of the capacity market system.
“We needed a capacity market as an insurance mechanism but it has become a business plan for too many people.”
More than 180,000 households in Western Australia now have solar panels installed – approximately one in five homes. Collectively, these systems are generating the equivalent of two typical coal fired power stations.
The Mandurah area (postcode 6210) is among Australia’s top 10 solar postcodes, with 8,575 systems for a total capacity of nearly 19,000 kilowatts.
System owners in Mandurah’s postcode area are generating a rough average of 103,102 kWh daily. This translates to around $927,000 worth of electricity monthly and more than $11,000,000 annually (approximation – based on 30c per kilowatt hour retail value).
According to Energy Matters, a 5kW solar panel system installed in Perth can return a financial benefit of $1,496 – $2,150 a year; depending on a household’s power consumption profile and the installation scenario.
Energy in Western Australia Conference 2015 is being held at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Perth and continues today. The theme for this year is smart energy.
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