Once the RE industry profile is understood, Evolve Energy will use information provided by industry participants to develop a strategy to maximise the opportunities for the industry in Tropical North Queensland and to address any obvious barriers to its growth.

Information contributed to the industry profile by participating businesses is strictly confidential.  High level summary results as well as the industry development strategy are expected to be published by the Office of Clean Energy at the conclusion of the project.  The Office of Clean Energy is also planning to hold a Renewable Energy Industry forum in Cairns in mid 2012, with the outcomes of the project likely to be one of the topics discussed.

All businesses involved in the renewable energy sector in Tropical North Queensland are invited to participate.  Evolve Energy is contacting more than 120 local businesses identified as operating in the renewable energy sector.  If you have not been contacted and would like to contribute to the project please call our office on 4041 6266 during normal business hours.  The collection of industry profile information will continue until the end of April 2012.

For more information or if you have questions regarding the project, the Office of Clean Energy Project Manager, Mr Sean Cranny, may be contacted on 07 3247 6386.

Evolve Energy recently conducted a review of power supply options for Prince of Wales Island.  The review was commissioned by Ergon Energy and the Queensland Office of Clean Energy to identify the most appropriate power supply option for the community.

The project involved a site visit to Prince of Wales Island to meet with residents, assess the existing energy needs, review technologies currently being used and to understand future energy needs.  In addition to the site assessment, an energy survey was conducted to obtain valuable input from local stakeholders.

Two key power supply options that were considered as part of the review were a regulated public electricity system, and the continued use of individual stand alone power supply systems.  A range of energy efficiency options and opportunities were also explored.

Evolve Energy has recently completed a series of energy audits for some of Ergon Energy’s largest customers in Mt Isa, including Xstrata, Mt Isa Airport, Mt Isa Hospital, The Irish Club, The Buffs Club and the All Seasons Hotel.

The project involved undertaking detailed commercial energy audits to ascertain energy usage profiles and identify opportunities to reduce peak demands on the distribution network.

Rising electricity maximum demand in Mt Isa is placing pressure on the capacity of the existing distribution system.  If this maximum demand can be reduced, upgrades to the electricity distribution networks to meet this demand can be deferred – providing significant cost savings for the electricity utility. These costs savings are passed onto all consumers in the form of lower electricity prices (or smaller increases in prices).  The project is a real win-win solution for all involved.

Evolve Energy’s work identified potential load reductions in excess of 1 MW and energy savings of more than 3 GWh.  Savings to the businesses involved if all recommendations are implemented will be in excess of $600,000 per annum.

The Bushlight India project was an Australian government funded initiative to collaboratively develop and demonstrate a high quality, replicable and scalable model for electrifying remote Indian villages using renewable energy resources.  The model, based on more than 10 years of experience working in remote aboriginal communities in Australia, was unique in India for its service philosophy of providing an agreed, assured amount of energy – available 24/7 – to all consumers.  By working closely with a committed group of government, industry and NGO partners in India, the Bushlight India project was able to successfully develop and demonstrate an approach to rural electrification that has the potential to benefit millions of people both in India and developing countries around the world.  An important outcome of the project was the construction and commissioning of two centralised solar power stations in remote villages in the states of West Bengal and Orissa.

More information about the Bushlight India project can be found here, and a short video of the presentation of the award at Parliament House in Canberra this week can be found here.  A copy of Engineers Australia media release can be viewed here.

Grant Behrendorff, a director of Evolve Energy, was engaged by CAT Projects to develop and lead the Bushlight India project and filled the role of Project Director for the 2 ½ year duration of the project. Grant is also an independent Director on CAT Projects’ board.

Evolve Energy is thrilled to have contributed to the success of the Bushlight India project and congratulates the entire CAT Projects team on the tremendous effort that was required to deliver this project.

Bushlight India project team members Lyndon Frearson, Paul Rodden, Michael Tuckwell, and Grant Behrendorff, accepting the Sir William Hudson award from Brett Jones, Executive Officer Production at Snowy Hydro Limited, sponsors of the award.

More photos of the event can be found on our Facebook page here.

In an Australian first, Evolve Energy this week commenced the local assembly of smart grid enabled AC solar modules.  These AC solar modules consist of a conventional photovoltaic solar panel combined with a high efficiency smart grid enabled micro-inverter.

Each AC solar module produces electricity at 240 volts and the modules simply plug together and connect directly into the consumer’s switchboard.  The metering arrangement is similar to that used for conventional DC solar systems.

The smart AC solar modules are capable of generating both active power (Watts) and reactive power (vars).  Its expected that by remotely controlling the amount and type of power generated by the solar array, the problems that large numbers of PV systems can cause within electricity distribution networks can be managed.   The reactive power can be generated at the same time as the real power, and can be supplied 24 hours a day.

Following on from the success of a recent trial of these modules on Magnetic Island, the locally assembled smart AC solar modules are being deployed as part of a medium-scale deployment of the technology to assess its potential to reduce the impact of PV systems on the electricity distribution network.

AC solar modules are becoming increasingly common in Europe and the US however the technology is relatively new to the Australian market.  The use of AC solar modules eliminates the electrical hazards associated with the high DC voltages present on many conventional solar systems.  AC solar systems are able to be installed in less time than conventional PV systems due to their significantly reduced component count.  The energy generated by AC Solar systems can also be significantly higher than for a similarly sized conventional DC solar system due to module-level maximum power point tracking and reduced susceptibility to shading.  AC Solar systems are typically monitored at individual module level, which provides a greater level of visibility over the performance of the system.  A unique feature of AC solar systems is that one or more additional modules can be added at any time in the future, and can be placed at any angle to the sun without affecting the performance of other modules.

To see more photos visit our Facebook page.

Ergon Energy’s powersavvy isolated community energy efficiency pilot project has been recognised with a Highly Commended Award at the annual Engineers Australia Queensland Engineering Excellence awards. The awards are the premier event for the engineering profession in Queensland, and the result is a credit to the dedication and commitment of the powersavvy project team. Evolve Energy was among a number of contractors and consultants who assisted the core project team within Ergon Energy with this project, and we would like to pass our congratulations on to everyone who contributed to it’s success. Well done guys!

The current generation of grid connect PV inverters are proving to be a reliable and effective way of connecting PV systems to the electricity network, however as the concentration of PV systems on electricity networks around Australia steadily increases, utilities are now experiencing a range of network control, performance and stability issues. Smart Inverters, incorporating reactive power generation and a host of other features designed to reduce the effect that PV systems have on electricity networks are currently under development and trial around the world. Ergon Energy is hosting Australia’s first trial of the technology on Magnetic Island in North Queensland.

Grant’s presentation was well received and reported on the Climate Spectator and Crikey websites. Much of the discussion at this session of the conference centred around unlocking the promise of Smart Grid technologies through addressing policy and regulatory barriers.

A copy of the presentation and a technical paper on the use of reactive power to manage network voltage can be found in the downloads section of the website.

Copies of the presentations can be found in the downloads section of the website.

More information on this project can be found at www.powersavvy.com.au

The AC solar panels installed on Magnetic Island are unique in that each module can be remotely controlled via the internet. Modules can be instructed to generate varying amounts of reactive power (measured in Volt Amps Reactive, or vars) to assist in network voltage control.

The Smart Solar systems were installed as part of a utility trial of the technology and their operation will be closely monitored over the next 12 months.