The dramatic change in the nature of electricity delivery in South Australia has been highlighted by these extraordinary graphs, showing how rooftop solar PV is accounting for around 25 per cent of electricity demand in the state of large parts of the day.
The first graph is tank from Saturday, Sept 20, and the second is taken on Saturday, September 27 – showing that between 11am and 2pm, around one quarter of the state’s electricity demand was provided by solar panels on the rooftops of homes and businesses. From 10am-4pm, more than 15 per cent of demand was met by rooftop solar.
And it didn’t just happen on the weekend, when demand is lower because most office buildings and some manufacturing have closed down. As the graphs at the bottom suggest, rooftop solar PV can meet one quarter of demand even during weekdays.
South Australia has one of the highest penetration rates of rooftop solar PV in the world, with 22.6 per cent of dwellings sporting rooftop solar PV as at June 30. It has a total of 555MW in the state.
This data was not taken in the heat of the summer, when more air conditioners will be in use and demand considerably higher, but SA Power Networks, which operates the grid in the state, said it was clear that rooftop solar PV was improving stability and helping push the moment of peak demand into the early evening.
Rooftop solar and wind energy is expected to account for 40 per cent of South Australia’s electricity demand in 2014/15. The state recently announced it would lift its renewable target to 50 per cent by 2025, although if the Ceres wind farm and the Hornsdale wind farms are built, solar thermal gets a hold and rooftop solar PV continues to be deployed, it may achieve a much higher renewables ratio.
This first graph is from Saturday, September 20 ….
This second is from Saturday, September 27.
This one is from Monday, September 22 …
And this next graph is from Tuesday, September 23 …
More graphs can be found at the APVI website, on its
