Solar is great for NZ
In recent months we at Greenpeace have been running a campaign against Hawke’s Bay lines company Unison Energy’s decision to penalise its solar users by charging them a targeted and compulsory levy, which we’re calling a “solar tax”.
The petition asking New Zealand’s electricity watchdog, the Electricity Authority, to protect solar and prohibit other lines companies from doing the same, now has around 50,000 signatures.
Recently Victoria University research fellow Nathan Ross, wrote that Greenpeace had got it wrong.
He said that solar doesn’t work in New Zealand.
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For someone who used to be the manager of the solar programme at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, we were surprised by his anti-solar stance.
Ross claims that because around 80 per cent of New Zealand’s electricity is already from clean sources, solar only offsets renewable energy and doesn’t stop burning fossil fuels.
This argument is far too simplistic.
There is no silver bullet for New Zealand’s energy problems. It will take a mix of renewable solutions to push dirty fuels out of the electricity system. Anyone suggesting that that solar isn’t going to be a part of this in a country as sunny as New Zealand is seriously misguided.
The solution will involve investment in solar, alongside lesser known technologies that reduce peak demand, like grid tied batteries and demand management like load shifting.
And in Auckland, solar actually does displace dirty energy. Auckland gets the majority of its electricity from dirty fuels like gas and coal. This is primarily because of its close proximity to Huntly and its distance from large-scale renewable hydro in the South Island.
Greenpeace says it will take a mix of renewable solutions to push dirty fuels out of NZ’s electricity system. (REUTERS)
Ross wants us to focus on cars – but how can we justify charging our electric vehicles using Huntly’s coal?
What Auckland needs alongside sustainable transport is more clean electricity, and solar makes sense: Auckland has high sunshine hours and is currently going through the biggest residential construction boom in our history.
In his article, Ross also perpetuates the common electricity industry myth that installing solar will defer the development of large-scale renewable power.
As proof, he references a report by Concept Consulting, which – by the way – was sponsored and supported by some of the big players in the electricity industry, including Unison.
The electricity industry has clearly stated that it has no plans to build any new renewable generation here anytime soon.
Is Ross suggesting we simply sit on our hands and wait?
Let’s assess the current situation: The New Zealand Government has little interest in seriously cutting our emissions and is continuing to expand the search for oil.
Key players in the electricity industry, including Genesis and Meridian, are fighting tooth and nail to keep Huntly burning coal (we agree with Ross – it needs to close). They’ve reversed a previous promise to shut it next year, pushing it out until “at least 2022”. Now, the new Chief Executive of Genesis has taken it a step further and stated he hasn’t ruled out renovating one of the old Huntly coal burners, which had been put into retirement several years ago.
And that’s not all. We’re now staring down the barrel of two more dirty power stations planned for construction.
Solar rightly should be in competition with other forms of generation, and the fact is, it’s now out-competing most of them globally. It is cheaper, cleaner and more convenient.
And as batteries become common-place, they will be used to support the grid system far more cost effectively than conventional “spinning reserve” – power stations that sit idle and are called upon only when needed.
Ross reckons that Unison merely wants solar customers to cover what they’ve cost by using the grid less. But solar users in the Hawke’s Bay are already covering their costs. Just like everyone else, they have to pay their lines fees. Unison wants them to pay more because they will be using less power. They say it’s about fairness. We say it’s aimed squarely at putting people off solar.
And the reality is, it’s the solar users who are going to increasingly subsidise the utilities.
People tend to change their behaviour when they install solar. Because a big part of the exercise is to lower costs, they want to use as much free energy as possible. They’ll run their hot water heaters, washing machines and dishwashers during the day when the sun is shining, reducing the amount of electricity they use and pressure on the grid.
In the future, we think electricity distribution will become a transactive grid. People will buy and sell electricity to each other in their neighbourhood or even further. The distribution grid will merge with the national grid into one large electricity market that operates through signals and transactions involving millions of devices, such as electric vehicles, batteries, and hot water systems that vary their electricity use.
This power system will be much cleaner, smarter and way more efficient; and solar and batteries will be a pivotal part of that.
When technology changes, companies like Unison have a choice: They either adapt or go bust. Unlike Unison, Auckland lines company Vector is thinking ahead. It’s launching a peer-to-peer solar power platform that allows households to use each other’s solar power.
In a country built on its “clean and green” reputation, we need to be encouraging people to be innovative, independent and sustainable, not punish them.
Ross insinuates we have bigger problems than solar in New Zealand. We already have 80 per cent renewable electricity – why aim for higher? He reckons Greenpeace should focus on cows instead.
We reckon we can do both.