Renewable Energy in Victoria report 2012
Executive summary The Renewable Energy in Victoria 2012 report provides an overview of Victoria s electricity generation from renewable energy sources in the 2012 calendar year. The report presents a detailed breakdown of renewable energy sources along with a comparison of generation to Victorian electricity consumption. Changes in annual capacity and generation output are noted with respect to the key technologies of bioenergy, hydro, wind and solar photovoltaic (PV). The report covers electricity generation from renewable sources including wind, hydro, solar and bioenergy. It does not cover renewable energy used for thermal applications such as solar hot water, solar cooling, industrial solar heat, geothermal direct use and heat from bioenergy sources. The figures used in this report were accurate as of June 2013. Cover image: Grade 2/3 St John s Lutheran Primary School, Portland at Pacific Hydro s Cape Bridgewater Wind Farm, Victoria Image: Oaklands Hill Wind Farm, Victoria. Source: Mark Forbes, photographically.com.au
Table of contents 02 About the CEC 03 Background 04 Renewable energy generation: installed capacity 04 The renewable energy mix 06 Renewable electricity percentage: Victoria 08 Summary of renewable energy generation 10 Hydro 11 Bioenergy 12 Solar 14 Wind
About the CEC 02 Image: Silex Systems Limited, Bridgewater Solar Test Facility, Victoria
The Clean Energy Council is the peak body for Australia s clean energy industry, working with more than 600 solar, wind, energy efficiency, energy storage, bioenergy, hydro, cogeneration, geothermal and marine energy businesses. The Clean Energy Council aims to accelerate the transformation of Australia s energy system into one that is smarter, cleaner and more consumer-focused. Background The Clean Energy Council tracks the installation of renewable energy generators and the amount of electricity generated from renewable energy sources all over Australia. For the Renewable Energy in Victoria 2012 report, generation data has been sourced from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and operating generators. The consumption data is sourced from AEMO s halfhourly demand intervals for the calendar year 2012, available online 1. 1. AEMO aggregated price and demand data files. www.aemo.com.au/ Electricity/Data/Price-and-Demand/Aggregated-Price-and-Demand- Data-Files/Aggregated-Price-and-Demand-2011-to-2015#2012 03
Renewable energy generation installed CApacity Since 2000, Victoria s installed capacity of renewable energy has almost tripled, increasing from 668 megawatts to more than 1860 megawatts in 2012. This puts Victoria s total installed renewable energy capacity third nationally after New South Wales and Tasmania, which both have huge amounts of hydro capacity. 1869 installed capacity of renewable energy in Victoria, in megawatts 3825 Victoria s total renewable energy generation in 2013, in gigawatt-hours Capacity of renewable generation technologies by year 2 Installed Capacity (MW) Fuel type 2000 2005 2009 2010 2011 2012 Bioenergy 81 86 121 124 128 129 Hydro 587 655 802 802 802 803 Solar 0.40 2.2 20.1 75.1 270 417 Wind 0.09 104 428 428 432 519 Total 668 847 1372 1429 1633 1869 The renewable energy mix Victoria s total renewable energy generation for 2012 was 3825 gigawatt-hours, which was an increase of 874 gigawatt-hours, or nearly 30 per cent more than the amount of generation in 2011. This was largely driven by an increase in the amount of wind energy generation in 2012, and also a significant increase in the amount of solar energy produced. The total electricity generation by each technology is presented above. 2. throughout the report, the nominal dates for installed capacity refer to end of that year (i.e. 31 December). Generation output is calculated over the calendar year specified. 04 Note: installed hydro capacity in this report does not include the 550 megawatt Snowy Hydro Murray 2 project, which is physically located in New South Wales. Since 1 July 2008 the power station has been allocated to the Victoria region of the National Electricity Market so in some other sources may be listed as Victorian.
Victorian renewable energy generation output by calendar year Output (GWh) 2012 Fuel type 2009 2010 2011 2012 2011 Bioenergy 554 605 633 651 2010 Hydro 506 748 813 950 2009 Solar 18 61 225 550 Wind 1028 1217 1280 1674 Total 2106 2632 2951 3825 Year 2008 2007 2006 2005 Solar Biomass Hydro 2000 Wind 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 Output (GWh) The wind sector has expanded significantly since 2000, growing from less than 0.1 megawatts to an installed capacity of 519 megawatts in 2012. In 2012, wind energy also made up more than 27 per cent of Victoria s renewable electricity generation capacity. Output from Victorian wind farms has increased from just 260 megawatt-hours in 2000, to 1674 gigawatthours in 2012. Solar power has also experienced rapid growth, driven largely by household solar systems. Output has grown from 18 gigawatt-hours in 2009 to 550 gigawatt-hours in 2012, a 30-fold increase. Bioenergy has also grown steadily, now contributing 17 per cent of Victoria s renewable energy. Finally, hydro has maintained an installed capacity of just over 800 megawatts, and in 2012 generated 950 gigawatt-hours of electricity. Annual output from Victoria s hydro power plants varies with rainfall, with the peak of the past 10 years reached in 2002 with 1100 gigawatt-hours in 2002, compared to the 10-year low of 404 gigawatthours in 2007. 05
Renewable energy percentage victoria In 2012, renewable energy generation produced from Victoria met around 7.7 per cent of the state s total electricity demand. Victoria s renewable electricity percentage 7.7 % victoria 13.14 % national AVERAGE Renewable energy generation as a percentage of total energy demand This is lower than the national percentage of renewable energy, which is 13.14 per cent. The national figure is boosted by states like Tasmania and New South Wales, which have significant hydro resources, and South Australia, which gets approximately 25 per cent of its energy needs from wind power. In this report, the renewable energy percentage is calculated as the ratio of total renewable generation located in Victoria to AEMO s half-hourly demand figures for 2012. Although there would be small losses in the transmission networks, they are difficult to determine though could be expected to be around 3 per cent. Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) generation would not experience this network loss because the generation is physically close to where the electricity is used. Victoria may also import renewable generation from neighbouring states to meet its demand. This could mean that Victoria actually uses a higher proportion of renewable energy than reported. 06
Percentage of renewable electricity in Victoria 8 7 6 5 RE (%) 4 3 2 1 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year Image: Energy Developments Limited 07
Summary of renewable energy generation GWh generated in 2012 GWh generated in 2011 Increase hydro 950 813 +137 GWh bioenergy 651 633 +18 GWh solar 550 225 +325 GWh wind 1674 1280 +394 GWh 08 Image: Vestas, Macarthur Wind Farm, Victoria
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Hydro power In 2012, Victorian hydro generators supplied 950 gigawatthours of renewable energy from 803 megawatts of installed hydro plant. This was a significantly higher contribution than the 813 gigawatt-hours generated in 2011. 950 GWh of renewable energy supplied in 2012 32 plants operating Hydro generation data is sourced from all generators located within the Victorian border, with the exception of the Hume Dam hydro power plant, which is considered 50 per cent within Victoria. Generation data was sourced where possible from AEMO, and where the plant is not a scheduled generator, by direct communication with the owner. Using these criteria, Victoria has 32 operating hydro plants. The graph below shows both the output and capacity for the period 1990 to 2012, and clearly demonstrates a large variation in hydro output from year to year. Aside from an increase of 140 megawatts of new capacity in 2009, with the Bogong power station being commissioned in October 2009, the majority of capacity changes over the period were from a number of small pipeline mini-hydro plants installed by Melbourne Water. The large dip in output from 2007 to 2009 is attributable to low reservoir levels. The effect of widespread rain throughout the state in from late 2010 is quite pronounced in the output data, even though the majority of rain only fell in the final three months of that year. Hydro capacity and output by year 1200 900 1000 800 700 800 600 Output (GWh) 600 500 400 Capacity 400 300 200 200 100 0 0 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year 10
Bioenergy In 2012 bioenergy sources supplied 651 gigawatt-hours, up from 633 gigawatt-hours in 2011. This was about 17 per cent of Victoria s total renewable energy generation. 651 GWh of renewable energy supplied in 2012 Total installed capacity of bioenergy at the end of 2012 was 129 megawatts. The chart below shows the capacity of Victoria s 28 bioenergy generators from 1990 to 2012, broken down by fuel type. A single black liquor plant with a capacity of 54.5 megawatts dominates with 42 per cent of installed capacity. Victoria also has a lot of landfill methane capacity, contributing a further 38 per cent of capacity. Since 2006 Victoria has seen the addition of about 13 megawatts of sewage methane as well as about 10 megawatts of landfill gas generation. The data indicates a higher capacity factor for landfill methane than the other fuel types. In 2012, the capacity factor for landfill sites was over 73 per cent compared to the bioenergy sector average of 58 per cent. 28 plants operating Capacity of bioenergy generators by fuel and by year Output (GWh) 140 120 100 80 60 Digester gas Other Sewage methane Landfill methane Black liquor 40 20 0 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year 11
Solar Solar energy supplied 550 gigawatt-hours (14 per cent of all renewable electricity) to Victoria in 2012, up from 225 gigawatt-hours in 2011. 550 GWh of renewable energy supplied in 2012 418 megawatts installed capacity of solar PV in Victoria This was due to the massive growth of rooftop solar PV systems driven by falling solar prices, as well as state and federal government incentives. The table below shows an estimate of installed solar PV capacity in Victoria, according to the Clean Energy Regulator s data on Small-scale Technology Certificate (STC) creation. This data does not cover all systems, as certificates may be created up to 12 months after installation of a generator and are not necessarily created for all systems. Installed capacity in 2012 went from 270 megawatts to 418 megawatts. Solar panel generation for Victoria is calculated using a capacity factor of 15 per cent. Of the 418 megawatts of installed solar PV, household solar contributed 417 megawatts and commercial projects made up slightly more than 1 megawatt. Commercial projects sized between 180 kilowatts and 300 kilowatts generated a total of 1846 megawatt-hours for 2012. With the price of solar panels dropping, 2013 may see further uptake of commercial-size projects. Installed solar PV capacity (Clean Energy Regulator data) 3 450 400 350 Installed capacity (MW) 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year 12 3. As discussed in body of text, the most recent 12 months data at time of publication is subject to review based on future STC creation.
The financial benefit for my family from our solar power system has been great. Electricity prices have been going up but during summer we now get a good-sized rebate on our power bill. Adam Davies, solar customer in Diamond Creek, Victoria 13
Wind Wind energy has been the largest contributor to Victoria s renewable electricity supply for the last four years. In 2012 Victorian wind energy provided 1674 gigawatt-hours, up from 1280 gigawatt-hours in 2011. 1674 GWh of renewable energy supplied in 2012 11 commercial plants operating At the end of 2012 Victoria had 11 commercial wind farms over 1 MW in capacity, mostly located in the west of the state. In 2012 they generated enough energy to power over 230,000 average Australian homes. Two new wind farms were completed in 2012, adding almost 87 megawatts of new generation. Those two projects were Morton s Lane, roughly 38 kilometres east of Hamilton, and Oaklands Hill, which is 3 kilometres south of Glenthompson. The 2012 generation figure includes some generation from the Macarthur wind farm, which was progressively commissioned throughout late 2012 and finally opened in April 2013. As a result, the installed capacity figure for Victoria does not include Macarthur but the generation does include some of the wind farm s output. Macarthur is Australia s largest wind farm and also the Southern Hemisphere s largest wind farm at 420 megawatts. Electricity output data for the major wind farms is sourced directly from AEMO, which collates half-hourly market interval data for the operation of the National Electricity Market. Data for the smaller wind farms was sourced directly from the generators. The performance of wind farms is represented in terms of the capacity factor which is the ratio of energy output to total possible energy output if the wind farm was operating at maximum capacity at all times. The aggregated capacity factor of Victorian wind farms in 2012 (comparing total generation to total installed capacity) was 34 per cent. Wind farm commissioning dates Site Capacity (MW) Commission Date Breamlea, Torquay 0.06 1987 Codrington 18.2 June 2001 Toora 21 July 2002 Challicum Hills 52.5 July 2003 Wonthaggi 12 December 2005 Elgo-Longwood 0.15 2007 Portland Stage I (Yambuk) 30 January 2007 Portland Stage II (Cape Bridgewater) 58 November 2008 Portland Stage III (Cape Nelson South) 44 May 2009 Waubra 192 October 2009 Hepburn 4.1 July 2011 Oaklands Hill 67.2 April 2012 Morton s Lane 19.5 December 2012 Macarthur* 420 April 2013 14 *Completed in 2013 Image: Vestas, Macarthur Wind Farm, Victoria
Installed wind capacity (MW) 600 500 Annual generation (GWh) Installed capacity (MW) 400 300 200 100 0 Annual wind generation (GWh) 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 400 200 0 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year 15
16 Image: AGL, Bogong Hydro Power Station, Victoria
Thanks to project funding partner Sustainability Victoria. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Clean Energy Council gives no warranty regarding its accuracy, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose and to the extent permitted by law, does not accept any liability for loss or damages incurred as a result of reliance placed upon the content of this publication. This publication is provided on the basis that all persons accessing it undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. Renewable Energy in Victoria 2012 should be attributed to the Clean Energy Council. Renewable Energy in Victoria 2012 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. In essence, you are free to copy, distribute and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the work and abide by the other licence terms. To view a copy of this licence, visit: creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/3.0/au/ Design by streamer design and communication Clean Energy Council 2013 17
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