Can predicting clouds make solar cheaper?
An Australian-first solar energy project that uses cloud predictive technology (CPT) to anticipate solar energy output has been launched in Karratha, Western Australia, with $2.3 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The project is being led by renewable energy development company SunEdison Australia and will supply 1 MW of solar energy to the Karratha Airport.
The initiative promises to answer questions about how CPT can make solar generation cheaper and more efficient by reducing or eliminating storage requirements.
“It will be the first time cloud predictive technology has been used on a solar PV installation of this size connected to a network,” said Ivor Frischknecht, ARENA CEO.
“Because clouds can lead to a sudden drop in solar output, commercial solar power generation on a smaller network usually has costly storage requirements to ‘smooth out’ supply into the grid.
“Employing CPT reduces the need for this buffer, meaning solar generation can be installed and operated more cheaply.”
The project will be connected to the North West Interconnected System (NWIS), Horizon Power’s network servicing Western Australia’s Pilbara mining region, and could also lead to a rise in the number of renewable energy projects in the north-west of Australia and beyond.
Frischknecht said that while customers on the NWIS experience high electricity prices and the Pilbara region has excellent solar resources, development of renewable projects has been affected by high storage requirements stipulated by the network operator.
“Battery storage can help smooth out energy output and is becoming cheaper as technology advances. However, it is currently a major expense for new projects in the region,” he said.
“This project is aiming to satisfy network requirements with fewer batteries by enhancing storage effectiveness with cloud prediction, potentially opening the door for more renewable energy projects in the region.”
The Karratha Airport initiative is one of 110 projects supported by ARENA involving solar photovoltaic technology.
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