WGV, an “Innovation through Demonstration” project by Landcorp, the Western Australian Government land and development agency, in White Gum Valley, about 3km east of Fremantle. This compact two apartment development in the mix of “innovative and sustainable” apartments and homes, built on a perfectly selected single 274m2 north facing block. It shares a well designed, maximum efficiency 5kW PV system supporting shared hot water, space heating and cooling, provided by by a 3-in-1 heat pump system utilising hydronic tubes in the ground floor slab and a single wall mounted fan coil unit on each upper floor. Double glazing, attention to sealing around doors and windows and thermal mass combined with smart controls to the solar heat pump efficiently provide year round comfort.

PV IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Oversight of power generation and distribution in WA is carried out by WEM (Wholesale Electricity Market). The WEM role is to facilitate competition and private investment, and allow generators and wholesale purchasers of electricity (such as retailers) greater flexibility as to how they sell or procure electricity, and who they transact with. Approximately 1 million households however deal with two monopolies, Synergy provides 52% of the electricity sold to households and businesses and operate power stations in the electricity SWIS (South West Interconnected System) grid extending from Kalbarri in the north, east to Kalgoorlie and south to Albany. SWIS is controlled and operated by a second WA Government monopoly, Western Power.

WEM supply price of power fluctuates between $-20/MWh to $145/MWh Assuming the highest price spike, Synergy buys power for around $0.14 /kWh and sells it to home customers for around $0.28/kWh with an added network fee or supply charge of approximately $1.30/day supporting the grid. The feed-in tariff (amount paid to household PV generators) is set at $0.07.

Regardless, PV has seen a rapid uptake in Western Australia, with around 280,000 home system generating around a GWh in the middle of the day, eating into the Synergy profits, and blamed by the monopoly for the rising power prices (nearly 50% over the last six years). The monopoly has resisted the inevitable changes, responding reluctantly to the clean energy opportunities presenting themselves, particularly in the wind and sun rich Western Australian environment.