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Renewable energy is used in one form or another by all Western Australians.
Solar energy is the most commonly used type of renewable energy with everyone
who uses a clothes line using the free energy of the sun and wind. Solar
energy is also used to heat water
and if buildings are designed correctly, to provide heat to homes
and other buildings in winter.Renewable energy can be a cost effective alternative to traditional fuel sources in remote locations and has been utilised more and more over recent years in remote area power systems. There are also a number of homes and community buildings in the Perth metropolitan area using renewable energy for power generation. The growth in the use of renewable energy for these purposes has been in part attributable to funding assistance from the State Government initially and more recently the Commonwealth Government. Remote area power supply systems In many remote areas of WA the availability, reliability and cost of electricity supplies are major issues. The standard solution is typically to use diesel or petrol generators to meet power requirements in areas distant from established electricity grids. There can be a number of problems with running stand-alone diesel or petrol generation including noise, pollution and high running and maintenance costs. Generators can also be inconvenient to use. Due to the high running and maintenance costs, continuous operation of a generator may not be financially viable. Remote area power supply (RAPS) systems, incorporating renewable energy sources, inverters and batteries, can overcome or at least limit some of the problems associated with generator-only systems. Renewable based systems convert energy from the sun and/or wind to electrical energy. When combined with battery storage and back-up from a diesel or petrol generator, renewable based RAPS can provide a reliable, low running cost and environmentally-friendly solution to the energy needs for people in remote areas. Information about renewable energy RAPS, operating and maintaining RAPS systems and estimating your electricity needs is provided in the following brochures:
Technical information and advice about household sized renewable energy systems is available from RISE by telephoning +61 8 9360 6620. The display is located off Murdoch Drive, Murdoch, and is open from 1.00pm until 4.00pm on Fridays and Sundays. General information about renewable energy, and reducing energy use is available from the Energy Smart Line on 1300 658 158. Further information, including what type of system may be suitable for your situation, is available by contacting suppliers (PDF 59 KB) of renewable energy based RAPS systems. Grid-connected power systems Where a property is connected to a network or grid, electricity from renewable sources can be generated using photovoltaic (solar) arrays, wind turbines, micro-hydro systems and other renewable generation equipment, and connected to the grid through a grid-interactive inverter (subject to appropriate approvals). In most cases, renewable energy systems will produce varying amounts of electricity depending on the available resources. For example, solar arrays typically produce the most electricity during the middle of the day. Grid interactive systems allow excess electricity generated to be exported to the grid. Electricity can also be imported from the grid, when the output of the renewable energy generating equipment is insufficient. The installation of a grid-interactive renewable energy system will have a number of direct economic and environmental benefits, including the reduction of energy bills, the ability to sell excess electricity back to Synergy and Horizon Power while reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Synergy and Horizon Power's Renewable Energy Buyback Schemes supports households and community groups that want to install environmentally friendly renewable energy systems to generate their own electricity by allowing them to sell any excess renewable energy back. For information on Horizon Power's Residential Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme, visit Horizon Power's web site. For information on Synergy's scheme, visit the Synergy web site. For further inquiries regarding Synergy or Horizon Power use the following links: http://www.synergyenergy.com.au http://www.horizonpower.com.au To access Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDFs provided on this site: www.adobe.com.au To access Microsoft Excel Viewer for the XLSs provided on this site: www.microsoft.com.au |
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