With rapidly declining costs and seemingly unlimited sunshine, the
choice of solar in Australia seems obvious. Yet despite its many
advantages, homes with solar remain completely dependent on the
electricity grid for reliable supply, which in Australia implies mostly
coal-fired generation. Indeed, even countries that have invested heavily
in solar, such as Spain and Germany, have been unable to deflect the
trajectory of fossil fuel dependence.
The reasons for this apparent paradox are varied, and this book provides
a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the practical applications of
photovoltaics (PV) in modern electricity systems. While the conventional
life-cycle assessment (LCA) boundaries as prescribed by the IEA-PVPS
provide a consistent methodology for comparing evolving PV technologies,
the narrow boundaries exclude many critical downstream energy costs.
Similarly, simple cost comparisons of PV versus conventional power
sources overlook the significant economic and energy costs of
intermittency and grid integration. Yet distributed storage, which could
provide potentially valuable network support, is frequently given a low
priority by advocates of solar.
Treating PV as an extension of, rather than as a substitute for, the
fossil fuel enterprise enables a more productive discussion of PV's
potential role in electricity generation. The sunburnt country of
Australia, which has a modern electricity system, is an ideal case study
for exploring the potential of solar PV. With a focus on rooftop solar,
energy storage, grid integration, and electricity system issues,
Energy in Australia offers valuable insights into the practical
challenges of solar power. Although many national economies are already
confronting a downward trend in energy return on investment (EROI) of
oil and gas from both conventional and unconventional sources, the
large-scale deployment of low-emission energy sources that lie below a
critical minimum EROI threshold may ultimately prove counter-productive.
