issue 63 | march/april 11
The voice for Australia’s clean energy industry
issue 63 | march/april 11 Go
Suns!
EcoGen 2011 international keynotesCSIRO on the future of biofuels
Up close with Paul Fox
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre4–7 September 2011
www.ecogeneration.com.au ecogeneration|march/april11
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The Gold Coast Suns will play their first match under Carrara Stadium’s new 220 kW building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roof on Queenslands’ Gold Coast. Turn to page 36 to read more about this project.
Editor Lucy RochlinAssistant Editor Sally ComminsJournalist Rachel PurchaseSales Manager Tim ThompsonSenior Account Manager Brett ThompsonSales Representative Michael VillantiCreative Director Michelle CrossSenior Designer Lela SablicDesigners Venysia Kurniawan Ben Lazaro Susie MontePublisher Chris Bland
Published byGreat Southern Press Pty LtdACN: 005 716 825ABN: 28 096 872 004GPO Box 4967VIC 3001, AustraliaTel: +61 3 9248 5100Fax: +61 3 9602 2708Email: [email protected] Website: www.ecogeneration.com.auISSN: 1447-2309
issue 63 | march/april 11
The voice for Australia’s clean energy industry
issue 63 | march/april 11 Go
Suns!
EcoGen 2011 international keynotesCSIRO on the future of biofuels
Up close with Paul Fox
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre4–7 September 2011
regulars8 From the editor105 Company news111 Upcoming events111 Environmental credits & CDM update 112 Advertisers’ Index, Subscription request,
Coming in future editions
cleanenergywrap10 Solar10 Trigeneration12 Energy Efficiency12 Wind12 Geothermal14 Policy16 In brief18 World wrap
industryupdate20 Queensland floods a washout for clean energy24 Clean energy lowers emissions26 Garnaut updates Climate Change Review28 National Transmission Network on its way
solar30 Performance degradation in solar plants36 Gold Coast Stadium Redevelopment40 Smart inverters good news for utilities44 Tony Stocken – inside the Australian solar PV industry48 Making it big on the solar scene54 Company news – solar
bioenergy60 Accounting for the environment while counting biofuel feedstocks66 5 minutes with...Justin Vianello68 5 minutes with...Vijay Kumar70 4th Sustainability Victoria Bioenergy Breakfast – an opportunity to unite72 The untapped potential of wood fuel76 Janice Larson – an inspired clean energy leader
waterpower80 Réunion Island CETO Power Project84 The Melbourne Water mini-hydro project: one of a kind 86 Hydroelectricity in Australia: past, present and future
events90 Expand your knowledge with the line-up for EcoGen 201198 World Bank and ACORE leaders to speak at EcoGen 2011
countryinfocus:china102 20 MW CECEP Solar Sheyang Power Plant104 2 MW factory roof project, Ningbo City
upclose108 Up close with Paul Fox
projectprofile109 Ti Tree Bioenergy Landfill Gas Power Station
contentsissue63|march/april11
Average Net Distribution 5,020 Period ending 30 September 2010
Global Sustainability Solutions
Melbourne Sydney Brisbane Perth Canberra Adelaide Darwin Auckland Wellington Christchurch London Manchester
Gold Coast Stadium is one of Australia’s newest sporting developments and home to one of its newest stars, the innovative ‘Solar Halo’.
As one of Australia’s leading sustainability engineering consultants, Norman Disney & Young provided the engineering expertise for the innovative ‘Solar Halo’. Designed by Populous architects, the ‘Solar Halo’ has been cleverly integrated into the roof to provide 20% of the stadium’s energy requirements, whilst also forming a weatherproof line.
To see how Norman Disney & Young can be the star recruit on your next project, email: [email protected] or log on to www.ndy.com
Gold Coast Stadium’s
Star Player
ecogeneration|march/april11 www.ecogeneration.com.au
The siteThe new stadium, built at the site of the
old Carrara stadium on the Gold Coast, will be the home of the Gold Coast Suns AFL team, as well as form a part of the Gold Coast’s 2018 Commonwealth Games bid.
Technical details The distributed installation comprises
16 SMA Sunny Tripower inverters grouped geographically. Each inverter feeds back into the local (stadium) low–voltage reticulation system at one of six switchboards. Utility class metering is provided at each of the six low–voltage supply points to allow calculation of renewable energy generated. A single high–voltage net export meter is located at the connection between the Stadium distribution system and the utility grid.
Communication with the SMA inverters is from a central monitoring and control computer and a system of Sunny Web box interface controllers. Proprietary software
has been used to facilitate maintenance and monitoring of the solar system from onsite or from a remote location.
Efficiency measuresThe stadium’s redevelopment incorporates
a solar photovoltaic (PV) roof that has been designed to generate 20 per cent of the stadium’s forecast annual energy consumption, in line with the Federal Government target.
In a Queensland first, the installation of solar panelling will generate approximately 275 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per annum. This is the equivalent to powering more than 250 homes in Queensland.
The PV panelling, which is 5 metres wide, will be installed over 450 metres of roofing.
Other energy efficiency measures already incorporated into the design of the stadium include high efficiency air conditioning, energy efficient lighting, and water harvesting. Materials from the previous stadium, which was demolished, have been recycled.
Grid-connected, solar, Queensland
GoldCoastStadiumRedevelopment
Town: Carrara, Gold Coast
Demographic: Urban
Capacity: 220 kW
Overall power generated: Approximately 275 MWh per annum
Expected commissioning date: Solar panels – March 2011 (Gold Coast Stadium – May 2011)
Owner: Stadiums Queensland
Overall project cost: $144.2 million
Funding arrangements: Jointly-funded by the Queensland Government, Federal Government, Gold Coast City Council, and the Australian Football League
Architect: Populous
Engineer (building servicesand solar): Norman Disney & Young
Managing contractor: Watpac
Contractor: Stowe Electrical
Fuel source: Solar
Prime mover: Scheuten Optisol, SMA Sunny Tripower
36 solar
“Full credit to the architect and design team in achieving a fully-integrated solar solution within
a unique and iconic roof form – an outstanding aesthetic result.”
– Connan Brown, Norman Disney & Young.
Carrara Stadium’s new 220 kW building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roof on Queensland's Gold Coast.
www.ecogeneration.com.au ecogeneration|march/april11
Solar technologyThe stadium’s solar panelling uses
Scheuten Optisol sandwich glass panels, providing excellent visibility from below. The cell spacing has been widened to ensure sufficient light is passed to prevent a solid shadowline on the field; this was a key consideration for the design team.
Reliability and safety were also key considerations. Scheuten was able to demonstrate a proven track record and undertake comprehensive testing demanded from the design team while delivering against the stringent installation program.
Energy generationThe solar roof is expected to produce at least
275 MWh of electricity per annum, and will be connected to an Energex electricity network.
Other distinguishing features of the project
Integration into the existing roof design proved to be an interesting task for the team, and a number of options were investigated. The initial option was to mount the panels almost–flat with a uniform leading edge and having the panels sloping down slightly towards the rear of the stands to capture the stormwater. The final solution involved 39 individual bays, each comprising 8, 14 or 18 solar panel mounts over a curved bay. Viewed from the front, the bays present as a series of curved elements best understood by viewing the pictures. Each panel slopes to the side and backwards to allow capture of stormwater.
Because of the horseshoe-shaped roof, each bay presents at a different azimuth or orientation to the sun, while each of the panels that make up the bay present at a range of inclinations to the sun. The complex geometry required to incorporate the solar panels into the roof’s iconic architectural design made the assessment of power generation time-consuming, however after it was demonstrated that the electrical generation would not be
37solar
SANYO HIT® solar cells consist of a thin mono crystalline silicon wafer surrounded by ultrathin amorphous silicon layers. The surface loss frequently seen in solar cells is reduced, resulting in a high level of performance.
Choosing HIT® solar panels from SANYO for your solar installation makes sense because:
= More power. High effi ciency - module 16.7%, cell 18.9% (210W); means more power per square metre.
= Performs better in high temperatures - 0.30%/°C.
= Power Guarantee. 100% power tolerance - HIT® panels will perform at their rated power or even better at the time of purchase.
= Suitable for use with transformerless inverters.
= No positive earthing required.
= Space saving. Footprint of 1.26sqm.
= Lightweight design - 15kg. 35mm blackframe. MC3 leads.
Find out more by calling 1800 HITSOLARor visit www.sanyo.com.au
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Warranty: Power output for 25 years, Product for 5 years
"HIT" is a trademark of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.The name "HIT" comes from "Heterojunction with intrinsic Thin-layer" which is an original technology of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
E448_Sanyo Solar HP Ad F1.indd 1 28/02/11 3:22 PM
adversely impacted, the decision to proceed with the curved solar roof was justified.
Detailed investigation showed that the potential generation of the curved solar roof is 1–2 per cent less than the almost-flat roof design; however the majority of panels have improved angles for self-cleaning, which makes the curved roof on par or marginally better in terms of overall generation efficiency.
Future outlook Concept plans have been drawn up
for approximately 1 megawatt of peak capacity on the site, and implementation is subject to funding.
The Gold Coast Stadium Redevelopment is
˝a very exciting project for Norman Disney & Young and also for me personally, but most importantly a very good result for the Stadium stakeholders,˝ says Connan Brown, Senior Associate – ESD Manager, Norman Disney & Young.
˝Full credit to the architect and design team in achieving a fully-integrated solar solution within a unique and iconic roof form – an outstanding aesthetic result.˝
Funding arrangements and acknowledgements
The Gold Coast Stadium Redevelopment received direct funding from the Queensland Government, via the Office of Clean Energy.
solar38
The stadium’s solar panelling uses Scheuten Optisol sandwich glass panels, providing
excellent visibility from below.
ecogeneration |march/april11 www.ecogeneration.com.au
