The first ever aerial study of Alice Springs’ solar and
energy efficiency status reveals significant renewable energy achievements in
the town, as well as opportunities for future policy and planning.
The study revealed the number of substantial buildings,
white painted roofs, swimming pools, solar hot water and solar photovoltaic
(PV) power installations.
“An analysis of the available space on Alice Springs
roofs reveals there is space for around 48 MW of solar PV, even allowing for
Power and Water size guidelines”, says Alice Solar City General Manager Sam
Latz.
“This represents 33% of Alice Springs energy needs, so
there’s lots of potential for rooftop solar yet.”
“However past a certain point, we will need additional
investment in the network to support the export of surplus energy from where
it’s generated to where it’s needed.”
The research was conducted by CAT Projects as part of a
broader study that is investigating the implications of increasing solar power
in Alice Springs, and was supported by Alice Solar City and the Australian
Renewable Energy Agency.
“We have been able
to extract information that is useful for future planning, such as the
potential space for more rooftop PV installations and potential electricity
savings if more energy efficiency measures were undertaken.”
“This sort of bird’s eye view of Alice Springs allows us
to see how far we have come, but perhaps more importantly, where we go in the
future”, said Mr Latz
“Since Alice Springs became a Solar City in March 2008
the number of solar PV installations has increased from just two, to over 700,
with Alice Solar City helping to fund two thirds of the current installed
capacity of 4 Megawatts (MW), of which 2.6 MW is on rooftops.”
Also revealed in the study were further opportunities for
large-scale electricity savings when looking at the number of solar hot water
installations and roof colour.
There are over 4,700 existing solar hot water systems on
household roofs, meaning around 55% of dwellings are using the sun for their
hot water needs.
“Properly maintained and operated, these have the
potential to save households a combined $3M per annum, and 7,500 tonnes of
greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to using electric hot water systems.”
“Installing solar or heat pump hot water systems on the
remaining dwellings would save an additional $2.4M per annum and 5,900 tonnes
of greenhouse gas emissions, a saving of 4% of our total annual consumption.”
The study also looked at the number of white roofs in
Alice Springs. A white roof reflects more of the sun’s energy, reducing inside
temperatures and so reducing the need to run airconditioners as much.
“We found that white roofs make up 21% of all residential
roofs, however there are just as many dark roofs so there is still plenty of
opportunity. Further, only 8% of commercial properties have a white roof. Given
the high air conditioning loads during the day and limited use of roof
insulation in the commercial sector, white roofs for businesses represents a
great opportunity for straight forward energy savings.”
If the remaining houses and businesses had their roofs
painted white, we would conservatively save a further $0.6M and 1,400 tonnes of
emissions per annum.
Households and businesses can still contact Alice Solar
City or visit the website for free advice and information on how they can go
solar and on other energy efficiency measures.
