It might be useful to consider in SE Qld Origin pay a FIT of 16c, and AGL 20c on two year retail agreements. Both entered into earlier this year.
It is important to consider solar feedin from residential systems does not incur transmission losses or major distribution costs. It is a localised transmission and transaction with each retailer.
It would be more useful to see how that compares given the most significant consumer electricity costs are not due to generation. Also to know how each retailers true costs are actually impacted. Or is this all âcommercial in confidenceâ?
Yep, every kWh your solar PV puts into the grid in Cairns is probably all sipped off in non solar houses. Possibly even before the end of the street.
Every kWh exported is one less that travels all the way from the regional network south of the tropic, usually delivered at full retail value. Or sometimes it saves water in the local hydro.
Why is the FIT so stingy up north. Ergon and like business are supposed to generate a commercial return on the investment (notional value of the utility). National competition rules set by some previous Federal Govt? Happy to be corrected on that.
Ergon need to protect that margin against the fixed asset base and costs, against reduced sales volume. One of the real reasons electricity prices will not come down anytime soon. Of course being profitable and a monopoly the current Federal Govt has an alternate vision for its future. At least Ergonâs profits go to state revenue. Many thanks from the SE for your support @Fred123.
The electrons on the network donât know if they are green or not. If the demand for the higher premium (10%) green energy is less than the green energy generated, the green energy is sold into the market at the spot price. One could easily argue that your PV contribution is sold at the spot price rather than the 10% green premiumâŠas it could easily fall into surplus green energy generation.
I am not sure they would pay much more than the FIT. The wholesale cost of power as can be seen from the figures provided above by @phb âIn 2018, the average spot price in Queensland was $72.87/MW (7.3c/kW). This year they are slightly higher averaging around $80.29/MW (8.3ckW) so far. The revised FIT is within the average spot price last year and so far this yearâ.
I think what @Fred123 was trying to point out is that if you sign up for green energy you pay a further 10% premium for going green. As the FIT is close to or on average for the wholesale cost of non green power to Ergon and the 10% is added on their retail price it would seem a gouge of the consumer to add that 10%. Ergon perhaps would explain the 10% as a cost of them having to provide the capacity to their network to allow this green energy to enter their system in a sort of reverse direction to their normal supply flows.
It would be interesting, but expect they will use the reasons outlined above (demand by their customers of green energy and supply of green energy on their network) and also possibly that their green energy comes from large-scale generators where the generation variability (while still high compared to traditional generation) is lower than small scale PV generation. The comparability lower variation means it is easier to meet the demand for customers which have signedon for green energy.
If for example some, not all small scale PV generation was used at times to support supply to green energy customers, it would be an administrative nightmare to work out who supplied when and how much to whom. As Queensland doesnât mandate smart metere, tge task would be impossible without upgrades.
I also forgot to mention that Choice covered FiT in their September magazineâŠcanât seem to find it on the web. It provides a good synopsis of the FiT in Australia. The article also indicates that the minimum FiT for NQ is not set by Ergon, but the Queensland Competition AuthorityâŠand is currently a minimum 7.842c/kW.
The article also states that a retailer has no obligation to pay FiTs and in Australia, current new connection FiTs are as little as 0c/kW. Looking at this, what Ergon is offering (and set by the QCA) is better than offered in some other states.
They have been talking about this for many years and looks like finally it is coming into fruition.
It has potential to as the current interconnectors are about supporting demand in the neighbouring state rather than exporting electricity for competition purposes. The intereconnector capacity is restricted and opening up flows can only be good for competition.
It also has the potential to assist with the flow of renewable electricity on the main grid (>110kV) as it will allow better flows of such electricity between the states. It may also assist with balancing high variability in renewable energy generation (that being if the wind isnât blowing in southern Australia, it might be blowing in the north).
With the example of the NBN in mind, Iâm nervously waiting to find out whether they can stuff it up to cost many times as much as advertised, take years longer to implement and lead to higher power prices. Then, of course, weâll be told what an outstanding success it all is.
Also?
One way to avoid admitting what has been said before. NSW has insufficient generating capacity and relies on importing power, mainly from Queensland to keep the lights on. Queenslandâs state Govt has resisted pressure for the past six years of Federal parliament restricting capital project funding for the state until Queensland divests itâs generating and transmission infrastructure. Yes, there are issues with how retail costs have increased in Qld with AGL, Origin, and in the north the Ergon monopoly. At least the profits of the latter go to state revenue.
Itâs easy enough to see where selling of itâs public power assets has left NSW consumers.
You wouldnât be thinking âClean Coalâ would you? That miraculous, marvelous, magnificent, monstrously expensive, mysterious mirage that politicians wax maudlin over. If others canât see my disbelief in âClean Coalâ Iâm sorry they missed my sarcasm.
I added the expensive part into my spiel above @gordon, I forgot to put it in initially so many Thanks for the reminder of the cost.
Aside from the fact that âclean coalâ is no more than a marketing term devised by the coal industry to make it sound good, you forgot to mention very expensive and more polluting!
