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https://reneweconomy.com.au/daytime-wholesale-power-prices-are-heading-to-zero-isnt-that-good-news/>
"On Friday the Victorian Essential Services Commission released its draft
ruling on the minimum feed-in tariff electricity retailers need to pay
households for power exported to the grid from their solar system.
The answer is zero, or at least pretty damn close to it – 0.04 cents per
kilowatt-hour to be exact. The other states of Australia are headed in a
similar direction.
No doubt many owners of a solar system will be outraged and indignant over this
news. Many in the solar industry will also be rightfully concerned about what
it means for their business. But it reflects the reality that during the bulk
of daylight hours in Victoria the average price paid to all power generators is
rapidly approaching zero. It’s not just you, the little householder, it’s
everyone.
Judging from some of the negative media commentary greeting this announcement,
you’d think that this was a sign the growth of rooftop solar was some kind of
social experiment gone wrong.
Given the incredible concern around cost of living – why were there no
headlines celebrating the fact that daylight power prices are heading to zero?
It is actually a remarkable achievement. Contrary to much of the conservative
political commentary this shows incredibly clearly that rooftop solar is
benefiting all consumers, not just those that own a solar system.
It has also led to a dramatic lowering of carbon emissions during daylight
hours as coal and gas generators have been forced to minimise their generation.
Many of the poorest in our community tend to be pensioners and the unemployed
who occupy their homes during daylight hours. Through adopting retail offers
using time-of-use tariffs, they can take advantage of lower prices during the
daytime.
That’s not to say everything is peachy. Wholesale power prices after the sun go
down remain at very high levels compared to where they were a decade ago. Is
that the fault of solar though?
The reality is that prices have become very high in the evening compared to
what they were a decade ago because coal, and particularly gas prices have
risen dramatically over the past decade."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
