Challenges in harnessing solar power

KUALA LUMPUR: Solar enthusiasts claim that the renewable energy source is freely available and cost-effective. But is this true?

The sun is available only during the day. Thus you still need to cater for energy during the night. This will be provided by conventional power plants (i.e coal, gas and hydro). It means that such plants are still needed even though solar energy is introduced into the system.

Batteries can be used to store some solar energy for night use.

However, battery technology is new and expensive with a price tag of RM5,000/kW, compared with RM3,000/kW for the typical cost of a gas plant. They can only be used for a limited time.

A 100MW solar plant is not equivalent to a 100MW conventional plant in terms of generation capability. This difference is mainly in the capacity factor.

A capacity factor is the ratio of total actual energy generated over a period of time to the energy grid that would have been produced if the plant had operated continuously at the maximum rating. The capacity factor of a solar plant is around 17 per cent, while that of a gas plant can go up to 80 per cent.

Australia has a high rooftop solar penetration due to its government’s liberal in promoting renewables. The Australian Energy Regulator is considering charging a tariff on rooftop solar owners who inject solar power back into the grid during peak hours.

According to the Australian Energy Market Commission, which proposed the tariff, exporting solar energy to the grid would cause power congestion and affect the system’s stability.

In this context, it remains a question whether too much solar energy is a good thing as it will no longer be cheap if the energy source comes with additional charges and penalties.

A fair and equitable distribution of renewable energy integration costs to all consumers is necessary to avoid “cost-shifting”.

The government’s plan for introducing solar energy is encouraging, but it must conducted systematically to maximise the capacity while ensuring system reliability and security.