The body tasked with keeping the lights on across Australia’s largest power grids, is calling for “emergency backstop” powers to turn down, or off, rooftop solar systems in extreme situations.
Close to 1.8 million Australian homes and businesses rely on solar power, part of a renewables boom supported by government.
But there are concerns excessive power could be generated through solar panels and onto the national grid, overwhelming it and leading to black-outs and damaged infrastructure.
Australia’s electricity system was originally designed for power to flow from large power stations through a network of substations and power lines into homes and businesses.
Today, electricity from millions of rooftop solar systems feed back into the grid, which can at times generate enough power to meet half of the total demand across the National Electricity Market (NEM).
In a statement released on Dec. 2, Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Executive General Manager of Operations Michael Gatt said his organisation had been flagging “emerging risks” for several years.
AEMO’s “Supporting Secure Operation with High Levels of Distributed Resources” report provides insight into the capabilities required to securely operate the NEM in periods of higher solar energy supply that outstrips demand.
The spring season is one example of this, because solar panels can receive long periods of light but devices like air-conditioners will not be used as fervently compared to the summer months.
Excess solar generation, according to the AEMO, also risks dominating the grid, pushing out other forms of generation necessary to keep up consistent power supply.
“AEMO does not want to directly control people’s rooftop solar,” Gatt said in a statement.
“In rare circumstances AEMO may need to take action to secure the grid, such as directing off grid-scale generation, to solve these emergency events which often occur at the same time as unplanned generation and transmission outages.
“However, after all these actions have been exhausted, the temporary management of rooftop solar by network operators under state government solar management programs may still be required, although we expect this may only occur in very rare circumstances.”
Gatt said the AEMO supported the continued uptake of rooftop solar, residential batteries and electric vehicles, while maintaining reliable electricity support through a secure grid.
Solar Panel Growth Continues
According to the Australian Energy Council, solar installations continue to increase nationally, with New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland (the “Sunshine state”) leading the way.There are now around 4 million rooftop systems installed nationally.
New South Wales (NSW), with a capacity of 6.232 GW, holds the top spot, closely followed by Queensland with 6.082 GW.
But in terms of installations, it’s Queensland leading the way with 1,015,589 installations reported in the first quarter of 2024, followed by 963,524 units in NSW.
