The Minister for Energy, Climate Change and Environment released a statement that new mandatory requirements will be introduced for solar installations. Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the improvements would have a direct impact on the consumer regarding solar efficiency, performance and safety.
The landmark Solar Homes Program will take effect from July 1, 2019. The implementation of smart inverters will have a positive impact on the responsiveness of the grid. With the increasing number of Australians adopting solar and renewable energy, in the protection of the environment while taking charge of their increasing power bills, positive steps must be taken.
Introducing a Smart Inverter
A 1.3 billion solar homes program plans for over one million new solar installations over the next decade in Victoria. The power grid needs to be able to efficiently handle the increased demand. A smart inverter is effective in keeping the grid protected and safe in potentially dangerous situations like islanding.
Islanding happens when the solar installation remains live and continue to feed power to the grid during blackouts. Workers that try to work on the system are in danger during islanding, including the damage that could occur to the grid’s infrastructure.
Smart inverters in Australia exceed the solar industry’s minimum safety standards. These inverters possess enhanced capabilities that will effectively rule out islanding during potential blackouts. It makes logical sense to make smart inverters mandatory to handle the intake of renewable energy.
The ever-growing penetration of intermittent, distributed energy generation requires an intelligent and resilient grid infrastructure. It is the only way to keep the energy flow consistent and stable. A smart inverter is a critical component as it is adaptive and capable of sending and receiving grid messages efficiently and fast.
It enables service technicians and installers to immediately diagnose maintenance and operational issues. The smart inverter inclusion will also reduce maintenance complexity and facilitate higher energy production to increase the solar system’s lifespan.
