Small Wind Site Assessment Produced by the Institute for Sustainable Futures; UTS in partnership with the Alternative Technology Association and TAFE NSW - Northern Sydney Institute This project has been assisted by the New South Wales Government through its Energy Efficiency Training Program

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Small wind site assessment course: Review of Day 3 and Objectives for Day 4

Small wind site assessment course Economics of wind turbines

Life cycle costing – key features Slide 5 Capital expense (Capex)– the total upfront cost Operation expense (Opex) – the yearly ongoing costs Revenue – income generated (and sometimes avoided costs) The first two are easy to predict All three are easy to get wrong

Life cycle costing - Capex Slide 6 Total installed costs for the first year  Purchase price  Installation costs  External costs such as planning permits, grid connection and metering, etc Up front subsidies reduce capex  Deemed STCs  Rebates  Tax deductions

Life cycle costing - Opex Slide 7 Routine maintenance Unscheduled maintenance Overhaul Fuel costs for off-grid systems Parasitic loads for grid connect systems Any other future costs

Life cycle costing - Revenue Slide 8 Payment for exported energy  Feed-in tariffs (FiTs)  Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) - Retail  Energy market - Wholesale (not likely for small wind) Some income from STCs (RECS) Avoided costs can be included if they are not accounted for elsewhere in the analysis

Slide 9 StateTariff rate Meter- ing type Eligible techno- logy Eligible system capacity Eligible owner ACT 34.27c/kWh for medium (30kW to 200kW) Gross Solar PV and wind Up to 200 kW Nearly any individual or organisations QLD44c/kWhNetSolar PV Up to 10 kW (for single phase) or 30kW (for three- phase) Small electricity consumers (<100 MWh/year) Feed-in tariffs in Australia – FEED IN TARIFFS IN AUSTRALIA HAVE CHANGED REGULARLY THROUGHOUT 2011 AND THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE UPDATED PRIOR TO USE

Slide 10 StateTariff rate Meter- ing type Eligible techno-logy Eligible system capacity Eligible owner SA54c/kWhNetSolar PV Up to 10 kW, only first 45kWh exported per day are eligible for the bonus Small electricity consumer (<160 MWh/year) VIC 60c/kWh <5kW “fair and reasonable” <100kW Net Premium: Solar PV Standard: All renewables Premium: <5 kW Standard: <100kW Small electricity consumer (<100 MWh/year) Feed-in tariffs in Australia – FEED IN TARIFFS IN AUSTRALIA HAVE CHANGED REGULARLY THROUGHOUT 2011 AND THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE UPDATED PRIOR TO USE

Slide 11 StateTariff rate Meter- ing type Eligible techno- logy Eligible system capacity Eligible owner WA40c/kWhNet Solar PV, Wind, Micro Hydro 5kW for Synergy customers; and up to 10kW per phase (30kW in total) for Horizon Power Residential systems NSW - Applications to the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme have been placed on hold. No new applications to the Scheme will be considered as of midnight 28 April 2011 NT - Limited incentive available under Alice Springs Solar Cities TAS - standard (non-premium) payment of 20c/kWh for electricity fed into the grid Feed-in tariffs in Australia – FEED IN TARIFFS IN AUSTRALIA HAVE CHANGED REGULARLY THROUGHOUT 2011 AND THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE UPDATED PRIOR TO USE

Revenue – Value of energy Grid connect v. off grid systems Slide 12 Generation portion :kWh used onsiteExcess kWh Application : off grid / on grid Avoided diesel use / import Dumped / exported Off grid$2.00$0.00 Gross FiT (eg)$0.40 Net FiT - Premium (eg)$0.20$0.60 Net FiT -1 for 1 (eg)$0.20 No FiT - PPA (eg)$0.20<$0.05 (good luck!)

Value of energy – Small scale Technology Certificates (STCs) Slide 13 Valid for all energy generated  irrespective of whether it is used on site  Deemed for small systems  Metered for larger systems Multiplier under Solar Credits Scheme  x3 from July , reduces by 1 per year  First 1.5 kW of up to 10kW capacity on-grid  First 20 kW capacity off-grid

Value of energy - Treatment of STCs Slide 14 Income in first year from deemed STCs is subtracted from up-front costs and treated as a Capex reduction  Includes deemed ‘multiplier’ STCs Income from other STCs is revenue  Including future deemed certificates Separate market to RECS so there is no risk of double-dipping by claiming STCs

Life cycle costing – key features Slide 15 Net Present Value - today’s value of future (or past) money. Limitations of ‘simple’ payback Discount rates Levelised cost of energy – the true cost

Economic assessment tools Slide 16 Rules of thumb: limited accuracy DIY in Excel: for case-specific accuracy ATA’s payback calculation tool (in LG) Simple payback to discounted payback conversion tables (in LG) Proprietary system design software: probably not as useful as any of the above

NPV of different wind energy options Slide 17 Different types Different sizes Financial considerations of different tower heights and locations – what would these be?

NPV of options other than wind energy Slide 18 On grid options Off grid options New SAPS/RAPS Existing SAPS/RAPS Other energy sources BAU - Business As Usual Greenpower or CO2 offsets

- up to date FiT information Slide 19 Other resources

Small wind site assessment course: Site assessment exercise

Schedule Slide 21

Information gathering and preparation Slide 22 What information can you gather that will make the site visit more efficacious? How will your team divide tasks? What tools will you need on site? Which tasks can only be done one site? Ask questions of your customer!

Site visit and preparation of report Slide 23 The facilitator/s will be available during the site visit both to provide feedback and also to play the role of ‘customer’.

Focus for presentation Slide 24 Present decisions and considerations including: Location options Minimum tower height Options for energy efficiency Average annual wind speed at hub height, wind shear, turbulence intensity, annual energy output System and equipment options Potential technical, zoning, social or other barriers to the installation of the small wind energy system

Wrap up Slide 25

Small wind site assessment course Thank you!