Eastland Network launches solar research trial

File picture

AS the number of solar-powered homes in the Eastland Network's region has doubled in the past six months, Eastland Network has launched its own solar research trial to challenge the claims of solar panel manufacturers.

The trial will collect real world data over a two to five-year period and Eastland Group chief executive Matt Todd said solar panels would be installed at up to 12 sites as part of the trial, including the roof at Eastland Network’s Carnarvon Street premises.

“The aim is to assess the technical and commercial impacts of new technologies on the distribution network, and to gain some real world data that can help local people to make informed decisions on emerging technology.”

He was concerned that people had been sold solar installations on the basis of unrealistic assumptions around power price increases, network tariffs and maintenance costs.

“It’s exciting that solar will form part of the region’s energy supply, however our ingoing assumption is that solar is not yet economic for the majority of grid-connected properties.

“We also know that the price of solar is dropping rapidly, so solar may well be economic sooner rather than later.”

Eastland will gather dataThe trial would cost $200,000 to set up and would help Eastland Network understand the threats, opportunities and economics of the technology, by gathering data about how people would likely source and manage their electricity needs in the future.

Mr Todd said he believed the future opportunity was for the company to have a closer relationship with customers who produce their own electricity.

“While the number of on-grid solar installations on the Eastland Network has doubled in the past six months to 114, at around 0.4 MW they are not yet having a major impact.

“But the company wants to be able to send the correct signals to consumers on the affordability of solar. We need to know how solar — and later batteries — will impact the future operational and technical performance of the network itself, so that we can plan for asset maintenance and development.

“We also need to know how customers react throughout the trial, so that we can understand what kinds of services they might expect from us in the future.

“We believe we’re likely to see significant uptake of solar and then battery storage in New Zealand over the next 10 years, but right now some of the claims made by companies selling solar panels are pretty hard for us to accept, so this trial is about finding out the facts for ourselves.”

Compliance with safety and technical standardsMr Todd pointed out that anyone wishing to connect a solar system to the distribution network must comply with the safety and technical standards described in Eastland Network’s connection standards.

Mr Todd agreed with statements made earlier this month by Oxford University researchers Dr Malcolm McCulloch and Dr Rebecca Ford, who said the electricity industry needed to identify customers’ “unrecognised” energy needs and develop new business models as people move towards self-generated energy.

“That’s exactly the aim of this trial. We want to understand the potential impact of new technologies on the network, at the same time as we work on developing innovative customer solutions for the people who live in the Gisborne, Wairoa and East Coast region.”

The announcement of the trial comes just a week after the Electricity Authority ruled that Hawke’s Bay lines company Unison acted within the rules when it increased tariffs for customers that had solar generation capacity.