{"id":22526,"date":"2018-07-02T12:15:18","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T01:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=22526"},"modified":"2023-12-01T15:48:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T06:18:06","slug":"victoria-time-varying-solar-tariff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/victoria-time-varying-solar-tariff\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria’s New Time Varying Solar Feed-In Tariff Is Worth Getting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Victoria

As of 1 July 2018 there is a new, optional, feed-in-tariff in Victoria that changes through the day.<\/p><\/div>\n

A new type of solar feed-in tariff is now available in Victoria.\u00a0 It’s called a time varying tariff<\/strong> and the amount of money it pays for solar electricity depends on the time of day it’s sent into the grid.\u00a0 It is worth less during off-peak periods, more during shoulder periods, and the most during peak periods.<\/p>\n

Before anyone feels stressed, panics, or starts firing guns into the air<\/a>, I’ll point out this change is entirely voluntary and it’s not even clear at the moment which electricity retailers will be offering it as an option.\u00a0 If you are not interested you are free to stick with the single rate tariff<\/strong> that pays the same amount for every kilowatt-hour exported to the grid.\u00a0 But if you have a choice, I say you should get the time varying tariff.\u00a0 I’ll explain why in this article.\u00a0 Eventually.\u00a0 But first I have to give you a few paragraphs of filler.<\/p>\n

Feed-In Tariffs Heading Down<\/h2>\n

Solar feed-in tariffs<\/a> are on their way down across Australia thanks to lower wholesale electricity prices, mainly due to increasing renewable generating capacity including rooftop solar<\/a>.\u00a0 This is something I wrote about a while back<\/a>.\u00a0 Victoria’s minimum single rate feed-in tariff, which is unique in Australia because it takes more into account than just the cost of generating and distributing electricity, dropped from 11.3 cents to 9.9 cents on Sunday.\u00a0 That’s a fall of 12%.\u00a0 But the good news is, if you can get the time varying tariff it should average over 10.3 cents per kilowatt-hour and may average higher than the old 11.3 cent tariff.<\/p>\n

Time Varying Feed-In Tariff Rates<\/h2>\n

In order to show you what the time varying rates will be I have stolen this table from Victoria’s Essential Services Commission<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"\"

Image: ESC<\/p><\/div>\n

The off-peak rate isn’t that great at only 7.1 cents, but it only applies before 7am and the amount of solar electricity that will be exported before then won’t be much.\u00a0 In Melbourne<\/a> the sun doesn’t even rise until after 7:00am from the start of May till past the middle of August.<\/p>\n

The bulk of exported solar electricity will receive the shoulder rate of 10.3 cents, while some will get the impressive peak rate of 29 cents on weekdays after 3:00 pm.\u00a0 Since this is clearly better than the 9.9 cents of single rate tariff, the time varying tariff is the best choice for Victorian solar households.\u00a0 A possible exception is if all your solar panels are on a ridiculously steep section of east facing roof.<\/p>\n

These are minimum rates and electricity retailers could offer more if they wanted to.\u00a0 But so far the largest electricity retailers in Victoria have only offered the minimum rate, so I’ll assume that’s what households are being paid for the rest of the article.<\/p>\n

An important note about the time periods in the table above is they are in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) and don’t change with daylight savings — just to make things a little more confusing1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n

A Graph Of Solar Electricity Output<\/h2>\n

Here is a graph I stole from the Australian Photovoltaic Institute and then defaced.\u00a0 It shows the output of Victorian rooftop solar systems on a clear day close to the autumn equinox, which is when day and night are of equal length.\u00a0 I have coloured in the off-peak period before 7:00 am and the weekday peak period after 3:00 pm and altered the times to AEST:<\/p>\n

\"Solar<\/p>\n

As you can see, on this day the off-peak energy produced is puny, while a reasonable amount of peak energy is provided; but because the peak period is only available on weekdays the average won’t be as good.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Estimates<\/h2>\n

I am going to attempt to estimate the average amount of solar energy that will be generated during the different payment periods for a Melbourne household.\u00a0 I am not going to very precise because I don’t have the detailed information required to do that.\u00a0 But my estimates should be close enough to see whether or not getting a time varying tariff is a good idea.<\/p>\n

I am using Melbourne because that’s where three quarters of Victorians live.\u00a0\u00a0 If you are not in Melbourne, the figures I give should still be approximately correct because you can’t get that far from Melbourne<\/a> and still be in Victoria.\u00a0 After all, it is the smallest mainland state.\u00a0 It’s not as if it has South Australia’s 900,000 square kilometers of radical awesomeness.<\/p>\n

The average day length from sunup till sundown in Melbourne is 12 hours2<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 This because the world is round3<\/a><\/sup> and, unlike Radelaide, Melbourne is not out of this world.<\/p>\n

If a home’s solar panels<\/a> were mounted on a tracker that not only followed the sun but also magically made their output constant through the day, they would produce approximately 13% of their electricity during off-peak periods, 68% during shoulder periods, and 19% during peak periods.\u00a0 But because the amount of solar electricity produced by normal fixed rooftop panels is much lower early in the morning and late in the afternoon, the portion of electrical energy produced during shoulder periods is considerably higher.<\/p>\n

Your Electricity Consumption Will Affect Results<\/h2>\n

Your electricity consumption habits will affect how much feed-in tariff you receive.\u00a0 The reason why the feed-in tariff is worth more during peak periods is because people are using more electricity then, so the chances are you will be consuming more solar electricity yourself during these times and exporting less.\u00a0 If you are on a time-of-use tariff then you will be paying a high amount for electricity during peak periods, so this isn’t a problem.\u00a0 But most solar households are better off with a standard tariff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The high 29 cent per kilowatt-hour payment for solar electricity during the peak period increases the incentive for households to shift electricity consumption to before 3pm on weekdays.<\/p>\n

Visual Aid<\/h2>\n

I was going to draw you some diagrams to display how much solar output homes produce during different payment periods.\u00a0 However, I decided against it because I haven’t drawn anything since around the 14th century, which is when people who can draw better than me were invented.\u00a0 Then it occurred to me that I have children.\u00a0 And since I have children, I have plenty of toys hidden away where they can’t get to them.\u00a0 So took my Lego out from where I hide it from my children and made this:<\/p>\n

\"Melbourne<\/p>\n

This is exactly what the average house in Melbourne looks like.\u00a0 And this…<\/p>\n

\"Queensland<\/p>\n

…is what the average house in Queensland looks like.<\/p>\n

North Facing Solar Panels<\/h2>\n

The daily average number of hours the sun will spend in the sky for the three pay periods is:<\/p>\n