The Australian government is encouraging the population to use devices that use more energy — at certain times of the day. In Australia, capturing solar energy is cheap; Storing your surplus for later use is a major logistical challenge.
More than half of Australia’s population, with 27 million inhabitants, will benefit from at least three hours a day of free solar electricity, even if you don’t have solar panels installed on the roofs of your homes.
According to , the measure applies to residents of three Australian states — New South Wales, southeast Queensland and South Australia — which represent around 14 million people.
The Australian government even suggested that Australians take advantage of this period to use the equipment that consumes the most energy, from air conditioners to electric car chargers — a privilege that the sunniest regions of the planet can only dream of.
The initiative was designed to ensure that excess energy produced during periods of highest production don’t stop using.
As countries increasingly invest in solar farms and a growing number of families install photovoltaic panels, available energy is abundant. However, store all that electricity for later use remains a great logistical challenge.
To balance consumption throughout the day, precisely when solar production peaks, the government intends to encourage residents to shift periods of greatest use, which traditionally do not occur in the middle of the day, to hours when there is energy surplus.
Proponents of the measure argue that this strategy can contribute to stabilize the electrical grid and also benefit those who are not home owners.
“People who manage to transfer their electricity consumption to the zero-cost energy period will directly benefitwhether or not they have solar panels, whether they own or rent”, said the Minister of Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowenin a statement.
“E the more people join and adjust their consumptionthe greater the systemic benefits that reduce costs for all electricity users will be”, adds the government official.
“There is so much energy available in the middle of the day that, often, prices are very low or negative, and this should be something that, according to our analysis, energy companies could incorporate and offer”, the Australian minister told the local edition of .
Bowen expects that by 2030, around 82% of energy needs of Australia are met through renewable sources, accompanied by a 43% reduction in emissions compared to the levels recorded in 2005.
