PV Lab Australia was recently the recipient of a grant in the ACT Government’s Renewable Energy Innovation Fund, which is enabling the company to continue to deliver quality solar panel testing, writes Dr Michelle McCann.
PV Lab Australia was awarded a grant in round two of the ACT Government’s Renewable Energy Innovation Fund (REIF) program to establish AccLAB, Australia’s first – and one of the world’s few – ISO 17025 laboratories accredited for PV module testing.
The accreditation is a global standard, often compared to ISO 9001, but specific to laboratories. In Australia, it is assessed by National Authorities Testing Australia (NATA).
In our case, we are aiming for ISO 17025 accreditation for our STC power (flash) test. As we work through the accreditation process, it is great for our customers as it gives them confidence we are measuring accurately and constantly improving. The accreditation also formalises the way PV Lab looks for improvements in accuracy, record keeping and throughput.
In addition to the accreditation, the grant has enabled us to move out of our first home at the Department of Quantum Science, at the Australian National University, into a new state-of-the-art facility, in the ACT suburb of Mitchell, that is a very high-tech environment which enables higher throughput.
The grant underpins one of our main aims: to make a measurable contribution to increasing the output of solar PV in Australia by up to three per cent. This three per cent figure was one of the main impetuses for starting PV Lab as there is evidence that if a manufacturer knows their product is being tested, their modules will deliver up to three per cent more power. It means a laboratory such as ours can make a contribution of 156MW of additional installed capacity in Australia each year through testing.
The new PV Lab facility is better equipped to facilitate asset management for utility, commercial and residential systems, and we are exporting these services to the rest of Australia. Changes we have made in the move of premises range from small to large, but each has a significant impact. All our customers will see is a faster turnaround of their job for the same or better accuracy.
Big changes include a space to house our Potential Induced Degradation (PID) testing chamber. PID is a failure mechanism for solar modules which can profoundly reduce power output or result in complete failure. Many module manufacturers offer PID-free modules, but not all of these are free from the effects of PID. Testing for PID is a mandatory requirement for most solar farms built globally, but without our chamber, there is no possibility to test for it in Australia.
Some of the smaller changes at the new PV Lab facility are simply about panel handling and throughput. Who would have thought the challenges of running a test lab are mostly about moving panels from point A to point B? It turns out rails, rollers, hooks, cages and jigs can make all the difference to methodical throughput and improve the positioning of panels in our test apparatus. This leads to swifter and more repeatable measurements for our customers.
The project also leverages existing relationships with staff at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), one of the world’s leading module testing facilities, to bring valuable knowledge and know-how to the ACT region. Partnerships with both the Canberra Institute of Technology and ANU will enable education, training and eventual employment of students attracted to and/or retained in the ACT region.
This kind of nationally significant improvement to the renewable energy ecosystem is not limited to PV Lab as we are just a tiny cog in a much larger plan to make Canberra a renewable energy superpower.
ACT Government’s climate goals
The ACT Government saw early on that climate change presents an economic opportunity, the chance to attract investment and support jobs in the local region.
The ACT has many strong climate-related goals, including:
- To achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2020.
- For 100 per cent of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2035.
- To achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.
As part of work towards 100 per cent renewable electricity generation, the ACT Government awarded a total of five 20-year feed-in-tariffs to 400MW of wind farms in first and second round reverse wind auctions.
Photo: PV Lab Australia / ACT Government.
A reverse auction works by having developers bid at their lowest acceptable price. It typically results in the lowest price contract and is therefore often favoured by governments. In the context of rising wholesale electricity prices, it also shields governments and their jurisdictions from price increases.
The ACT Government’s auction winners were a mix of national and international renewable energy businesses that made financial and in-kind contributions towards a range of community and industry development projects across Australia, including the ACT Government’s REIF program, which has received more than $12 million in funding and has four overarching objectives:
- To support renewable energy companies based in the ACT.
- Attract new ventures to the ACT region.
- Develop new research and trades training opportunities.
- Support the development of a renewable energy ecosystem.
One of the ways the REIF program supports renewable energy companies in the ACT is through the awarding of grants to businesses involved in the research, development and commercialisation of renewable energy technologies.
The story continues…
A third round of REIF funding was announced on Friday, 14 October, 2022, and launched by ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury from PV Lab’s AccLAB site. Past recipients of REIF funding were present, including Keith Lovegrove from thermal energy smart services company ITP Thermal, and researchers and entrepreneurs from EV battery cooling system company Flexegraph.
It was inspiring to hear the different stories of progress in the ACT’s renewable energy innovation space. With $1.5 million available in grant sizes of $50,000 to $300,000 – with matched funding – it seems inevitable round three of the REIF grant system will continue to kick some renewable energy goals in the national capital.
When it comes to renewable energy, Canberra punches above its weight in terms of national impact. Then again, perhaps our weight is not so small after all. While the ACT Government may have a smaller total budget, if it is spent strategically, history shows these small impacts can leave a big mark.
Dr Michelle McCann is a co-founder and director at PV Lab Australia.