Big Batteries – big issues!
Guest author, Carl Daley, investigates why big batteries weren’t able to fully capitalise on extreme spot prices in SA on Friday 12th March.
Areas of deeper analysis
Ranking solar farm FCAS costs in the NEM in 2020
Following recent articles on spot market revenue earned by solar farms in the NEM in 2020, Marcelle takes a look at their FCAS costs.
Will your 10 out of 10 baseline be eligible?
A threshold for accuracy and threshold for bias has been set to evaluate whether a load’s baseline methodology is acceptable for the Wholesale Demand Response mechanism. Just prior to the publication of the Wholesale Demand Response Guidelines (final) the draft…
Solar Returns – ain’t what they used to be?
Guest author on WattClarity (but co-author of the Generator Statistical Digest 2020) uses the GSD2020 and numbers for preceding years to look at how some of the older solar farms are seeing some changes in performance metrics.
The ‘GSD2020 Data Extract’ is now available
Following a number of requests from our clients, we are pleased to note that a GSD2020 Data Extract is now available.
Large-scale solar farm revenue in 2020 part 2 – considering LGCs
Marcelle extends last week’s comparison of solar farm energy spot market revenue in 2020 by adding in an estimate of the LGC (green certificate) revenue.
Some of the early references and feedback we’ve received about the GSD2020
Valued team member, Daniel Lee, reviews some of the early references to, and compliments for, the Generator Statistical Digest 2020 – which was released about 7 weeks ago.
Piecing together what happened on Sunday 24th January 2021 with the ‘Q>>NIL_CLWU_RGLC’ constraint equation (Part 3)
It’s taken a while to find the time – but today I’m posting this next analytical piece (Part 3) that seeks to understand what happened on Sunday 24th January 2021 with the NEM-wide SCADA Failure, which contributed to the price spike that occurred in QLD by virtue of what it did to the ‘Q>>NIL_CLWU_RGLC’ constraint equation.
A Comparison of Large-Scale Solar Farm Revenue in 2020
Which solar farms performed best in 2020? Marcelle compares spot revenue performance across the NEM.
Marcelle Gannon to share insights (this Thu 11th March 2021) at CEC Large-Scale Solar Forum
Here’s three key insights to listen for this Thursday … when Marcelle Gannon speaks at the CEC’s Large-Scale Solar (virtual) Forum.
Lets talk about demand
David Leitch of ITK Services examines how electricity is losing its share of energy consumption in Australia, while also looking at the main drivers behind lower electricity demand this Summer compared to the previous year.
Spot price arbitrage with battery storage – a review of 2020 performance
With UQ recently publishing a performance review of their 1.1MW battery project for the 2020 calendar year, Andrew Wilson posts some extracts from the full report, particularly focusing on the battery’s arbitrage function.
Report ‘Fast Erosion of Coal Plant Profits’ prompts questions
A report released this week by Green Energy Markets and the IEEFA exploring the prospect of accelerated coal closures, has itself caused some ripples…
What does the GSD2020 reveal, about the challenges facing the 12 x AGL coal-fired units
Guest author, Nick Bartels, follows on from his article last week to see what the GSD2020 can inform of the challenges AGL Energy is facing with Bayswater, Liddell and Loy Yang A coal-fired power stations
Analysis of Large Thermals using the GSD2020
Guest author, Nick Bartels, compares calendar year results from GSD2020 to those in the earlier GSD2019 to explore how some thermal units in QLD and SA are changing operating patterns as part of the energy transition
New Sources of Strength
Guest author Allan O’Neil puts together an in-depth explainer about system strength and looks at the current approach to system strength management in South Australia, its impacts and the imminent installation of synchronous condensers on the SA grid.
Which units were most impacted by constraints in 2020?
In this (lengthy) article today, Paul McArdle uses the newly released GSD2020 to take a look at the units that were most frequently impacted by constraints during calendar 2020 – with a view to how this has changed from 2011 to 2020.
Highlights from the 2020 GSD
David Leitch highlights some themes that stuck out to him as he read through this year’s edition of the Generator Statistical Digest – including a look at how batteries are dominating the FCAS market, some surprises with capacity factor, and other things
Using the GSD2020 to explore operating patterns across generation types
With the release of the Generator Statistical Digest 2020, Marcelle Gannon takes a look at how it can be useful for identifying and exploring different patterns of generation.
Energy Transition: it was Full Steam ahead in 2020!
New guest author to WattClarity, Mark Stedwell, uses the GSD2020 to explore what happened in 2020 as part of the Energy Transition