A short article with a snapshot from NEmwatch at 16:40 with the ‘Market Demand’ eclipsing the 11,000MW mark:
How high will it go?
Here’s the ‘Grid’ view of ‘Forecast Convergence’ within ez2view at 16:50 looking at the AEMO’s P5 predispatch forecast, and we see the high point forecast to be 11,080MW at 17:20 & 17:25:
Note that the demand forecast has ‘cooled’ somewhat in the past 20 minutes … will this actually come to fruition?
we just had a storm and rain come over in logan, temperatures dropping fast
Imagine the Queensland demand with an export green hydrogen industry in regional Queensland and the additional demand of desalination in Southeast Queensland. The additional loads won’t have much flexibility to ramp up and down for any extended period of time. I’m assuming green hydrogen will need offtake agreements for project financing.
The Gold Coast Desalination Plant has been operational since November 2023. The December 2023 Seqwater Water Security Status Report states the “Gold Coast Desalination Plant (GCDP) production was maximised during the month of December, in order to support the SEQ Water Grid and slow the decline of SEQ water storages”.
Imagine being dependent on the wind to blow for urban water supplies during a wind drought. The IPCC is forecasting a global still of winds and Australia is a country that the IPCC say will have reduced wind speeds.
The SEQ Water Grid has increased to 72.6% (ie above the 70% drought measure threshold) so assume the Gold Coast Desalination Plant was not operational yesterday and did not add to the record over 11,000 MW peak demand in Queensland.
Always hard to talk about dam building when the media is full of floods and cyclones but unlike solar and wind farms, dams for hydro and water supply take years to plan and build.
We need water to survive and affordable and reliable energy to thrive.
You can have both please check out the proposed 1,000 MW pumped hydro Koombooloomba Energy and Water Project (that can operate in low or no wind and solar) on the Queensland Electricity Users Facebook page.
Update – Its the Queensland Electricity Users NETWORK page for details on the proposed 1,000 MW pumped hydro Koombooloomba Energy and Water Project (that can operate in low or no wind and solar).
The project would secure the water supplies for Cairns for the next 100 years (Cairns needs to build a dam for water supply by 2035).
If the proposed 2,000 MW Borumba Pumped Hydro was reduced to its original 1,000 MW, water could be supplied to the SEQ Water Grid reducing the size of the new SEQ $4 to 8 billion desalination plant that is currently undergoing a detailed business study along with a detailed business case for an expansion of the Gold Coast Desalination Plant.
Energy and water are joined at the hip – water to survive and affordable and reliable energy to thrive.