The north Queensland deluge cuts solar production
A quick look at the effect that the monsoonal rains in northern Queensland are having on several power generation options in northern Queensland.
Articles by Paul McArdle
Paul was one of the founders of Global-Roam in February 2000. He is currently the CEO of the company and the principal author of WattClarity. Writing for WattClarity has become a natural extension of his work in understanding the electricity market, enabling him to lead the team in developing better software for clients.
Before co-founding the company, Paul worked as a Mechanical Engineer for the Queensland Electricity Commission in the early 1990s. He also gained international experience in Japan, the United States, Canada, the UK, and Argentina as part of his ES Cornwall Memorial Scholarship.
Looking backwards over the past 2 weeks in the NEM
Back at work this week and (with curiosity getting the better of me) I have another look at what happened last Thursday and Friday in the South Australian and Victorian regions of the NEM.
My first look at the highs, and lows, in Victoria and South Australia on Thursday 24th January 2019
A first look at some of the action seen in the southern parts of the NEM on Thursday 24th January 2019 as a result of the latest crazy heatwave that has afflicted central Australia...
Hot weather forecast to drive demand past 31,000MW next Tuesday 15th January
With high temperatures forecast to return to the NEM next week, we take a quick look at the AEMO's demand forecast.
Extensive review of Units Off-Target, as part of Generator Report Card 2018
Some brief analysis, on the sidelines of our data gathering for the Generator Report Card 2018, looking at the changing incidence of Aggregate Absolute Off-Target for DUIDs across the NEM.
[UPDATED] Off-Target #4 – Disregard Targets – Lake Bonney in July 2018 (and possibly others)
Two examples where units (in these cases Semi-Scheduled) appeared to disregard dispatch targets.
Off-Target #3 = Forecasting Output Difficult – Macarthur WF on 11th August 2018
One example of where forecasting wind output seemed to be more difficult than we would hope it could be. Something to be further explored in the Generator Report Card.
Off-Target #2 = Unit failed to start – Braemar A3 on 29th August 2018
One example of a thermal unit failing to start. We will endeavour to explore how often this happens as part of the Generator Report Card 2018.
Off-Target #1 = Unit trip – Mt Piper Unit 2 on 24th October 2018
Highlighting one example of a unit trip. We expect we will find many in the process of compiling our Generator Report Card 2018 - the bigger question being whether the incidence is increasing (and,...
Number crunching begins, for Generator Report Card 2018 (such as with transmission constraints)
Data compilation of the Generator Report Card is underway, given we've stepped over into 2019. Here's a summary insight about the nature of coverage of bound constraint equations across all units in the NEM.
High temperatures (and high demand) forecast for QLD this Friday
A quick look at AEMO's current forecasts for Friday (prompted by a few conversations externally)...
Dispatch Price spikes above $12,000/MWh in VIC and SA today
Two quick snapshots of a high priced day in Victoria and South Australia - with the price jumping above $12,000/MWh at 15:50
Villain #5c – too much focus on COST, not enough focus on VALUE
Some thoughts (triggered by the latest wave of focus on "cost" on social media this week) about why we need to rapidly shift our focus to what customers "value" and the market needs.
Central Queensland to Southern Queensland flows constrained today
A quick look at the situation today, where generation in central and northern Queensland was constrained down in the middle of the day, driving prices higher.
A brief look at the outlook for QLD region this summer
A quick first look at the way the AEMO is currently seeing the supply/demand balance for the Queensland region through summer and Q1 2019 - with the "out of left field" possibility of industrial...
Crunch Coming–oversupply in northern Queensland?
Some conversations with new generation developers about their prospective developments in northern Queensland has prompted some analysis to help them understand the size of the addressable market for them.
Villain #6–reaching for (or believing in) a “Magic Wand”
We've noted what seems to be an increasing tendency of all of us to reach for some form of "magic wand" as a cure-all for the vexed challenges confronting us in this energy transition.
What’s the impact of rooftop solar PV on local distribution network voltage–and its significance?
Replacement of yet another blown LED at home on the weekend prompted me to dive into some historical voltage readings (made accessible through our Solar Analytics subscription). I present some results here, and hope...
Hot weather in Queensland to drive Electricity Demand high this week (and warning of LOR2 Low Reserve Condition)
Temperature forecasts are for hot weather in Queensland early this week - which means AEMO is forecasting high demand in the QLD region. With this, they are alerting on a forecast LOR2 Low Reserve...
We’re preparing an extensive “Generator Report Card”, and would welcome discussion (with your pre-orders)
Following from (what we have seen as) an increase in diversity of concerns (and claims) about different aspects of generator performance, we're leveraging our extensive data set and capabilities to have a deeper look,...