Yallourn coal bunker fire on Thursday 11th November 2021
A short article about the fire in the Yallourn power station coal bunker.
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.
Widespread rain event one factor in pricing volatility in QLD on Thursday 11th November 2021 (Part 2)
Second short article, looking into what has been happening through Queensland on Thursday 11th November 2021.
Price volatility in QLD and NSW on Thursday 11th November 2021 (Part 1)
Some price volatility in NSW and (especially) QLD region on Thursday 11th November 2021.
A sneak peak at the increasing volume of bidding at some Large Solar Farms in the NEM
A short article today, to share an image from the upcoming GenInsights21 release, and to pose some questions - about what's been happening with the rise (and fall!) of bid volumes at Large Solar...
Updated tabulated record of minimum demand points – for each region, and NEM-wide – following 31st Oct 2021
Updating the minimum demand records, following new low points seen for VIC and SA (but not NSW, as I had thought earlier) for Minimum Demand.
New Minimum Demand point also set for Victoria on Sunday 31st October 2021
Second region today (Sun 31st Oct 2021) to see a new 'minimum demand' record was the Victorian region ... when looking at Scheduled Demand (after correcting my mistake about NSW).
[CORRECTION – CLOSE TO] New Record Scheduled Demand point also set for NSW on Sunday 31st October 2021 (Part 2)
[CORRECTION - CLOSE TO] Second region to fall lower on Sunday 31st October 2021, in terms of Minimum Scheduled Demand, was the NSW region
Minimum Demand records drop lower – for the SA region, and NEM-wide (Part 1)
On Sunday 31st October 2021 we see minimum demand level drop considerably lower for the South Australian region ... and also a new record set on a NEM-wide basis.
Storms in Victoria on leave ~500,000 without power
A short note about the storms that left approximately 500,000 people without power in Victoria on Friday 29th october 2021
Evening LOR2 in the QLD region – and early ‘summer’ evening
A quick note about an actual LOR2 condition in the QLD region - Thursday 28th October 2021
Price volatility in South Australia on Wednesday 27th October 2021
Some quick notes about a price spike seen over 4 dispatch intervals this morning in South Australia - Wed 27th Oct 2021.
The rise of the auto-bidder
A trend of monthly total number of bids shows clear indication of 'the rise of the auto-bidder'.
Keeping an eye out, for Negawatts
It's Sunday 24th October 2021 and the AEMO's new Centralised Negawatt Dispatch Mechanism has started operations. What can we see?
Recapping where the records sit, in ‘record minimum demand’ following Sunday 17th October 2021 (Part 4)
Capping off a weekend of new low points for minimum demand in NSW, and NEM-wide (and some near misses elsewhere) this table sums up where the low points sit.
A monster leak in the Grid drives ‘Minimum Demand’ on a NEM-wide basis down on Sunday 17th October 2021 (part 3)
Slightly later than happened for the NSW region, here's the stats for the large reduction for 'minimum demand' on a NEM-wide basis for Sunday 17th October 2021
New record for ‘Minimum Demand’ in the NSW region on Sunday 17th October 2021 (part 2)
A quick look backwards, later in the afternoon, at the new 'lowest ever' point reached for demand in the NSW region.
New low points for minimum demand on Sunday 17th October 2021 (part 1)
A short note to recognise that the 'low point record' has been nudged lower on several fronts already (Sun 17th Oct) ... and forecast to drop further still
AEMO forecasts new record minimum Operational Demand (NEM-wide) on Sunday 17th October
Looks like Sunday 17th October will be an interesting day, with a new 'record low' for Operational Demand on a NEM-wide basis forecast by AEMO!
Large Solar production in QLD on Saturday 16th October crushed between Rooftop PV and Coal
A short note at a 'new normal' condition that we can expect to see increasingly in NEM regions (including QLD) as rooftop PV continues to grow in scale.
Discussion at AIE Brisbane on 2nd Dec 2021 – Early insights on Five Minute Settlement
Here's the event details for the discussion scheduled for Thursday 2nd December 2021 about 'Early insights from Five Minute Settlement', thanks to AIE Brisbane.