More details on the bushfire-driven extremes in the NSW Region of the NEM on Saturday 4th January
All I have time to do today, looking into more detail of what happened today .... but note that the challenge is still unfolding.
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.
Bushfires under interconnectors through Snowy Mountains cause separation of NSW from VIC region
A quick summary of what's just happened this afternoon (15:10) with the separation of VIC-to-NSW interconnector due to bushfires that have been plaguing the NEM this summer...
Full Disclosure 5 – a founding shareholder of Overwatch Energy
In mid 2019, a new company Overwatch Energy Pty Ltd was formed – to be an operations specialist to support the energy transition. (Please visit the Overwatch Energy website for more details about that...
Another LOR2 (and RERT Negotiations), out of the blue…
A quick article with the unfolding situation this afternoon in Victoria - tight supply/demand balance, price spike to the Market Price Cap, and RERT negotiations ....
Return-to-service of Loy Yang A2 hits a snag
A short note looking at forecast for Victoria today, Monday 30th December (coincidentally as Loy Yang A2 came offline on Friday evening).
Mortlake Unit 2 (offline since July) up close to full load on Friday morning 27th December 2019
With the return of Mortlake unit 2 this week, we take a quick look at current forecasts for the week and quarter ahead in Victoria.
Limondale Solar Farm starts up – only the first 29MW component of a bigger planned station?
Merry Christmas to Innogy, with first operations seen at the first phase of the Limondale Solar Farm
Loy Yang A2 returns to service on Tuesday 24th December 2019
Noticed that Loy Yang A2 is back online today, so worth a short note.
AEMO speaks directly to Wind and Solar Farm operators – please alert us to temperature limitations on your assets
In what seems (to me) to be an extraordinary measure, AEMO speaks directly to the operators of Wind and Solar assets in the NEM, asking them to update the AEMO on the high-temperature limitations...
What happened yesterday (Fri 20th Dec 2019) in the Victorian Region? A first look…
A first look back at yesterday (Friday 20th December 2019) in the Victorian region - where we saw extreme temperatures, high demand across VIC and SA and (perhaps because of high temperatures) a large...
Not-So-Quick review of price spike in South Australian region yesterday (Thu 19th Dec) evening
Took 2-3 times longer than planned (as there were a few different interesting observations that came out) but here is our initial - and perhaps only! - review of what happened in South Australia...
Sweating on the return of Loy Yang A Unit 2
Taking a quick look at what's forecast for the Victorian region tomorrow, with LOR2-level Low Reserve Condition forecast.
High temperatures drive Queensland Scheduled Demand over 9,400MW
With Queensland temperatures (even at the Brisbane airport) exceeding 40 degrees Celcius today, the electricity demand was also high - though still below the all-time record.
The (ongoing!) opacity of distributed, small-scale solar PV output
42 months after I posted some initial thoughts about "the opacity of rooftop PV" it seems that - when viewed in certain ways, discussed here - the problem is actually getting worse, not better.
Exploring AEMO’s demand forecast “error” for Saturday 26th October 2019
Four weeks ago, we observed a significant discrepancy between AEMO's forecast for (what would have been) a record low point for Scheduled Demand in South Australia and what actually eventuated. We've now had time...
Probability, Consequence (and Risk) as it relates to summer 2019-20 in the NEM
With summer 2019-20 fast approaching, we'll use the refresher on the two core components of risk (probability and consequence) to unpick what the real issue is with respect to concerns about overheating electricity supplies...
Analytical challenge – recognising the separate components in Risk, and their influence
A simple refresher on two core components that combine in order to define risk - probability and consequence.
First look at South Australia islanded on Saturday evening, 16th Nov 2019
A first (and perhaps only - as this took longer than initially planned) walk through some of the interesting points of what happened yesterday (Sat 16th Nov 2019) when South Australia islanded from the...
Two big reasons why we’re engaging in forensic analysis of NEM events
There are a number of reasons why we're completing the analysis we are sharing via WattClarity - here are two big ones.
3rd Case Study – Tailem Bend Solar Farm in SA Region on Wednesday 6th November 2019
Third case study in a growing series - on this occasion looking at the (extreme - and possibly excessive?) lengths taken by Tailem Bend Solar Farm to avoid being dispatched at times of negative...