Why large energy users are concerned about last week’s machinations in South Australia
Pondering more implications of the boom/bust pricing witnessed in the South Australian region last week...
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.
Waxing and Waning of Wind this Week
Through the week we've seen new highs for wind production (NEM-wide) and also some low levels of production, as well - mirroring the political debate. The challenge has...
Know of a talented young electricity-sector engineer (a future international Cornwall scholar)?
The University of Queensland has called for applicants for the next round of the E.S.Cornwall Memorial scholarship (closes Friday 31st July). A great opportunity for a young engineer...
Northern Power Station becomes the next domino to fall
Following today's announcement of the closure of Alinta's Northern Power Station in South Australia
Even the liquid-fuelled plant get a run in SA this evening with Northern offline, demand higher, and wind waning
Some quick notes Tuesday evening about liquid-fuelled peaking generators getting a run in a South Australian region that's missing Northern station (amongst other factors)
The Nyngan Solar Plant reaches full output
A quick look at how the Nyngan solar plant stepped up its output over the weekend, reaching full load.
Winter 2015 in the NEM
Collecting together posts about winter 2015
Early winter chills power Tassie demand
A quick look at how the early winter chills are driving demand in Tasmania to levels not seen for 4 years
Wind in South Australia contributes to LOR2 warnings
Windy conditions persist - and bring with them their own challenges for the AEMO in managing the security of the system (PS wind contributes to, but there are...
Aggregate wind farm output tops 3,200MW in the middle of the night
Looks like wind output, aggregated across the NEM, hit a new record in output overnight.
What are, and will be, business niches for aggregators?
Following an invitation to speak at a QUT Energy Forum last week, here are some thoughts about some business niches for aggregators.
Metered Generation data feed for Royalla Solar commences (6 months after plant opening)
Royalla solar farm (opened 6 months ago) now has metered generation data published by AEMO - here's the first view.
Winning the final consolation prize (Comp #2) for peak Queensland demand
Wrapping up the competitions for summer 2014-15, we announce the winner for peak Queensland demand.
Queensland’s peak demand very close to a new record – more possible next summer?
Completing our walk-around-the-NEM, today we look at peak demand in Queensland over summer 2014-15
Winning a consolation prize (Comp #7) for peak Wind Production
Continuing with our series of competitions today, we assembled the entries to see who was closest to the mark in predicting peak wind output over summer 2014-15, and...
Wind Peak Production climbs – linearly over 5 successive summers
Continuing the theme of investigating peak metrics over summer 2014-15, today we look at peak wind output (aggregate across the NEM).
Winning a consolation prize (Comp #6) for Tasmanian peak demand
Who wins a consolation prize today, being closest to the flag in forecasting peak Tassie demand?
Tassie’s “summer” demand peak comes with cold weather?
Today we have a look at what mark Tasmania reached with peak demand over "extended summer" 2014-15
Winning a consolation prize (Comp #3) for NSW peak demand
So the winner for "best NSW peak demand forecaster" for summer 2014-15 is...
Similarly, the NSW summer demand peak failed to arrive
Continuing the theme started last week, today we look at what the peak NEM-wide demand was for "extended summer" 2014-15.