The Network Investment Paradox
Guest author, Drew Donnelly, compares case studies of Argentine and Australia to highlight risks in under and over-investment in network infrastructure
Guest Author
NEM spot prices remained stubbornly high in 2018 – what were the drivers?
The surge in NEM spot prices since 2015, and related impacts on contract and retail prices, have been extensively discussed and analysed in many forums, from ACCC inquiries to Twitter. The underlying reasons for...
NEM Summer Outlook 2018/19 – what is AEMO saying?
Following on from Paul’s article on Queensland, this post examines the summer outlook for the other mainland NEM regions, drawing from some key AEMO publications and datasources, namely: the Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) published...
How To Reduce Electricity Costs – Part 4
In Michael's fourth article of the series, he looks at the power of analysing electricity usage data to understand where and when users consume electricity so that they can identify cost saving opportunities.
Large Solar in the NEM mainland regions
The growth of Large Solar in the NEM has been phenomenal, and a sign that things are changing quickly in the Australian energy industry. The chart attached is the maximum output of each region...
Too much solar? For whom exactly?
Recently there have been a number of media reports of energy industry people talking about too much solar. One of our guest authors takes a look.
How To Reduce Electricity Costs – Part 3
In our guest author's third article, Michael Williams comments on the growing trend for corporate energy buyers to contract directly with certain wind and/or solar plant for renewable energy supply over a longer-term time...
Retail Energy, not so easy
It is curious that despite of the findings of the recent ACCC enquiries and the on-going regulatory uncertainty (at both a state and federal level), anyone would be willing to set-up an electricity retailer....
How To Reduce Electricity Costs – Part 2
In the previous article on reducing electricity costs we looked at energy efficiency and the fact that the cheapest electricity is the electricity that you don’t consume. In this article we will look at...
How To Reduce Electricity Costs – Part 1
We all know that electricity prices have escalated dramatically over the last couple of years. But did you know that it is possible to offset these increases and even achieve cost reductions in the...
Lessons from the trenches – 10 tips for new entrant generation developers
Through our consulting business, Greenview Strategic Consulting, we have had the pleasure of working with a variety of new entrants and NEM-veteran organisations alike in the generation sector of the NEM over the past...
How do New Entrant Retailers manage wholesale market risk?
Guest author, Drew Donnelly at Compliance Quarter, uses the review of hedge practices in the wholesale market included in the recent ACCC report as an opportunity to reflect on what approaches they have seen...
High SA Prices on Monday 9 July–Business as Usual?
One of our guest authors, Allan O'Neil, takes a closer look at what happened in the South Australian region of the NEM on Monday 9th July 2018
New hedging options emerge in the NEM as the energy transition accelerates
Our guest author, Dave Guiver from ERM Power, outlines some new options for hedging in relation to the influx of many new large-scale solar PV projects
When the NEM’s Largest Generating Unit Trips …
A follow-on to my earlier article of a couple weeks ago, looking at another instance where a team effort was required to counter a drop in system frequency following the loss of generation at...
Renewable energy – did it just laze about over summer?
A review of the high demand periods over summer 2017/18 highlights the important contribution renewable generation is making to meeting peak demand and addressing the reliability of the power system.
FCAS in Action – What Happens When a Generator Trips? (or Never let the data get in the way of a good story)
Understanding the FCAS response by all generators when a unit trips in the NEM. A detailed look at the Loy Yang A unit trip in December 2017 and the contribution of the Hornsdale Power...
Short term forecasting of wind power plant generation for the provision of ancillary services
As NEM wind power plants progressively work towards implementing FCAS, the criticality of ensuring that the power system either a) takes account of the variability in the wind forecasts coming from the wind power...
Power station ‘trips’ are normal, but blackouts are not
Understanding the difference between blackouts, generator trips and intermittent generation and how these events are managed.
Grandfathers Axe or Low Hanging Fruit?
Upgrading our existing coal thermal fleet to increase efficiency and flexibility could provide a cost-effective opportunity to add dispatchable capacity and lower the overall carbon intensity of our electricity sector.