Severe Weather Season Outlook – 2021/22
Ben Domensino from WeatherZone has provided this summary about what we can expect to see across Australia during the 2021-22 summer weather season.
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Big Trouble For Bad Installers As Clean Energy Regulator Shows Its Teeth
Ron Brakels of SolarQuotes examines recent changes that will put the CER in charge of accreditation, which he explains is aimed at “kicking crap solar installers out of the industry”.
The Contagion of Scarcity
Guest author, Josh Stabler of Energy Edge, provides a look into the ‘contagion of scarcity’ events impacting the market since mid-May 2021.
A Quick Tour of the 2021 ESOO
Guest author, Allan O’Neil, takes an initial look at some of the highlights included in the AEMO’s Electricity Statement of Opportunities for 2021 (a 10-year forecast for what might unfold in the future of the NEM).
Biggest price shock in history
Carl Daley of EnergyByte, examines recent energy and gas price volatility, leading to the conclusion that the May to July period in QLD and NSW has been the biggest shock to the spot market in history, and the forward price movements are rivalling the record setting year of 2007.
Let’s Talk About (Operating) Reserves
A team of academics at UNSW explain operating reserves and analyse the case for implementing an operating reserve service in the NEM.
Two Wrongs Don’t Make a REZ
Tom Geiser discusses transmission access and the efficacy of Renewable Energy Zones. He examines what the underlying problems are and how they can be solved directly.
Eating the NEM’s Q2 Elephant – An Appetizer
An old adage runs that to eat an elephant, it’s best to proceed in small servings. With a very eventful Q2 in the NEM not yet finished, the number of headline events is already large enough – unexpected price volatility…
Callide C Event Fallout
Carl Daley of EnergyByte examines the ramifications of the Callide Power Station outage and discusses the big losers and winners from the situation.
10 million reasons why we need to talk about NEM generator operations
James Tetlow from Overwatch Energy explains an important rule change that was recently introduced that has seen a significant increase in the civil penalties for generators who fail to follow operating rules.
Callide C Catastrophic Failure
Carl Daley from EnergyByte, provides more insight into the events of last Tuesday, which culminated in widespread blackouts throughout Queensland.
The ‘Virtual Storage Product’ as a game-changing energy deal
Caroline Wykamp and Hydro Tasmania’s wholesale team discuss the new ‘virtual storage’ electricity swap contract that they have recently brokered with Renewable Energy Hub.
Big Batteries – big issues!
Guest author, Carl Daley, investigates why big batteries weren’t able to fully capitalise on extreme spot prices in SA on Friday 12th March.
Down 55% – but not out
Over 2,000 MW – or around 55% – of South Australia’s firm supply capacity was unavailable last Friday evening (March 12, 2021), along with virtually all of its large-scale renewable supply (a further 1,800 MW or so) but the lights…
How my power company is misleading me with every bill I get, and what this means for other consumers
After reviewing a monthly electricity bill for 2021, Murray Hogarth of Wattwatchers discusses issues arising from ‘smart meters’ and how a lack of accurate data for electricity consumption may be misleading many consumers.
100% Renewables – A year in practice
Adam Clarke from The City of Newcastle local government publishes this detailed look at what operating on a 100% renewable electricity contract looks like in practice, a year on.
Lets talk about demand
David Leitch of ITK Services examines how electricity is losing its share of energy consumption in Australia, while also looking at the main drivers behind lower electricity demand this Summer compared to the previous year.
Spot price arbitrage with battery storage – a review of 2020 performance
With UQ recently publishing a performance review of their 1.1MW battery project for the 2020 calendar year, Andrew Wilson posts some extracts from the full report, particularly focusing on the battery’s arbitrage function.
What does the GSD2020 reveal, about the challenges facing the 12 x AGL coal-fired units
Guest author, Nick Bartels, follows on from his article last week to see what the GSD2020 can inform of the challenges AGL Energy is facing with Bayswater, Liddell and Loy Yang A coal-fired power stations
Analysis of Large Thermals using the GSD2020
Guest author, Nick Bartels, compares calendar year results from GSD2020 to those in the earlier GSD2019 to explore how some thermal units in QLD and SA are changing operating patterns as part of the energy transition