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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 in August this year AEMO’s Summer…



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 from Large Solar installations on a…



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 period. Mike shares some insights that could be of value to you, if you are involved in this areas.


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. New venturers in the energy market…


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 pay less for the…


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 face of increasing retail prices? Electricity…






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 a large power station (this time the single unit Kogan Creek power station – the largest single unit in the NEM).




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 plants in the coming 5-7 minutes and follows the wind direction, or b) sets an appropriate dispatch level to ensure wind variability is minimized, becomes even more important for market and power system operators.



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.


No Guarantee of Success

Our guest author, Allan O’Neil, poses a number of questions about the recently proposed “National Energy Guarantee” (NEG)