Some of the early references and feedback we’ve received about the GSD2020
Valued team member, Daniel Lee, reviews some of the early references to, and compliments for, the Generator Statistical Digest 2020 – which was released about 7 weeks ago.
Energy Transition
A large collection of articles pertaining to the ongoing ‘Energy Transition’ in any of a number of ways.
Specific sub-categories relate to such things as Coal Closure, and other aspects of the transition.
A Comparison of Large-Scale Solar Farm Revenue in 2020
Which solar farms performed best in 2020? Marcelle compares spot revenue performance across the NEM.
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…
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.
AEMC publishes Rule Determination on Semi-Scheduled Generators
This morning the AEMC has published its final rule focused on clarifying how Semi-Scheduled generators should follow dispatch targets – including in dispatch intervals where prices are negative, and some had been unexpectedly switching off.
Confidential ‘safety net’ agreement stuck between the Victorian Government and Yallourn Power Station to keep power station operational to mid 2028
A brief (and back-dated) article pointing to the confidential “safety net” agreement struck between the VIC Govt and EnergyAustralia to keep Yallourn Power Station operational until mid-2028.
Next domino? Yallourn closing in 2028 … four years earlier than original plan.
Two initial thoughts, following EnergyAustralia’s announcement that they will close Yallourn Power Station four years earlier than initially planned (mid-2028).
Report ‘Fast Erosion of Coal Plant Profits’ prompts questions
A report released this week by Green Energy Markets and the IEEFA exploring the prospect of accelerated coal closures, has itself caused some ripples…
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
The accelerating rise of Negative Prices in the NEM
A longer-term trend of the incidence of negative prices across each region of the NEM … and, most interestingly, the pattern by time of day.
Reflections (from afar) on the electricity shortages and load shedding in Texas
Watching what’s unfolded in Texas over the past 24 hours has been rather disconcerting … but also prompted questions about the broader energy transition. Here are some thoughts.
Pain at AGL Energy … part 2
Following last week’s ASX & Media Release, this week’s half-year results presented by AGL Energy has more questions being asked. Here are some …
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
AEMO publishes Handbook for Wind and Solar Generators
As promised in the Intermittent Generation Forum late in 2020, the AEMO has released an important Handbook for operators of Semi-Scheduled (wind and solar) assets.
New Sources of Strength
Guest author Allan O’Neil puts together an in-depth explainer about system strength and looks at the current approach to system strength management in South Australia, its impacts and the imminent installation of synchronous condensers on the SA grid.
AGL Energy announces $2.6b impairment … of which $1.9b for legacy wind farm off-take agreements
Today AGL Energy announces a big impairment … with a big chunk related to long-term wind offtake agreements which AGL entered into between 2006 and 2012.
Using the GSD2020 to explore operating patterns across generation types
With the release of the Generator Statistical Digest 2020, Marcelle Gannon takes a look at how it can be useful for identifying and exploring different patterns of generation.
How aggregate production from Wind and Large Solar in NSW dropped last week – one factor contributing to price spikes and Reserve Trader
An unfortunately timed significant slump in output across all Wind and Large Solar plant in NSW was another of the factors contributing to the price volatility seen in NSW last week.
What’s up with the fleet of 16 x coal-fired units in NSW?
Following a week where several days saw price volatility in NSW (with this being so extreme that Reserve Trader was triggered on Thursday 17th December) we’ve taken a look at the comparative performance of coal units across the NEM (and particularly in NSW) compared to prior years.
Increasing the transparency and correctness of intermittent generation availability information to AEMO
Following up to AEMO’s recent Intermittent Generator forum, Marcelle looks at the challenges for wind and solar farms in providing consistently good plant availability information to AEMO and the value of transparency of this data.