Marcelle Gannon to share insights (this Thu 11th March 2021) at CEC Large-Scale Solar Forum
Here’s three key insights to listen for this Thursday … when Marcelle Gannon speaks at the CEC’s Large-Scale Solar (virtual) Forum.
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.
Will the traditional ‘Peak’ contract be another casualty of this Energy Transition?
Prompted by several different conversations offline in early 2021, I’ve taken a quick look at what have been traded volumes (on ASX) of the traditional ‘PEAK’ hedge contract for the NSW, QLD, VIC and SA regions. What does this tell us about a market view of the energy transition?
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.
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…
High temperatures drive QLD Scheduled Demand to 9,476MW (highest this summer, so far)
Monday 22nd February 2021 saw QLD Scheduled Demand rise higher than it has on any other day so far this summer … 576MW below the all-time maximum.
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.
Low demand experienced in SA on Sunday 14th February 2021
Today (Sunday 14th February 2021) ‘Scheduled Demand’ dropped down again in South Australia – almost setting a new record for ‘lowest point since the start of the NEM (excl System Black)’
Victoria’s snap lockdown drops demand forecast by ~1000MW
In the middle of the day today (Fri 12th Feb) VIC Premier Dan Andrews announced a snap lockdown – here’s a quick look at how this was (quickly) added into the ST PASA Operational Demand forecast.
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.
What’s it like being on a real-time electricity pricing plan? Observations from my poorly insulated townhouse
Guest author and Economist at Monash University, Gordon Leslie, shares his personal experiences since switching to a real-time retail electricity plan.
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.
Quarterly Renewables Wrap – Q1 2021
Ben Willacy of ITK Services provides his quarterly update on renewable project connection, commissioning, construction and commitment activity for Q1 2021.
Which units were most impacted by constraints in 2020?
In this (lengthy) article today, Paul McArdle uses the newly released GSD2020 to take a look at the units that were most frequently impacted by constraints during calendar 2020 – with a view to how this has changed from 2011 to 2020.
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.
Highlights from the 2020 GSD
David Leitch highlights some themes that stuck out to him as he read through this year’s edition of the Generator Statistical Digest – including a look at how batteries are dominating the FCAS market, some surprises with capacity factor, and other things