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The future of energy generation and storage

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Smurf1976 said:
My point here being an investment one not an argument against solar energy. For any wind or solar developer, location is critical not just in terms of sunlight or wind but also wherever they're connecting to the transmission network.
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And the point I have consistently made is that there is a failure in policy where we allow "free" energy to be displaced by fossil fuel energy because we have not put a price on carbon.
Indeed, your post clearly demonstrates the short sightedness of policy makers with respect to national energy planning.
It's exemplified thus: The lights go out in Melbourne so we will build a big battery that will fix the problem in six or seven years time. But not next summer when we need the fix, or the next few summers after that. That's how smart the people who lead our nation on energy policy are, and that's why we are in the shambles we are.
 
preface: i have only read the last 2 posts and do not intend to read back further - if this causes a reader too much distress then i recommend, or tell, or advise them to just ignore this post, save me ur outrage (not sure which applies)


when there is too much supply, did the solar get dumped coz the contract price was greater than the coal price on that above thing? I would think that there is a supply hierarchy contract.

what i mean is when in the future renewables are "cheaper" than coal will the supply contracts just get written to use the cheaper renewables first anyway and sorta speed up the end of coal anyway once renewables can actually supply enough energy to keep the lights on? wont the coal "problem" sorta self fix?
 
Found a good simple video outlining the range of energy storage options to enable a versatile, stable renewable energy based system.

The video didn't mention it but I think a really elegant solution will be widespread use of electric cars and hooking up the associated batteries into the grid. Excess power in. Necessary power out

 
Oh fruit it. NBN can cost.

Transitioned to NBN not so long ago - all went OK. However, new modem, new passwords, etc. However, as a result the Wi-Fi connection for monitoring of the inverters was lost. Decided rather than fool around with something I know little about to have a service call made and recommission the bloody things. That costs money but what the heck.

I suppose I could have done without it as it is only internal monitoring which I rarely do and the important numbers are done through the smart meter.
 
I guess it worked. Received the electricity statement. Essentially full two months of solar production with two separate PV systems was sufficient not only to eliminate the electricity bill but will provide a refund.

Only time I'll ever live in a house which has created an income. Tax free too.
 
SirRumpole said:
The crazy gas situation and its effect on power prices.
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There’s plenty more to come on the job loss front from this one. ;)

The companies affected by the high costs pay tax too so that also will be lost.

To be blunt it’s harder to think of a worse action taken against your own country by anyone anywhere than the Australian government allowing this one to go ahead. :mad:

There are now 5 separate proposals to import gas to NSW (2), Vic (2) and SA (1) all of which are interconnected anyway and via SA are connected to Qld and NT.

I expect we’ll see more actions in due course like the dispute between Hydro Tasmania and the operators of the Vic - Tas gas pipeline. It ended up in formal arbitration with a confidential decision binding on both parties but in short Hydro’s argument is pretty straightforward.

Generating power to sell to industry which operates in a global market. If the gas price goes up then that doesn’t mean the electricity price can go up due to the need to be globally competitive. It is thus a question of who takes the loss, either the pipeline operator or Hydro hence the dispute.

It’s no secret that, bearing in mind the arbitrated outcome is of limited duration, the likely outcome is that the most efficient gas-fired power station in the NEM will be permanently shut in the 2020’s unless the economics of gas improve.

Don’t be surprised to see similar action from others looking to spread the pain.
 
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Smurf1976 said:
To be blunt it’s harder to think of a worse action taken against your own country by anyone anywhere than the Australian government allowing this one to go ahead. :mad:
There are now 5 separate proposals to import gas to NSW (2), Vic (2) and SA (1) all of which are interconnected anyway and via SA are connected to Qld and NT.
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6 years of a COAG Energy Council sitting on its hands on this front, and Scomo is asking for more of the same!
It's what you get when the "big end of town" gets to talk to turkeys in government, so their press releases make them look good, but us poor.
I know Smurf likes to play the honest broker here but, honestly, this is a broken government that all the king's horses and all the king's men shouldn't even try to put back together again.
 
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Worth a read for those wanting another voice, other than mine, saying the same thing that we need cooperation not competition at the technical level if all this wind and solar is to actually work and not end up as a wasted effort.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/its-not-easy-to-build-a-solar-farm-in-australia-any-more-59308/

As someone (not me) has responded "The free market design on the mainland part of the NEM has no doubt led to a lot of wasted effort, whereas in Tasmania it is more centrally led so no-one is brave enough to expend much on project development without agreement from Tas Hydro."

That nails it basically. There's noting wrong with the idea of multiple owners of wind farms, solar etc, and there are certainly private wind and solar developers in Tas, but there does need to be central coordination of what's going on from a technical perspective otherwise it ends up a mess.

The problem isn't lack of technical competency in the other states but of hands being tied. Someone knows that what rival companies are doing isn't going to work technically but isn't allowed to bring them all together and come up with solutions. That basic issue goes right through every aspect of the industry from generation through to household metering.:2twocents
 
Whatever happens with Adani, the future for those who invested their votes in long term jobs may not be as bright as they had hoped.
Here's what's happening in the USA to coal-fired power plants.
The interesting takeaway is that battery backup prices are falling at 10-15% per annum, depending what is used.
 
rederob said:
Except MGX's battery can charge and discharge simultaneously.
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That's an interesting concept, are they two independent sections and functions? I'll send the info to my son, he is wanting to go off grid, he is like a dog with a bone on this stuff.lol
 
sptrawler said:
At last a line drawn in the sand, instead of the generators saying "she'll be right", they will be in deep $hit if she isn't right.
https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...er-warns-power-companies-20190522-p51q5g.html
To replace 1680MW of dispatchable generation, with 1600MW of renewables and 250MW of storage, is taking the pi$$.
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A "three phase plan" eh ? :)

I wonder if that little pun was intended, probably the reporter didn't even realise it.

I also wonder if the NEG will suddenly return, it has(had) the support of the Opposition.
 

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