Thread: Big storm and no power in SA

What did South Australians use before candles?










Electricity.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

What did South Australians use before candles?










Electricity.

Ha, ha, ha.....




Ahmmm...


Not funny, Ian.


(chortle)

SA power: What is load shedding and why is it happening? - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Why is SA running out of power?

With the interconnector to Victoria included, South Australia has more than enough power generation to cover demand even on the most extreme days.
But a large and growing proportion of that generation is from intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar.
When the wind isn't blowing, the market operator can't direct wind farms to dispatch power.
The Heywood Interconnector was recently expanded to allow greater power to flow in or out of the state. But it still has a limit of about 600 megawatts.
The market for electricity is much tighter in South Australia since the closure of the state's sole coal-fired power plant in Port Augusta, Northern, last year.
AEMO has forecast potential lack of power reserves across this summer, and every summer, until additional supply is added to the mix.

Why are renewables being blamed?

SA has one of the highest mixes of wind and solar energy in the world.
It can be argued that the advent of high levels of renewable energy have helped bring down wholesale prices in South Australia.
Subsidised via renewable energy certificates, wind farms can produce power at a much lower market cost than traditional coal and gas generators.
But in turn, this flood of cheap renewable energy has helped hasten the demise of thermal generators like Northern.
With fewer traditional coal and gas generators in the market, the state has less capacity to generate energy on demand. This is a problem when demand is high and the wind isn't blowing.

As can be seen in the pic, the load shedding was introduced when the wind power generators failed to supply the required power when the wind dropped.

Is this just an issue for SA?

No. The AEMO is warning of potential load shedding in New South Wales on Friday as it braces for an extreme heatwave.
The problem is likely to get worse in the medium term with the closure of Victoria's Hazelwood brown coal power station.
That state is expected to join South Australia next summer in reaching regular electricity reserve shortfalls.

The over reliance on renewables is to blame.


Both Victoria and SA will have poor energy security next summer.
Where did you buy your generator from, Simon?

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

As can be seen in the pic, the load shedding was introduced when the wind power generators failed to supply the required power when the wind dropped.

in percentage terms. wind was producing 5% of its name plate capacity.

So, basically, there is a distinct reference to S.A's reliability on wind & renewables, and this will increasingly apply to Vic, when Hazlewood closes, which closure will also push up prices.
I don't know a lot about the "mechanical" side, but I believe that there has been too much pace attached to the conversion to renewables,wind & solar, before an adequate & sufficient source of reliable replacement power was found.
A 300% "levy" placed upon Hazlewood, certainly did not assist in the future viabilty of that source.
I would certainly not appreciate losing power today, nor would others where the temperature is to reach 44/45C.
Pickles.

And yet there was plenty of spare gas powered capacity, the owners of which couldn't be arsed to turn it on unless paid in the blood of ordinary consumers.

Oh and the quip about candles is very funny, except I haven't seen those plain white candles at the supermarket for years. It's as if people have moved on and have LED lanterns, torches, batteries and gas BBQ's to tide them over a rare, small nuisance.

When I was a kid SA's sooper dooper reliable coal and oil powered grid used to load shed on many hot days, I could see the black plumes from Torrens Island and Dry Creek from our house as the power went out, once again. SA's daft young folk don't know how lucky they are that the grid is evolving towards a distributed 100% renewable and storage future. Coal is way too slow to follow demand spikes.

Originally Posted by bee utey

And yet there was plenty of spare gas powered capacity

do tell.

Originally Posted by Eevo

do tell.

Even worse, they weren't allowed to be available by order of the AEMO.

http://disq.us/url?url=http%3A%2F%2F...s&cuid=2298278

Something stinks, and it's probably fossil fuel company influence.