Thread: Big storm and no power in SA

Originally Posted by PhilipA

No they aren't as you have to add the cost of the backup power that you need when the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow.

Regards Philip A

If you could please quote me the current price per kilo of sunshine, or a cubic metre of wind? I didn't say that electricity produced form solar and wind farms is free, only that the input energy is free. Whereas the coal and gas plants have to pay for their fuel. The cost of energy out of a mixed system is the sum total of the fuel costs plus the machinery install, maintenance and disposal costs per unit of energy produced.

So if the input cost of energy is free, the collection is low cost, then all that remains is to have cost effective storage and all of a sudden you've made fossil fuel powered electricity look too dear. Apart from batteries there's hot salt storage and various gravity based systems including pumped storage. Engineers are working on E2G (electricity to gas, mainly hydrogen, some ammonia) tech and E2L (electricity to liquid fuels) tech which will mop up vast amounts of low cost wind and solar power and make it available for storage and transport needs. Once that's viable no-one in their right mind will burn a single gram of fossil fuel ever again.

SA,highest amount of renewables, highest power prices in the nation.

quick reminder that this thread is to remain non political please.

where did the wind go today?

It's still producing a little under half the wind energy production of Australia. Victoria are producing a little under that in wind energy.
It's a good job we've still got those ever reliable mud burners out in eastern Victoria keeping up the power to the interconnector.

Imagine if it was a 40+ day today. Victoria would have to load shed SA.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

It's still producing a little under half the wind energy production of Australia.

and about 2% of name plate capacity.

Originally Posted by Eevo

and about 2% of name plate capacity.

Great, innit? Evidence has emerged that the subsonic vibrations of Wind Turbans makes all the teeth fall out of R380 gear boxes. Yours will last another day. Eleventy.

Originally Posted by bee utey

Great, innit? Evidence has emerged that the subsonic vibrations of Wind Turbans makes all the teeth fall out of R380 gear boxes. Yours will last another day. Eleventy.

oh no.