Thread: Power loss forecast for Victorian Summer Peak periods

Solar power does work rather well when the Sun is shining But not so well at night
We often get power outages where we are especially after Summer Storms go through and I usually hook up our camping batteries to an inverter with the solar panels deployed during the day then crank up the genset at night

I feel that if I already have the power hardware available that I use for camping I can also use it at home if necessary during a Blackout with NO extra costs involved

the worst thing about this is their will be spare generators etc when a black out happens but the companies elect to keep them off untill the prices go stupidly high as they have them their as a tax write off so unless they are going to earn 5000% above normal electricity price they leave them turned off.

well looks like ill be running a lead up to the swampy and have the little generator ready to go for that and the fridge this summer.

then dig up that solar quote i got and maybe get it put on

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

No Gov or pollie chat on this thread please so it can stay in General Chat.

I disagree. It should have been in Alternate Energies.

Originally Posted by p38arover

I disagree. It should have been in Alternate Energies.

Not sure if I think a basic power supply is Alternative. 30 years ago Solar might have been viewed as alternative. Mods might get grumpy if we post about politics in Alternative Energy as well

My industry/business has tens of thousands of Vaccines in fridges. At a guess Vic Government would have several million in losses if the power was off for 4 hours plus on top of the stuff I buy myself for Doctors use. More than a few have life saving need for a stable power supply. Hundreds of us have $$$$$ or more in the freezers at home. A short power outage is a minor issue. In high fire risk areas in the country this is possibly an even more serious issue who could benefit from considering this.

I do not sell solar systems and shared for those interested or who might benefit by considering if they need to take actions before summer. Not telling anyone what to do just sharing my errors and fixes to avoid power loss.

I see where your coming from of course. Camping kit and BBQ works for me at home as well

I hope you see the irony in this thread.

Solar panels and wind farms and the Victorian Government's response caused the blackout problem, and you are advocating more of the same.

If Hazlewood had been paid a "spinning reserve " fee as I understand they do in Europe, and the government had not increased the royalty , then Hazlewood would probably still be operating.

I don't have the option of solar power as I have that old fashioned energy conservation called "trees" which lower the temperature in my house so that I don't need aircon in summer or for that matter heating in winter ,as I have that old fashioned energy conservation called "quilts" and "jumpers".

It will really irk me if I have to buy a generator so that people with solar panels can run their air conditioning, stoves, microwaves at night and suck up just as much power as if they didn't have solar panels at all, because it is a fact that solar panels only produce energy when nobody wants it.

Blackouts are most likely to happen when power demand is highest and that is AFAIK from about 4PM to 9PM when everyone comes home from work. Good luck with the solar panels then.
Regards Philip A

hazlewood was stuffed they had been keeping it alive 20 years past when it was meant to be shut down, it originally was meant to be **** down in 1995.
and even if they kept it running it would of been **** down this summer anyway as they had to rebuild plant which was estimated to be between 750mil to 1 billion before cost blowouts, it was going to be cheaper to build a new plant then rebuild hazlewood.

Tree's don't work so good in a desert (Which is what a lot of western vic really is) in summer as 40degC is still 40degC and nether do quilts and jumpers when ya get a bad frost.

and yes the government should be investing in solar and wind farms but in conjunction with stored hydro.
Should their also be coal yes atm their should but like the industry keeps saying bring in a a set of regulation's to work to not this up in the air no one knows whats going to happen crap.

also just rember when before the power was privatized and then the AEM (australian energy market) was introduced australia had one of the lowest power cost's in the developed world, now with the AEM and privatization we have the most expensive. with a grid worth twice as much as america's grid

so no one wants any power before 4 or after 9?

How's the NBN in a power outtage eh? Doesn't work. If you stipulate and pay for a battery back up phone you'll have 3-5 hours of communication in a power outtage. Which will marry up nicely with the mobile phone towers with have a battery life of 4 hours. So after a power outtage you can communicate for 4 or 5 hours if you're lucky. **** system with no redundancy. Better hope we never have a large bushfire corresponding with a power out. Because that never happens.

So after a power outtage you can communicate for 4 or 5 hours if you're lucky. **** system with no redundancy. Better hope we never have a large bushfire corresponding with a power out. Because that never happens.

The emergency services rely on VHF and UHF radio for communication so No Phone or internet really isn't an issue, But most of them have access to Sat phones anyway if the Need is there.