Thanks for this. Very interesting.I've updated my script to report from next month the renewable percentages in each state and nationally for when solar production is zero, i.e. renewable percentages at night. We've all heard the comments about "what happens when the sun goes down?" and accusations that EVs are "coal fired" when charged overnight.
I did a dry run for this month to date... and the results are unexpected and very interesting
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National and State Renewable Energy stats
- Thread starter Vostok
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- wind energy
The stats for June. As promised, some juicy new stats added - the renewable percentage is additionally split out for daytime and night - meaning when solar production is not zero, and zero, respectively. The calculation is done correctly on the basis of total power generated in MWh in each period, so takes into account that power generation during nighttime hours is considerably less than during daytime hours, because overnight demand is less.
The ratio between the nighttime and daytime renewable percentages is also provided as “diurnal renewable hardness”. A ratio of 1.0 means that renewable generation is consistent between daytime and night. A ratio of 0.0 means renewable generation only occurs during daytime hours. Obviously, the closer that ratio is to 1.00 the better. TAS, SA and VIC win the prize on this score, and QLD the wooden spoon (by a long way) since QLD is way too reliant on solar and needs to beef up its wind generation, big time.
Renewable energy generation for June - average for the month:
The ratio between the nighttime and daytime renewable percentages is also provided as “diurnal renewable hardness”. A ratio of 1.0 means that renewable generation is consistent between daytime and night. A ratio of 0.0 means renewable generation only occurs during daytime hours. Obviously, the closer that ratio is to 1.00 the better. TAS, SA and VIC win the prize on this score, and QLD the wooden spoon (by a long way) since QLD is way too reliant on solar and needs to beef up its wind generation, big time.
Renewable energy generation for June - average for the month:
- National - 32.4%
- TAS - 99.7%
- SA - 56.7%
- VIC - 36.1%
- NSW - 25.9%
- WA - 24.9%
- QLD - 18.0%
- National - 55.9% on 06 Jun 13:00
- TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
- SA - 97.0% on 06 Jun 13:00
- WA - 65.3% on 07 Jun 14:00
- NSW - 58.0% on 12 Jun 13:00
- VIC - 57.4% on 04 Jun 12:30
- QLD - 54.1% on 10 Jun 12:00
- National - 34.4%
- TAS - 99.7%
- SA - 60.0%
- VIC - 38.2%
- NSW - 32.9%
- WA - 32.4%
- QLD - 22.5%
- National - 26.0%
- TAS - 99.7%
- SA - 52.9%
- VIC - 33.7%
- NSW - 18.8%
- WA - 17.7%
- QLD - 6.3%
- National - 0.76
- TAS - 1.00
- SA - 0.88
- VIC - 0.88
- NSW - 0.57
- WA - 0.55
- QLD - 0.28
- National - 5.7%
- WA - 8.5%
- SA - 8.0%
- QLD - 7.6%
- NSW - 5.5%
- VIC - 3.2%
- TAS - 0.7%
- National - Wind: 43.7%, Solar: 27.0%, Hydro: 29.3%
- NSW - Wind: 36.1%, Solar: 36.2%, Hydro: 27.6%
- QLD - Wind: 17.1%, Solar: 70.6%, Hydro: 12.3%
- SA - Wind: 80.5%, Solar: 19.5%, Hydro: 0.0%
- TAS - Wind: 16.3%, Solar: 0.7%, Hydro: 83.0%
- VIC - Wind: 65.0%, Solar: 12.8%, Hydro: 22.1%
- WA - Wind: 62.6%, Solar: 37.4%, Hydro: 0.0%
- National - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- NSW - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- QLD - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- SA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- TAS - 300 minutes across 3 periods
- VIC - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- WA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
I disagree QLD needs more wind. QLD has excellent solar insolation year round and the distributed nature of QLD helps as rarely is the whole state cloudy simultaneously. What QLD needs is storage. Home batteries and pumped hydro in particular.
Wind makes sense in the southern states due to the low pressure systems in the southern ocean and their lower solar insolation, but solar and storage makes more sense in QLD.
Personal opinion, happy to be proven wrong.
Wind makes sense in the southern states due to the low pressure systems in the southern ocean and their lower solar insolation, but solar and storage makes more sense in QLD.
Personal opinion, happy to be proven wrong.
Ha ha… I think you’re joking
. The water never not flows, so it wouldn’t add anything interesting to the stats.Yep, SA does extremely well on the wind/solar balance. A renewable diurnal ratio of 0.88 is pretty extraordinary actually for a grid that has no hydro. VIC is only that high due to its hydro.
QLD insolation is great, and they have the country’s highest penetration of rooftop solar at 43% of dwellings, and yes the whole state will never be cloudy everywhere at the same time. That’s not the issue.
The issue is solar and storage, and QLD’s relatively small amount of hydro, is never going to get QLD off fossil fuels. The amount of storage that would be required is completely infeasible under current technology and probably under prospective technologies too.
Construction has commenced on Australia’s largest wind farm (a whopping 1 GW) near Warwick in QLD - and they’ll need a lot more stuff like this to put an end to coal.
Construction officially starts on the largest wind farm in Australia
Construction has started on the 1,026-megawatt MacIntyre Wind Precinct, the largest wind farm to ever be built in Australia.
electrek.co
what I meant was…the index shows for all other states that there is never a moment that renewables arent working in some form, however tasmania underperform here because their greatest renewable isnt considered in the index. Yes the water never stops flowing, which means tas have 0 minutes of no renewables. I get that its a sun and wind index, so maybe I shouldn’t be trying to think of it as an all renewables index?Ha ha… I think you’re joking
Correct. I invented this index merely to counter the oft-repeated talking point “but when the sun isn‘t shining and the wind isn’t blowing…” to demonstrate that it basically doesn’t happen. People ‘get’ that hydro is always available, but don‘t understand how wind and solar can do the same.
In Tassie’s case, SNSWNB reflects their relatively low penetration of wind and solar, but it doesn’t matter because 80% of their electricity comes from hydro so it’s a non-event. But SNSWNB would be quite serious in SA, since the only remaining source of power is gas and imports. So good thing it never happens in SA, a function of having a lot of wind and solar.
The stats for July, which historically has low renewable percentages due to reduced solar output (June is usually the lowest, with July not much higher). Despite that, for the first time Australia has recorded over 30% renewable power for July!
The renewable percentage is 2.4% higher than July last year, with peak renewable level 7% higher. The “hardness” levels (ratio of nighttime to daytime renewable percentage) were similar to June, just down a fraction.
Renewable energy generation for July - average for the month:
The renewable percentage is 2.4% higher than July last year, with peak renewable level 7% higher. The “hardness” levels (ratio of nighttime to daytime renewable percentage) were similar to June, just down a fraction.
Renewable energy generation for July - average for the month:
- National - 30.5%
- TAS - 99.8%
- SA - 55.7%
- VIC - 33.6%
- NSW - 24.7%
- WA - 23.6%
- QLD - 17.7%
- National - 58.6% on 30 Jul 13:30
- TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
- SA - 97.4% on 31 Jul 16:15
- WA - 67.0% on 04 Jul 14:30
- NSW - 62.4% on 17 Jul 13:30
- VIC - 61.5% on 30 Jul 13:30
- QLD - 55.9% on 27 Jul 13:00
- National - 32.4%
- TAS - 99.8%
- SA - 58.8%
- VIC - 36.3%
- NSW - 32.0%
- WA - 29.8%
- QLD - 21.6%
- National - 22.4%
- TAS - 99.8%
- SA - 50.2%
- VIC - 30.1%
- NSW - 17.0%
- WA - 16.8%
- QLD - 6.8%
- National - 0.69
- TAS - 1.00
- SA - 0.85
- VIC - 0.83
- WA - 0.56
- NSW - 0.53
- QLD - 0.31
- National - 5.4%
- SA - 8.6%
- WA - 8.4%
- QLD - 6.7%
- NSW - 4.5%
- VIC - 4.3%
- TAS - 0.9%
- National - Wind: 42.3%, Solar: 29.8%, Hydro: 27.9%
- NSW - Wind: 38.5%, Solar: 37.3%, Hydro: 24.1%
- QLD - Wind: 18.3%, Solar: 66.9%, Hydro: 14.8%
- SA - Wind: 78.3%, Solar: 21.7%, Hydro: 0.0%
- TAS - Wind: 12.6%, Solar: 0.9%, Hydro: 86.4%
- VIC - Wind: 58.8%, Solar: 19.4%, Hydro: 21.8%
- WA - Wind: 61.1%, Solar: 38.9%, Hydro: 0.0%
- National - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- NSW - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- QLD - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- SA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- TAS - 75 minutes across 1 periods
- VIC - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- WA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
The stats for August - a nice jump from July’s figures. VIC nearly hitting 40%! Which has never happened before… its previous record was 35.4%. Onya VIC!
Renewable energy generation for August - average for the month:
Renewable energy generation for August - average for the month:
- National - 34.0%
- TAS - 98.7%
- SA - 71.5%
- VIC - 39.5%
- WA - 27.7%
- NSW - 25.2%
- QLD - 20.3%
- National - 60.1% on 22 Aug 12:45
- TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
- SA - 97.8% on 05 Aug 14:45
- WA - 70.2% on 12 Aug 15:30
- VIC - 67.7% on 21 Aug 13:30
- NSW - 60.5% on 22 Aug 12:45
- QLD - 55.0% on 14 Aug 13:00
- National - 36.8%
- TAS - 98.8%
- SA - 74.5%
- VIC - 41.8%
- WA - 34.4%
- NSW - 33.3%
- QLD - 27.0%
- National - 25.3%
- TAS - 98.6%
- SA - 65.1%
- VIC - 36.4%
- WA - 19.1%
- NSW - 15.7%
- QLD - 7.1%
- National - 0.69
- TAS - 1.00
- SA - 0.87
- VIC - 0.87
- WA - 0.56
- NSW - 0.47
- QLD - 0.26
- National - 7.0%
- SA - 11.5%
- WA - 10.6%
- QLD - 8.8%
- NSW - 6.3%
- VIC - 4.7%
- TAS - 1.2%
- National - Wind: 44.9%, Solar: 33.0%, Hydro: 22.1%
- NSW - Wind: 39.2%, Solar: 46.9%, Hydro: 13.8%
- QLD - Wind: 16.9%, Solar: 73.6%, Hydro: 9.5%
- SA - Wind: 78.4%, Solar: 21.6%, Hydro: 0.0%
- TAS - Wind: 18.2%, Solar: 1.3%, Hydro: 80.5%
- VIC - Wind: 60.5%, Solar: 17.8%, Hydro: 21.7%
- WA - Wind: 58.3%, Solar: 41.7%, Hydro: 0.0%
- National - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- NSW - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- QLD - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- SA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- TAS - 45 minutes across 2 periods
- VIC - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- WA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
The stats for September. I might remove the SNSWNB index if it always says zero, its not telling us anything new! Maybe percentage of time renewables is less than 10% of generation? The percentages show only a small improvement from August, possibly due to extensive cloudy and rainy periods across parts of the country, so solar production didn’t increase as much as we would have otherwise expected.
Renewable energy generation for September - average for the month:
Renewable energy generation for September - average for the month:
- National - 34.4%
- TAS - 99.1%
- SA - 72.6%
- VIC - 37.8%
- WA - 27.4%
- NSW - 26.9%
- QLD - 21.1%
- National - 63.8% on 18 Sep 15:00
- TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
- SA - 96.7% on 27 Sep 12:45
- WA - 71.5% on 19 Sep 14:15
- VIC - 66.1% on 17 Sep 11:15
- NSW - 65.3% on 16 Sep 12:30
- QLD - 58.8% on 30 Sep 12:15
- National - 36.7%
- TAS - 99.2%
- SA - 75.9%
- VIC - 41.0%
- WA - 35.3%
- NSW - 27.0%
- QLD - 26.8%
- National - 26.0%
- TAS - 99.1%
- SA - 65.2%
- VIC - 33.5%
- WA - 18.2%
- NSW - 9.2%
- QLD - 7.1%
- National - 0.71
- TAS - 1.00
- SA - 0.86
- VIC - 0.82
- WA - 0.52
- NSW - 0.34
- QLD - 0.26
- National - 7.4%
- SA - 12.9%
- WA - 11.8%
- QLD - 8.1%
- NSW - 6.9%
- VIC - 5.5%
- TAS - 1.6%
- National - Wind: 39.9%, Solar: 36.5%, Hydro: 23.6%
- NSW - Wind: 32.8%, Solar: 51.5%, Hydro: 15.6%
- QLD - Wind: 14.9%, Solar: 74.5%, Hydro: 10.6%
- SA - Wind: 74.5%, Solar: 25.5%, Hydro: 0.0%
- TAS - Wind: 14.7%, Solar: 1.7%, Hydro: 83.6%
- VIC - Wind: 54.7%, Solar: 22.1%, Hydro: 23.1%
- WA - Wind: 56.6%, Solar: 43.4%, Hydro: 0.0%
- National - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- NSW - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- QLD - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- SA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- TAS - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- VIC - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- WA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
I like reading all the zeros
Stats for October. A slight delay due to a minor bug in my code.
The peak renewable figure of 69% on 28 October was an all-time record. Even QLD nearly got to 60%, all the other states over 70%!
Renewable energy generation for October - average for the month:
The peak renewable figure of 69% on 28 October was an all-time record. Even QLD nearly got to 60%, all the other states over 70%!
Renewable energy generation for October - average for the month:
- National - 36.1%
- TAS - 97.9%
- SA - 76.2%
- VIC - 37.8%
- WA - 36.7%
- NSW - 30.5%
- QLD - 22.3%
- National - 69.0% on 28 Oct 13:00
- TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
- SA - 97.4% on 28 Oct 17:15
- WA - 77.3% on 30 Oct 13:45
- NSW - 71.5% on 28 Oct 13:00
- VIC - 70.4% on 30 Oct 12:45
- QLD - 59.7% on 28 Oct 12:15
- National - 39.4%
- TAS - 98.3%
- SA - 81.0%
- WA - 46.4%
- VIC - 41.8%
- NSW - 38.7%
- QLD - 30.3%
- National - 25.0%
- TAS - 97.6%
- SA - 67.6%
- VIC - 31.3%
- WA - 23.3%
- NSW - 17.6%
- QLD - 6.7%
- National - 0.63
- TAS - 0.99
- SA - 0.83
- VIC - 0.75
- WA - 0.50
- NSW - 0.45
- QLD - 0.22
- National - 10.0%
- SA - 19.6%
- WA - 18.3%
- QLD - 9.6%
- NSW - 8.7%
- VIC - 8.2%
- TAS - 2.5%
- National - Wind: 37.2%, Solar: 42.6%, Hydro: 20.3%
- NSW - Wind: 31.6%, Solar: 53.0%, Hydro: 15.4%
- QLD - Wind: 15.5%, Solar: 78.4%, Hydro: 6.1%
- SA - Wind: 67.2%, Solar: 32.8%, Hydro: 0.0%
- TAS - Wind: 14.6%, Solar: 2.6%, Hydro: 82.8%
- VIC - Wind: 50.7%, Solar: 28.9%, Hydro: 20.4%
- WA - Wind: 49.9%, Solar: 50.1%, Hydro: 0.0%
- National - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- NSW - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- QLD - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- SA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- TAS - 15 minutes across 1 period
- VIC - 0 minutes across 0 periods
- WA - 0 minutes across 0 periods
I love this thread, and I came across this rethink disruptive talk on you tube about how easily and quickly solar, wind and battery (SWB) will replace the current grid. There is no need for other technologies.
Thanks for that. I haven’t come across RethinkX before. A pretty intense talk.
Our pollies (and nuclear proponents) need to see Tony Seba’s data.
Very interesting, although Tony Seba’s view that you just need more solar (seemingly not as excited by wind?), if I understood it correctly, doesn’t sit well with what I’ve seen in my stats. The states with the higher renewable diurnal hardness ratio (i.e. renewable percentages at night that are not too much lower than during the day) are the states with more wind power than solar, i.e. SA and VIC. And to me that says you’d need a lot less storage. Storage is more expensive than either solar or wind, so the closer you get to DH of 1.0 the less storage you need. Also the decorrelation between solar and wind generation is great for knocking off statistical extremes.
I’ll have a crack at doing his analysis but using SA’s 15-minute data that I have logged since 2020 and see what it shows. I think SA’s windpower will show it saves a lot of storage need, and that saves money.
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