SA probably had the best on shore wind of any state. I think he favours solar because it's so incredibly cheap
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National and State Renewable Energy stats
- Thread starter Vostok
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- wind energy
According to Lazard’s LCOE, grid onshore wind is only about 10% more expensive than grid solar (USD $35/GW vs $38/GWh) whereas grid storage is about 7 times that cost. So to me, going hard on wind is just as if not more important than going hard on solar, because it will save a huge amount of storage costs.
That’s exactly what I intend to do. I have nearly 2.5 years worth of 15 minute electricity generation data for SA. I can use that to produce SA’s “Clean Energy U Curve” and hence estimate how much more solar and wind capacity (compared to today) would they need to build to have 24/7 SWB supply at minimum cost. And the same for VIC.
Computationally it‘s not difficult to do, but I would need to write a chunk of code to do it. Watch this space (and give me a few weeks
)Solar does not work at night though, so you need wind or hydro or anything else for that.
That's why you need a 90 hour battery.
So at night, you really only need 12 hours of battery.
The economics don't quite translate to domestic, but let's say you applied it to your house. Total kWh / year divided by 365, let's say 15kwh. Then, solar to produce 60kwh/day (4x) on a sunny day would be about 15kw of panels and then a battery that supply 90 hours = 50kwh (or your EV)
Does it work?
Can't wait to see your resultsThat’s exactly what I intend to do. I have nearly 2.5 years worth of 15 minute electricity generation data for SA. I can use that to produce SA’s “Clean Energy U Curve” and hence estimate how much more solar and wind capacity (compared to today) would they need to build to have 24/7 SWB supply at minimum cost. And the same for VIC.
Computationally it‘s not difficult to do, but I would need to write a chunk of code to do it. Watch this space (and give me a few weeks
I have solar and battery. In WINTER i cannot make sufficient solar to fill my batteries, run the house, and fill the cars. This means I need more solar and more battery as the battery is usually flat by 10pm.
Equally in summer everything is full, house running with aircon and pool heated yet my battery lasts all night and is full by mid morning the next day, so its export all day earning a rubbish 5c per kwh.
The economics of that is I do not need more battery or solar for 9 months of the year, and to triple both for 3 months makes zero economic sense, not to mention lack of roof space. Having a renewable that works at night to fill my battery at night would be the optimum solution, and thats why SA utilises wind generation. Unfortunately there are no sensible residential wind solutions yet. I’m coastal so plenty of renewable wind about.
It's not a fight between wind and solar. I think the takeaway from the video is that you need more capacity, like 4x more than current coal based, and the most scalable, and lowest cost is solar, and the upshot of that is that most of the time you have 2x more power than you need ("superpower") and that is basically zero cost power. It's a whole new way of thinking.
I put solar on my yacht 20 years ago. Built my own MPPTs when NASA started pioneering it. Added a wind generator (max 800W) very quickly because solar was not enough for self sufficiency. We would spend up to 6 months away in the Pacific sailing and using minimal diesel. The wind genny was essential. However, these days we can pretty much manage without the wind due to much greater power output from solar. I'm converting from AGMs (dead finally after 11yrs) and putting in triple the usable storage with LFP.
Of course, sailing up near the equator is better for solar than wind. Whereas down in Sydney latitudes, things are a bit more balanced.
Anyway, those were interesting times and a good way to discover renewable energy!
Unfortunately, we did have to cook with gas but we had solar showers for hot water.
Of course, sailing up near the equator is better for solar than wind. Whereas down in Sydney latitudes, things are a bit more balanced.
Anyway, those were interesting times and a good way to discover renewable energy!
Unfortunately, we did have to cook with gas but we had solar showers for hot water.
The stats for November are in, and this is a milestone moment...
Australia has passed the 40% renewable level for the first time across an entire month!
And not by a little bit but by nearly 2%! Incredible scenes in energy trading rooms across the country…
This is thanks to VIC and WA both crossing this 40% milestone, and NSW coming quite close. Small scale solar generating 14% of the nation’s electricity is also a new record, as is SA nearly cracking 70% renewable overnight.
This just goes to show how much existing renewable capacity is being curtailed by the presence of fossil generators. When those sources are minimised due to the cost of the input fuels and supply chain disruptions… voila, latent renewable capacity is allowed to flourish!
Renewable energy generation for November - average for the month:
Australia has passed the 40% renewable level for the first time across an entire month!
And not by a little bit but by nearly 2%! Incredible scenes in energy trading rooms across the country…
This is thanks to VIC and WA both crossing this 40% milestone, and NSW coming quite close. Small scale solar generating 14% of the nation’s electricity is also a new record, as is SA nearly cracking 70% renewable overnight.
This just goes to show how much existing renewable capacity is being curtailed by the presence of fossil generators. When those sources are minimised due to the cost of the input fuels and supply chain disruptions… voila, latent renewable capacity is allowed to flourish!
Renewable energy generation for November - average for the month:
- National - 41.9%
- TAS - 99.7%
- SA - 77.7%
- VIC - 42.3%
- WA - 40.9%
- NSW - 38.8%
- QLD - 27.8%
- National - 67.9% on 21 Nov 12:45
- TAS - 100.0% on many occasions
- SA - 97.4% on 01 Nov 17:15
- WA - 79.8% on 27 Nov 16:15
- NSW - 71.3% on 20 Nov 11:00
- VIC - 67.6% on 21 Nov 10:45
- QLD - 62.5% on 12 Nov 12:30
- National - 43.6%
- TAS - 99.6%
- SA - 80.0%
- WA - 49.8%
- NSW - 47.3%
- VIC - 46.2%
- QLD - 36.3%
- National - 27.2%
- TAS - 99.7%
- SA - 69.5%
- VIC - 33.8%
- WA - 24.1%
- NSW - 20.7%
- QLD - 7.4%
- National - 0.62
- TAS - 1.00
- SA - 0.87
- VIC - 0.73
- WA - 0.48
- NSW - 0.44
- QLD - 0.20
- National - 14.1%
- SA - 23.8%
- WA - 22.5%
- NSW - 14.0%
- QLD - 13.6%
- VIC - 11.3%
- TAS - 3.7%
- National - Wind: 31.6%, Solar: 50.1%, Hydro: 18.3%
- NSW - Wind: 22.6%, Solar: 61.2%, Hydro: 16.2%
- QLD - Wind: 11.9%, Solar: 83.4%, Hydro: 4.7%
- SA - Wind: 60.8%, Solar: 39.2%, Hydro: 0.0%
- TAS - Wind: 16.7%, Solar: 3.7%, Hydro: 79.6%
- VIC - Wind: 47.8%, Solar: 35.4%, Hydro: 16.8%
- WA - Wind: 44.6%, Solar: 55.4%, 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 took inspiration from this thread and mapped out where my electrons came from across the states when I went to Darwin during winter.
Even with a fair bit of coal generation, and EV produced half the co2 of a petrol car for the whole trip
Even with a fair bit of coal generation, and EV produced half the co2 of a petrol car for the whole trip
'World-first': Renewable energy covers SA's electricity needs for a week
'World-first': Renewable energy covers SA's electricity needs for a week
'World-first': Renewable energy covers SA's electricity needs for a week
Its a bit confusing when the article proclaims renewables powered the state for a week but 5.9% of night energy was from gas
I get that the state produced 103% of its power from renewables, but its playing with numbers when the reality is 6% of the power was from a non renewable. Thats an energy source that cannot be replaced regardless of how much solar or wind is produced. When the gas is turned off, then SA can claim a week of 100% renewables.
Its a fantastic outcome for what it really is though.
Indeed. That’s because they are dividing in-state renewable generation by in-state demand, and not by in-state total generation, which is what I do.
It’s a bit of a nonsense to allocate every bit of renewable generation to in-state demand, because you could just as easily allocate every bit of gas generation to in-state demand. It’s like arguing whether roads are funded by fuel excise or income tax or company tax when it’s all just one bucket of consolidated revenue money. Same with electrons.
I think my method is more honest as well as unambiguous.
Looking through the history of SA’s peak renewable percentages posted here, it’s never been over 98% because of that minimum mandated gas generation in the state.
Having said all that, 98% is still pretty bloody impressive.
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