News & Discussion: Electricity Infrastructure

[PeFe]

What??!! Source....Opinion masquerading as fact....my guess is that between midnight and 6am wind provides 30-40% of power in SA.

Not at all. A quick search of freely available information on the net shows power generation mix for the various states. Over the last month, wind has rarely achieved that amount overnight, some nights yes-calm nights no- even in SA. It has barely reached that level even durning the day...it has been comparatively calm on many days over the last few weeks. For the whole of SE Australia, it fares much worse. Opinion masquerading as fact?...then you say "my guess is that....?
My source? -Energy Matters has an interactive chart for all states and all types of generation including battery and rooftop solar- but there are other offical sites as well. As at 3;30 pm today SA time...you are generating negligible power from wind.-Solar is doing well today in SA at around 50% -must be a nice calm sunny day over there...but 50% is gas...and soon the sun is going to loose its strength in about an hour...good bye solar. The rest of the country is even worse...around 85% is coal, and gas except for Tassie hydro...100% in that state. Solar has completely dropped off in the Eastern states...it is 4pm there. On a weekday-the renewable PERCENTAGE of power use on a day like today would be even worse-so by 4pm...no renewables to speak of...you will need one hell of a battery to keep everyone in power for the remaining 15 hours until mid morning tomorrow.-Pumped hydro?...not sure the renewables would have pumped enough water today even if we could find enough dam sites.
Once again-I am not suggesting getting rid of renewables, they have their place in the mix, but we are being told renewables will be ready in 10 years or so to completely run the grid. We can't be designing a power grid by telling people when and how they can heat their hot water,- large scale industry certainly will not operate like that, they will just offshore where China and India are building coal fired power stations like there is no tomorrow.

South Australia is indeed much further down the path to renewables than the rest of Australia, 50% for the last 4 years, so I focus my discussion on South Australia (because this is a South Australian forum) and the fact that no where else in the country has gone so far down this path. (Sorry Tasmania you never made a transition from fossil fuels to renewables, you added some wind to basically a hydro power source)

https://www.energymagazine.com.au/2019- ... gy-uptake/

There is no contradiction between renewable power and industrial development.....Sanjeev Gupta is about to build a large solar farm to power his incredibly hungry Whyalla steelworks. He also plans a pumped-hydro plant in the Middleback Ranges and a large battery in Port Augusta. My money is on the battery making it to fruition......pumped hydro is increasingly looking less attractive (economically) compared to batteries....

Also Sanjeev Gupta has signed a "memorandum of understanding" with the South Australian Minerals Council. I do not know the detail of this agreement but my guess Sanjeev would like to sell a lot of power to the Roxby Downs and Carapateena mines.

Invoking China and India in the arguments is really irrelevant on lots of levels......China is a totalitarian state where "other" views are not tolerated....
India is less developed country with a totally different cost structure (ie wages) underdeveloped infrastructure and safety standards.

https://indianexpress.com/article/india ... than-coal/

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2116 ... strip-coal

https://stockhead.com.au/energy/india-e ... -the-dust/

[Spurdo]

I can say as someone who would be considered an “average person”, I would not at all be ok with going from having electricity 24/7, 365 days a year, to basically having a 1984 style Command Economy where I am told when I am allowed to turn on my Air Conditioner or take a shower. If this is the plan you renewables advocates have for the future, then I must say that you are going to piss off practically everyone in the country.

[bits]

I would not at all be ok with going from having electricity 24/7, 365 days a year, to basically having a 1984 style Command Economy where I am told when I am allowed to turn on my Air Conditioner or take a shower. If this is the plan you renewables advocates have for the future, then I must say that you are going to piss off practically everyone in the country.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that you will be forced to take showers or use your aircon at a certain time.
But there will continue to be cost signals used to encourage certain usage to certain times of the day.
That is what happened in 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014 and will continued to happen in 2024.

I also remember load shedding due to lack of generation capacity and equipment failures causing power blackouts since forever.
However load shedding and equipment failure appear to have become less often all while renewables have increased.

[claybro]

here is no contradiction between renewable power and industrial development.....Sanjeev Gupta is about to build a large solar farm to power his incredibly hungry Whyalla steelworks. He also plans a pumped-hydro plant in the Middleback Ranges and a large battery in Port Augusta. My money is on the battery making it to fruition......pumped hydro is increasingly looking less attractive (economically) compared to batteries....

Are you sue that Sanjeev is going to be able to run his steel mill on battery power alone overnight? To be honest I am not aware how much power his battery can supply over what time frame and what drawdown the steel works has over the same timeframe. Sure.. it will ride out the switch over to grid power which will, on a still calm night be operating on gas. I admire Sanjeev and his ability to keep a business case for the Whyalla steel works, and the community as a whole, but I suspect his foray into renewables is about making money from playing the electricity market rather than running his steel works. Is his solar array and battery going to be islanded only for the steelworks-or is it to feed into the grid?-If it is connected to the grid-I am suspicious that his motivation is more about playing the electricity market-and sure...the solar probably saves hime a fortune in daytime power, and offsets the steel works carbon emissions. Good luck to him, he is a great advocate for the Whyalla community. As for any pumped hydro?-There is not enough energy produced from his solar farm over the timeframe required to pump enough water to charge the battery and run the steel works.

[PeFe]

The information I have read on Sanjeev Gupta's solar farm indicates it will be connected to the grid and therefore selling electricity into the market. But how into the market? The reason I mentioned the Mineral Council's letter of memorandum is that I believe he intends to sell electricity directly (avoiding the retailer) to mining companies ie Roxby and Carapateena mines. I have no proof, or source, it is just a gut feeling.....and if there is any left over that can be sold at spot rates.

The Cultana Solar Farm is designed to be 280mw (thats a pretty hefty solar farm, not the biggest in Australia but still quite substantial)
The proposed pumped hydro at the Middleback Ranges was to be a 90mw times 4 hours.
How much electricity does the Whyalla Steelworks consume on an average day? I don't know....Does it run 24 hours a day at full steam or does it run at full capacity during business hours and then winds back outside daytime hours? Again I don't know.

I think there is some sort of clue in the capacity of the pumped hydro, 90mw, is that more than the average electricity demand at any one time during the day or is it about the evening demand? This may be confidential commercial information.

The proposed Playford battery at Port Augusta was touted as 100mw but with no other detail (10Omwh capacity or 100mw maximum discharge at one time?)

Even if the steelworks runs 24 hours a day I would presume the overnight production (ie between midnight and 6am) is very limited and therefore electricity demand is equally small.....you could just do a deal with a retailer for a very low price for that time of day. (Which is probably what they do now......why pay premium electricity prices at lowest demand time of day)

[PeFe]

SA Water is tracking well in its solar installations.
From Solar Quotes

SA Water’s Solar Rollout On Track



SA Water says it remains on schedule with its massive solar panel rollout, even given the challenges thrust upon it by COVID-19.

Back in 2017, the utility announced a goal of $0 net electricity costs by the end of 2020; with solar energy to play a major role. In early January this year, SA Water announced it was investing more than $300 million in solar installations over 2020 and 500,000 solar panels would be installed at 35 sites throughout the state during this year.

Then COVID-19 threatened to throw a spanner in the works.

However, SA Water says it and ElectraNet, have worked together to keep the ball rolling. ElectraNet owns and manages South Australia’s 5,600 kilometre high voltage transmission network and has been contracted to complete six large-scale substation upgrades. This work will enable surplus solar electricity generated by SA Water to be supplied into the National Electricity Market.

One of these upgrades is in relation to the third pump station on the Morgan to Whyalla Pipeline, at Geranium Plains near Robertstown. SA Water says approximately 19,000 panels at the 7.5MW plant will generate more than 14 gigawatt hours of electricity (assumed annually) and will connect to ElectraNet’s existing substation on the 132 kilovolt network.

“.. together with ElectraNet we applied new ways of working to uphold strict social distancing and hygiene standards, including the adoption of virtual meetings and reducing personnel numbers on site when completing and confirming isolations,” says SA Water’s Senior Manager Zero Cost Energy Future Nicola Murphy.

From An $83 Million Power Bill To $0
SA Water is one of the state’s largest energy consumers. In 2018/19, the utility’s electricity bill was a whopping $83 million. To go from that figure to $0 net so quickly will be quite an achievement.

To date, more 147,000 solar panels have been installed at various sites including the Bolivar Wastewater Treatment Plant, Adelaide Desalination Plant and Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant. With around 350,000 panels left to go, there’s a very busy time ahead.

Ms. Murphy appears confident given the progress already made under challenging conditions.

“Maintaining progress during the peak of the restrictions has held us in good stead and was so important – avoiding potential scrambles to recover lost time and regroup the highly skilled construction and delivery workforce that could have dispersed if they weren’t kept in work.”

All up, around 154MW of solar capacity is to be installed for the entire project, along with 34MWh of battery storage. Regarding the latter, there wasn’t any mention of how that side of things is progressing.

https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/sa- ... ut-mb1581/

[PeFe]

Victoria is now top wind power producer in Australia, relegating South Australia to second. This the way things will stay for the forseeable future until NSW builds a lot more wind farms.

From Renew Economy

Graph of the Day: Victoria blows past South Australia as top wind producer




A record month of wind energy generation on the National Electricity Market in May has also delivered a new leader in the volume of wind power sent to the grid, with Victoria creeping past renewables powerhouse, South Australia for the first time.

The new wind order was revealed in The Australia Insitute’s National Energy Emissions Audit for May, which notched up the highest ever monthly level of wind generation, according to report author Hugh Saddler.

The chart below, showing average monthly wind generation in each state, shows that Victoria has now overtaken South Australia as the state which usually has the largest volume of wind generation.



A relationship, says Saddler, that “seems certain to continue,” with several very large wind farms in western Victoria either very close to completion or recently commissioned and gradually scaling-up production.

In April of this year, three major projects – the Cherry Tree, Dundonnell, and the second part of the Lal Lal wind farm – started sending power to the Victorian grid.

And just last week, the first half of the massive 312MW Moorabool wind farm in central-western Victoria was completed, with Goldwind Australia announcing that the 50 turbines of the north section of the project would soon begin the process of connecting to the grid, while the first of 54 turbines in the second section, known as Moorabool South, was also now fully installed.

South Australia, of course, still leads in terms of share of total demand satisfied by wind generation with around 40 per cent in the last 12 months.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/graph-of-th ... cer-26148/

[SBD]

What might be the next big wind farm in SA, and what does it need to make it happen?

• Ceres Project on Yorke Peninsula - possibly waiting for Rex Minerals' Hillside Mine near Ardrossan
• Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park
• Twin Creek - opponents talk about destroying wombat habitat and the Barossa environment (50km away) - probably does less damage to the Barossa's reputation than a nuclear power station or waste dump in the Champagne region of France does to wine there.
• Palmer - appeals against the development were dismissed last year

[PeFe]

More details on the SA Water rollout of small solar farms and associated batteries.

From Renew Economy

Nine new solar farms and two big batteries proposed for South Australia



The South Australia state energy regulator says it has received proposals for a total of nine new solar farms, two of which will be accompanied by battery storage, to meet the zero emission plans of the state water utility and the state’s capital city.

The Essential Services Commission of South Australia unveiled the proposals on its website this week. All nine solar farms are sized between 2.4MW and 19MW, and are earmarked for a state already sourcing more than half of its electricity from wind and solar, and heading towards net 100 per cent renewables by 2030.

The bulk of the applications come from the state utility S.A. Water, which is in the process of sourcing the equivalent of all its electricity needs from renewables, and particularly co-located solar farms. Its aim is to reach “zero cost” electricity bills as a result of all the solar and battery storage that it installs across its facilities.

Its list of seven new solar projects submitted to ESCOSA include a 19.24MW solar farm at Bolivar waste treatment plant, a 15.5MW solar farm at the Adelaide Desalination Plant, a 3.675MW solar plant at Glenelg, and four solar plants ranging between 5.5MW and 7.5MW at pump stations along the Morgan to Whyalla pipeline.

The two biggest solar farms will be accompanied by battery storage, with both the Bolivar and the Adelaide desalination facilities to feature 70 battery units for a total of 12.3MWh each. In all, it aims to install a total of 154MW of solar and 34MWh of battery storage

Its principal suppliers for these newly identified projects are JA Solar for the modules, and SMA for the inverters. The supplier for the battery storage units – each of 176kWh – is not identified.

In addition, emerging retailer and business supplier Flow Power is proposing two small solar farms that will form part of its long term power purchase agreement with the City of Adelaide, and its promise to deliver the equivalent of all its electricity consumption from renewables.

The two projects include a 3MW solar farm with a maximum export capacity of 2.4MW at the isolated community of Streaky Bay on the western side of the Eyre Peninsular, and a 4.95MW solar farm with a maximum output of 4.46MW at Coonalpyn, between Tailem Bend and the Victoria border.

Flow Power will take the output from both the Streaky Bay and Coonalpyn facilities to support the deal with the City of Adelaide, which is also taking output from the Clements Gap wind farm in the state’s mid-north.

Both solar farms will feature ground-mount PV Jinko modules, Nextracker single axis trackers, and SMA inverters. Today Solar has been named as the EPC contractor.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/nine-new-so ... lia-13135/

[PeFe]

I really hope the Iberdrola Port Augusta project is not far from construction.

From Renew Economy

Vestas lands big wind turbine contract in Australia, most likely Port Augusta



International wind turbine manufacturer and developer Vestas appears to have landed the supply contract for the huge 320MW wind-solar hybrid project at Port Augusta in South Australia that is being built by Spanish energy giant Iberdrola and DP Energy.

The Port Augusta Renewable Energy Hub will combine 210MW of wind energy and 110MW of solar, and will be the biggest hybrid wind-solar project in Australia when completed, but will likely only be the first of many such hybrids planned for South Australia, particularly after a new transmission line is built to NSW.

Vestas issued a short statement overnight saying that it had received an order for a 210MW project in Australia that includes the supply and installation of 50 of its V150-4.2 MW turbines, as well as a ten-year management service agreement.

“Commissioning of the turbines is scheduled to commence between the third and fourth quarter of 2021,” it said. But it added: “The project and customer names are undisclosed.”

It was one of a number of turbine contracts announced by Vestas overnight – in an end-of-quarter rush – in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Only the Australian customer was not identified. Vestas did not respond to further queries, and neither did the Port Augusta partners.

But Port Augusta stands out as the most likely project. The 210MW wind component of the Port Augusta project is the only one that fits the scale, and the proposed timeline outlined by Vestas.

The go-ahead for the Port Augusta project, near the site of the state’s last coal fired generator, closed in 2016, and not far from the new Bungala solar projects and Lincoln Gap wind project, was announced earlier this year after DP Energy announced that Iberdrola had come on board and would finance the project.

The Bilbao-based Iberdrola said it had developed a 650MW pipeline in Australia after “spending several years studying opportunities there,” and the broader Asia-Pacific region and saw “tremendous potential” for growth in Australia.

Since then, it has launched an $864 million bid for the listed renewable energy developer Infigen Energy, which owns wind farms in South Australia, Victoria and NSW, as well as the Lake Bonney big battery in South Australia. It is now locked in a bidding war for that company with a consortium led by UPC Renewables.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/vestas-land ... sta-52148/

[PeFe]

Good news on wholesale electricity prices...going down....hopefully this translates to cheaper retail.
From Renew Economy

Renewables-dominated South Australia delivering cheaper power than Vic, NSW


South Australian consumers are starting to reap the benefits of the state’s world-leading renewable energy grid, with falling wholesale electricity prices in the state now delivering cheaper power than either Victoria or New South Wales.

South Australia energy minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said in a statement on Monday that the state’s wholesale electricity prices had fallen below those of its neighbouring NEM states for the first time in seven years, in time to deliver welcome bill relief during the Coronavirus downturn.

Van Holst Pellekaan said that the fall in wholesale electricity prices was translating directly into savings annual household savings of between 2.7 per cent and 5.6 per cent this financial year.

“Driving down the cost of living lies at the heart of the Marshall government’s policy agenda and cheaper electricity is providing significant relief for South Australian households and businesses,” the minister said.

“Cheaper wholesale electricity is very good news for South Australian businesses large and small and will assist our economic recovery as we emerge from the coronavirus lockdown.”



Pellekaan says the fall in prices meant Origin Energy customers would be saving a further $127 dollars off their electricity bills this year, while AGL Energy customers would get another $62, and customers on default contracts would save $85.

“The good news for this financial year is in addition to a 3 per cent or $62 fall in the average annual cost of electricity for households on market contracts during 2018-19 according to the SA Regulator, ESCOSA,” he said.

And ASX Base Future Contract Prices (see table below) showed the state looked likely to maintain its competitive position with other national electricity market states into the future, too.



Power price relief is particularly good news for South Australia, which has suffered from higher than average wholesale electricity prices – a phenomenon that is often blamed on its rapid and remarkable shift to renewables, but which in fact existed well before solar, wind, or big batteries came on the scene.

As RenewEconomy has reported on various occasions, the huge premium of South Australia’s electricity prices dates back to the turn of the century, due to the state’s unique position in the market, its weather patterns, the dominance of a few big players in the local grid, and its dependence on expensive gas.

In reality, as RE editor Giles Parkinson explained here, there is nothing scary about a grid with more than 50% wind and solar. Rather – with more energy storage and more “dispatchable” facilities – the fossil fuel industry’s stranglehold over electricity prices can finally be broken.

At this stage, the state sources more than 55 per cent of its electricity supply from local wind and solar, and is aiming for 100 per cent by 2030. The Australian Energy Market Operator is predicting that number could arrive early, and is rolling out an accelerated program to make sure it has sufficient control over distributed energy to deal with the growing share of rooftop solar.

Last month the government announced a new energy package to support this move, and to ensure this target is reached in good time. It includes a commitment to fast-track a new transmission line to NSW and allowing the market operator to effectively switch off rooftop solar to protect the grid.

At this stage, the state sources more than 55 per cent of its electricity supply from local wind and solar, and is aiming for 100 per cent by 2030. The Australian Energy Market Operator is predicting that number could arrive early, and is rolling out an accelerated program to make sure it has sufficient control over distributed energy to deal with the growing share of rooftop solar.

Last month the government announced a new energy package to support this move, and to ensure this target is reached in good time. It includes a commitment to fast-track a new transmission line to NSW and allowing the market operator to effectively switch off rooftop solar to protect the grid.

“The proposed SA-NSW Interconnector (Project EnergyConnect) will drive down the price of electricity in both states even further when it comes into operation,” said Pellekaan on Monday.

“Project EnergyConnect will reduce the average South Australian residential electricity bill by $66 and the typical small businesses bill by $132.”

https://reneweconomy.com.au/renewables- ... nsw-49456/

[PeFe]

The expanded Tesla big battery's testing continues......pumping 150 mw of power from a lithium-ion battery into an electricity grid. Claimed to be a world record.
From Renew Economy

Tesla big battery at Hornsdale delivers world record output of 150MW




The Hornsdale Power Reserve – more commonly known as the Tesla big battery – has set a new record for itself, and the world, in terms of output from a lithium-ion battery, feeding 150MW into the South Australia grid as it continues its complex series of tests.

The injection of 150MW occurred in the 2.25pm trading interval on Tuesday, July 21. It represents the maximum output from the upgraded battery, whose capacity and storage is being expanded from the already world leading 100MW/129MWh to a total of 150MW/194MWh.


We came across the milestone while checking out the OpenNem widget as we were digging up information for another story, and noticed the patch of blue in the table and graph above.

And so we checked back on the Hornsdale Power Reserve’s website, and sure enough, there is was. (see chart below)



The expansion of the Hornsdale battery will mean not just greater capacity, but also new services, such as delivering synthetic inertia and “grid-forming” capabilities that are usually the sole province of gas or diesel generators in the local grid.

The expansion of the Hornsdale battery was first announced by its owners, the French-based Neoen, iin November last year, and is being supported by the state government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. It began final testing in June.

As the company says on its web page, the expansion will make Hornsdale Power Reserve 50 per cent bigger and will deliver ground-breaking innovations to increase grid security and further unlock renewable energy performance in South Australia.

The battery has already drawn praise from energy companies, analysts and, most importantly, the Australian Energy Market Operator. So far it has improved grid security and reliability, prevented outages, led to lower costs to consumers, and delivered a handsome return to its owners. And it has also helped map out the path to a renewables-led future for the grid.

See Tesla big battery’s stunning interventions smooths transition to zero carbon grid

In June, a report from Aurecon noted that the Hornsdale Power Reserve had reduced costs in the main grid by $116 million through the provision of Contingency and Regulation Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS), an important grid resource.

In particular, the report noted, thanks to the Hornsdale battery, average Regulation FCAS costs have been reduced by more than 90% (from $470/MWh to $40/MWh), meaning major saving on energy costs in South Australia. As we wrote soon after its initial commissioning, it did not take long to smash the existing gas cartel in that state.

And the report also noted the critical rule in plays in helping prevent catastrophic outcomes in separation events, such as on November 16 last year, and in January this year, when the state was then forced to operate as an “island” for more than two weeks.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-big-b ... 0mw-26392/

And a big battery is proposed to be added to the Aurora solar project at Port Augusta.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/big-battery ... ort-10335/

[PeFe]

Testing continues at the Tesla Big Battery (still the world's largest lithium-ion battery)
From Renew Economy

Tesla big battery sets new record as testing for Hornsdale expansion enters final stage



The Tesla big battery at Hornsdale in South Australia is entering the final testing of its expanded capacity, and is achieving some significant new records and milestones that would be expected when the world’s biggest lithium ion battery gets even bigger.

The Hornsdale battery set a world record for a lithium-ion battery installation when it was installed in late 2017 with capacity of 100MW/129MWh. It has played an important control in providing frequency control and emergency back-up – both critical in helping keep the lights on during major network problems – as well as doing the normal storage thing of energy arbitrage, buying at the lows and selling at the peaks.

It is now being expanded to a capacity of 150MW/194MWh, and is adding new services, particularly synthetic inertia, that will allow it to replicate more of the services once exclusive to fossil fuel generators in South Australia, and allow the grid to take another important step towards the shift to the state government target of “net 100 per cent renewables.”

The expanded Hornsdale Power Reserve (its official name) is owned by the French renewable energy developer Neoen and located next to the 315MW Hornsdale wind facilities, and got the OK to connect last month.

It is now going through testing that allows it to progress through various “hold points” that it can straddle once the market operator is satisfied with the outcome.



On Tuesday, in the latest series of tests, the Hornsdale battery did a rapid 270MW flip – from charging at 120MW to discharging at 150MW. It appears to have flipped between the two on several different occasions (see graph above) – at least one of which had an immediate impact on the wholesale price of electricity, pushing it down to the peppercorn price of just above $8/MWh.

Those 270MW flips – from the level of discharge to the level of charge – are likely a world record in both speed and extent of the change. And it’s this flexibility of the big batteries such as Hornsdale, and others at Dalrymple North, Lake Bonney, Gannawarra and Ballarat, that is particularly attractive to project owners and valuable to AEMO, the market operator.

AEMO has on several occasions noted the speed, accuracy and flexibility of the big battery in responding to big frequency changes – often when a major transmission line trips or is felled by a storm. This happened on August 25 when a major transmission line was struck by lightning, taking the Queensland grid and the South Australia grid out of the main market.

The Hornsdale battery initially responded to the Queensland trip by helping arrest the frequency diversion in one direction, before immediately changing direction when the South Australia grid isolated and it had to charge, rather than discharge, to deal with an over-frequency event. It can respond to such events at a far greater speed than fossil fuel generators.

The new testing on synthetic inertia, or virtual inertia as David Leitch explains in this excellent piece on the work being done already by the Dalrymple North battery, will prove yet another critical grid service and function that can be delivered by inverter-based technologies, and remove another important brick in the wall of the incumbent synchronous generators. The industry, in Australia and overseas, is watching with keen interest.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/tesla-big-b ... age-65376/

[PeFe]

Lincoln Gap wind farm near Port Augusta to double its size.
From Renew Economy

Lincoln Gap wind farm looks to double in size, with 252MW stage-three plans




One of South Australia’s largest renewable energy generators, the 212MW Lincoln Gap wind farm and battery plant, is hoping to more than double in size, with developer Nexif Energy submitting plans to add more turbines, more storage, and expand the project by another 252MW.

The application, submitted to the state government and open for public consultation, seeks approval for another $500 million to be spent on stage-three plans, including the construction of a further 42 wind turbines of up to 206 metres in height and 6MW in individual generation capacity – which would be the biggest turbines in Australia.

The application also seeks permission for accompanying overhead connection infrastructure, a substation, and further battery energy storage and/or synchronous condenser units, to add to the 10MW/10MWh LG Chem battery being installed as part of stage two of the project.

In a separate application, Nexif is also seeking approval from South Australia’s Essential Services Commission to swap out just under half of the 59 turbines being installed in stage two of the project – set to commenced construction in September – to Vestas branded turbines.

The switch to Vestas turbines follows the appointment of the Danish wind giant as the turnkey construction contractor for stage two of Lincoln Gap, after the project’s former construction partner, Senvion, put itself into a form of administration in early 2019 – just as the first of Lincoln Gap’s stage 1 turbines started sending power to the grid.

And because of the switch, Nexif has also had to withdraw – temporarily – its application for regulatory approval of the 10MW battery has already been installed, but not yet switch on.

In an application to the South Australia Essential Services Commission, Nexif has requested a licence variation to change 24 of the 59 wind turbines already licenced and registered for stage 2 installation to Vestas 3.6 V136 models.

“The Stage 2 Wind Turbines will be supplied, installed and integrated by Vestas who is world-renowned for successful wind farm projects,” the ESCOSA application says.

“Nexif is registering this change with AEMO under its current registration and will confirm consistent capability with the current Generator Performance Studies.”

Vestas had already been engaged, in March of this year, to take over from Senvion and supply maintenance services to the 126MW first stage of the Lincoln Gap wind farm, through a 25-year Maintenance Services Agreement (MSA).

The wind turbine manufacturer has a strong presence in the Australian market and has established a turbine assembly and testing facility in Victoria, at the site of a former Ford Motor factory.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/lincoln-gap ... ans-56479/

[PeFe]

A proposal to integrate water heaters into the local grid according to demand.
From Renew Economy

How a virtual ‘big battery’ could get South Australia’s grid out of hot water

South Australia’s 200,0000-odd residential electric hot water systems could be transformed into a massive virtual battery to store the state’s cheap and abundant solar during the day and help solve grid stability problems.

Under a proposal put to the South Australian government by NSW-based firm Intellihub, residential smart meters would be used to dynamically control hot water systems, turning them into a sort-of solar sponge at times of minimum demand – often when solar generation is highest.

This would offer benefits for consumers, including saving them money on energy costs, while also taking pressure off the grid by providing enough combined demand at the right times and locations to help maintain the stability of supply.

Intellihub says the creation of a hot water virtual power plant could also provide a new platform for retailers to develop innovative consumer-friendly products, offering improved services and better control over energy costs.

The proposal comes as both the South Australia government and the Australian Energy Market Operator scramble to find ways to better accommodate the state’s world-leading distributed solar uptake, and avoid the need to take measures such as switch off large amounts of rooftop PV.

That sort of “last resort mechanism” was flagged by AEMO in its Minimum Operational Demand Thresholds in South Australia Review, handed to the state government in May, and released publicly in June.

The report noted that zero operational demand – where rooftop solar reaches the point where it effectively eliminates grid demand – could occur within the next one to three years and, unless AEMO has new powers to manage rooftop solar, presents a real danger of a major blackout.

As RenewEconomy editor Giles Parkinson explained here, AEMO has long planned a “roadmap” to introduce new standards, new technology and protocols to manage this growing resource, but the looming “zero demand” benchmark has forced it and the state government to fast-track their response.

And while AEMO has some near-term tricks and band-aid solutions up its sleeve, the South Australian government is doing its bit to find remedies through a Smarter Homes consultation on minimum demand solutions – the prompt to Intellihub’s proposal.

“Our proposal supports the use of energy rather than the loss of energy to help maintain grid security across South Australia,” said Intellihub CEO Adrian Clark in a statement on Monday.

“With intelligent scheduling and staggering enabled by smart meters, these systems can deliver a continuous aggregate demand of 200-300MW to help maintain grid stability when solar generation is highest.

“It works exactly the same way as a battery, soaking up energy when required, and releasing it when it’s needed. It creates value for consumers and the energy market, rather than eroding value.”

https://reneweconomy.com.au/how-a-virtu ... ter-10900/