News & Discussion: Electricity Infrastructure

[PeFe]

1414 picks up Port Augusta solar tower project, plans huge thermal storage plant

https://reneweconomy.com.au/1414-picks- ... ant-22559/

Post 658

[PeFe]

For second month in a row SA has lowest wholesale electricity cost.
From Renew Economy

Renewable South Australia posts lowest wholesale prices for second month in row

The renewable state of South Australia has recorded the lowest average wholesale prices on Australia’s main grid for the second month in a row, once again due to its dominant share of wind and solar which provided nearly two thirds of state demand.

According to data provided by the Australian Energy Market Operator, South Australia’s average wholesale price for the month of November was $50.86 per megawatt hour, which is about half its average of the previous financial year, and 20 per cent below the next best for the month, Queensland.

The price delivered in South Australia was almost 40 per cent cheaper than in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania, and came in a month where 59 per cent of the total generation came from wind and solar, and met 66.2 per cent of local demand.

In October, the state of South Australia – which now has a target of “net 100 per cent renewables” to be met by around 2030 – also posted the lowest wholesale prices in Australia’s main grid.

This is a significant achievement, because South Australia has long had the highest prices in Australia, which caused the state-owned utility to investigate wind power way back in the 1970s.

That wasn’t much of an option then, but now that both wind and solar are clearly the cheapest form of new generation, and cheaper and cleaner than even much of existing generation, the renewables are now coming on to the market at a scale where they can make a difference – even in South Australia where the market is traditionally dominated by just a few big players with considerable market power.


This table from AEMO (above) shows the average price over the month of November.

Dylan McConnell, from the Climate and Energy College in Melbourne, offers different data (table below), showing the “weighted” volume average for the month.



This still shows South Australia to be the cheapest on the main grid for the second month in a row, but takes into account the fact that more volume may have been produced when prices were high (in all states).

Wind made the largest contribution in November with 45.4 per cent, with rooftop solar providing 17.1 per cent and large scale solar 3.7 per cent. Various forms of gas generation provided the rest, with battery storage charging when prices low and generating only at peak times.



This graph from OpenNem.org.au gives an indication of the day-by-day contribution of the main sources – solar (yellow), wind (green) and gas (shades of orange). Purple indicates imports, but any generation below the zero dotted line indicates exports.

South Australia exported more than twice as much (126 gigawatt hours) than it imported (58GWh) during the month. When it did import, it was because the prices in Victoria were cheaper than gas generation in South Australia. It was not forced to import because of any supply shortfall.

This is the first time that RenewEconomy can find that South Australia has posted the lowest prices for two consecutive months (glad to be corrected if someone has better access to data).

It’s not likely something that will continue over summer, when soaring temperatures and increased demand will require more gas generators to be switched on, who will then set the price rather than wind or solar, and the price will go higher.

But as dispatchable generators come into the market – either more batteries, the first pumped hydro projects, and the two “back-up diesel generators are converted to gas and become “market players”, further downward pressure will occur on prices.

And then there are other initiatives – the proposed new transmission link to NSW that will unlock a raft of new big wind and solar projects, backed up with storage, in South Australia, and the introduction of synchronous condensers next year, which will reduce the need for the market operator to “direct” gas generators to switch on to maintain system strength.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/renewable-s ... row-12841/

[Nort]

Great news, hopefully we can start to see this reflected at the consumer level in the near future. On a national level SA having low power prices would be a great force to pressure the Federal Government on the inevitable move towards renewables.

[PeFe]

New solar farm and battery proposal for the Clare valley.
From Renew Economy

FRV applies to build 100MW solar and battery project in South Australia



Plans to build a 100MW solar farm with a 50MW/100MWh battery in South Australia’s Clare Valley have been submitted to the state’s planning commission for development approval, by FRV Services Australia.

The originally Spain-based FRV is proposing to build the Chaff Mill Solar Farm on two parcels of vacant farming land just outside the town of Mintaro, in the state’s Clare and Gilbert Valleys Council region.

The solar farm, which would include a 50MW/100MWh battery energy storage system, is planned for construction next to the existing Mintaro substation and its 132 kilovolt (kV) transmission line to Waterloo.

FRV says the project would generate around 250,000MWh of solar electricity a year and “make a significant contribution to South Australia’s energy production and stability of supply.



According to application documents, around 360,000 crystalline solar panels would make up the project, mounted on single axis trackers.

The panels, once mounted, would be no taller than three metres at maximum tilt, FRV said, and would not have metal frames, so as to reduce potential glare for neighbouring properties.

“The make and model of solar panel will not be decided until the period leading up to construction as prices can fluctuate significantly across suppliers over time,” the application said.

The company also claims the solar farm would create economic benefits to the local region, including the creation of up to 200 jobs during construction and around five ongoing full-time equivalent roles during operation.

The newly proposed project is just the latest for the Australian arm of FRV – or Fotowatio Renewable Ventures – which has been building solar farms around the country since entering its first ever reverse auction, held by the ACT government in 2012.

Full article : https://reneweconomy.com.au/frv-applies ... lia-17242/

[PeFe]

Bungala Solar Farm near Port Augusta having a few problems connecting stage 2 of the build to the electricity network.....130 mw connected another 90 to go.

From Renew Economy

“Technical problems” blamed for long delays at Australia’s biggest solar farm


The owners of what should be Australia’s biggest solar farm are blaming “technical problems” for the massive delays which have prevented the project reaching full production, more than a year behind the original schedule.

The Bungala solar farm – located near Port Augusta in South Australia and jointly owned by Italian company Enel Green Power and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund – is supposed to be the biggest in the country at 220MW (AC), or 275MW (DC).



It has been built over two stages, but while the first stage is operating at its full capacity of 110MW, the second stage – originally due for full commissioning in late 2018 – has been stuck at a “hold point” of around 20MW since early this year.

Delays in connections and commissioning have become common place in Australia for new wind and solar farms, due to a combination of the growing complexity of connection requirements, technical problems, and/or the overwhelming workloads on network owners and the market operator.

The delay to Bungala, however, is the most significant that we can find, challenged only by the Kennedy Energy Hub, the wind, solar and battery hybrid project in north Queensland that has been mechanically complete since late last year, and is still waiting for its generator performance standard.

The failure to secure the GPS has now led to a legal dispute between Kennedy’s owner Windlab and the EPC contractors Qanta Services and Vestas.

Enel Green Power, the renewable offshoot of Italian utility giant Enel, would not comment in great detail about the issues at Bungala.

“The delay is due to some technical problems at the connection point detected during the commissioning phase and we are now working to fix these problems,” a spokesman told RenewEconomy via email.

“We do not disclose our contractors.”

The contractor, however, is clearly Spanish group Elecnor, which boasted of the contract win in a series of stock exchange announcements in 2017 and 2018, in which it described the project as the “most ambitious such project to date” in Australia.

Full article : https://reneweconomy.com.au/technical-p ... arm-53289/

[PeFe]

Tilt Renewables has sold the Snowtown 2 wind farm (270mw) for a cool 1 billion dollars......no that is not a typo....one billion.
From Renew Economy

Tilt lands $1 billion deal for sale of Snowtown 2 wind farm

Listed renewable energy company Tilt Renewables has secured the sale of the 270MW Snowtown 2 wind farm in South Australia for the surprisingly high price of $1.07 billion in the biggest single transaction of its type in the country.

The sale to Palisade Investment Partners Limited and First State Super follows the start of a “strategic” review launched in June by Tilt which was looking to free up capital for a raft of new investment opportunities in Australia for wind, solar and battery storage projects.

The deal will see the sale of shares in the Snowtown 2 project worth $472 million, with another $611 million coming in the form of debt that was recently re-financed by Tilt, which also freed up some $86 million in capital thanks to the more generous terms. A sale price of around $800 million had been anticipated.



Snowtown 2 was commissioned in 2014 and has a long term power purchase contract with Origin Energy until 2030, with a five year option after that. There is a potential for a solar farm to be added as well.

It is the fourth largest wind farm in the country and this deal is the largest single transaction in the country – although the 420MW Macarthur wind farm has also recently changed hands, albeit in 50 per cent tranches.

Tilt will retain ownership of the neighbouring 100MW Snowtown 1 wind farm, which operates on a merchant basis and where it is also looking to add some 21MW/42MWh of battery storage, with a final decision expected in the next few months.

“We’re still hoping to put a battery in,” Tilt CEO Deion Campbell told RenewEconomy, adding that talks are continuing with the Australian Energy Market Operator over issues such as the existing generator performance standard.

But Snowtown – now with an extra $455 million freed up from this latest transaction – also has a raft of other development projects in the pipeline, including the 1GW Liverpool Range wind project in NSW, and the 300MW Rye Park wind project, also in NSW.

Other projects in the pipeline include the Waddi (140MW) wind and solar project in Western Australia, the Western Downs (250MW), Chewko (80MW) and Dysart (120MW) solar projects in Queensland, and the North Creek (330MW) wind project in Queensland.

Full article : https://reneweconomy.com.au/tilt-lands- ... arm-37120/

[bits]

Elizabeth City Centre with 6MW solar installed.

[SRW]

Noticed carpark solar going up at Castle Plaza the other week too. I'd rather no open air carparks but if they're going be there this is a great use of space and provision of shade.

[bits]

Castleplaza is same owner Vicinity.
It is 2.2MW.

[Jaymz]

From todays online version of The Advertiser.......

Work on Cultana Solar Farm to start within weeks
Recruitment will start soon on filling the 350 jobs needed to build the $350 million Cultana Solar Farm at Whyalla.

Daniel Stringer, The Spencer Gulf News
|
December 9, 2019 6:04pm

Work on the $350 million Cultana Solar Farm is expected to start early next year.

The 280MW project north of the Whyalla Steelworks, by SIMEC Energy Australia, is expected to generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes each year.

SIMEC representative Sean Kelly said work on the solar farm – the first project in Sanjeev Gupta’s $US1 billion renewable energy plan for the Upper Spencer Gulf – was expected to start in early 2020 and be completed by the end of next year.

He said the project would generate 350 jobs, with recruitment to start soon.

Corporation, will soon begin recruitment for this landmark project, with a particular focus on employing locals first,” Mr Kelly said.

He said a test rig of almost 200 panels had been established onsite, which would provide vital soil, solar and equipment constructability data.

It was announced in June that Chinese company Shanghai Electric would design and build the solar farm, set to be one of the largest in Australia.

The Cultana farm will provide power to the Whyalla Steelworks, and a range of government and commercial customers.

SIMEC Energy is a subsidiary of GFG Alliance.

[PeFe]

Lake Bonney wind farm battery in full production
From Renew economy

Infigen says Lake Bonney battery now in full production

Infigen Energy says its Lake Bonney battery is now in full production, taking the number of grid-scale batteries in the state to three, and the total in the main grid to five.

The 20MW/52MWh battery – made with Tesla Powerpacks – is situated next to Infigen’s Lake Bonney wind farm, which total 275MW across three projects.

It will join the original Tesla big battery at the Hornsdale Power Reserve (100MW/129MWh) and the Dalrymple North battery (30MW/8MWh) next to the Wattle Point wind farm, adding valuable storage options to a grid now dominated by wind and solar, and likely to head to “net 100 per cent renewables” by 2030.



The Lake Bonney battery had been expected to enter full service earlier this year, but like most other new projects in Australia has experienced commissioning delays.

The $38 million battery will source revenues from the FCAS market and storage and arbitrage from the neighbouring wind farms, where there is incentive to store some power in the battery if the prices are low, and sell later at higher prices.

It will also increase Infigen’s ability to provide “firm” electricity supply contracts to commercial and industrial customers. This graph below, courtesy of the Climate and Energy College and their OpenNem.org.au resource, shows the regular activity so far this month.



Infigen had a good month in November for wind generation, up 34 per cent over the same month in 2018 to 193,000 gigawatt hours. So far for the year to date, production is up 15 per cent, mostly due to the beginning of production at the Bodangora wind farm.

A fourth battery in South Australia, a 10MW/10MWh battery installation at Lincoln Gap wind farm is set to joint the grid in the new year, while Sanjeev Gupta’s Simec Zen Energy plans a bigger 135MW battery at Port Augusta and Tilt Renewables is also considering a 20MW/40MWh battery at its Snowtown wind park.

Alinta has also signed up to a huge solar and battery park., and the Tesla big battery is to get bigger, growing 50 per cent as part of a new plan to provide grid inertia, as well as the arbitrage, FCAS and system back-up services it currently provides.

Full article : https://reneweconomy.com.au/infigen-say ... ion-28087/

[PeFe]

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AMEO) has deemed the SA-NSW interconnector a "priority 1" infrastructure future build.
Should this be built it will set off another wave of solar/wind farms and batteries.

I am particularly exited about this one..Post 584.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1890&start=570

From The Lead South Australia

AEMO gives SA-NSW interconnector project top priority

MINING & RESOURCES
A $1.5 billion project to build a high capacity electricity interconnector linking South Australia and New South Wales has been listed as a top priority by interconnector the Australian Energy Market Operator.



AEMO today published its Draft 2020 Integrated System Plan (ISP), listing the 330kv SA-NSW transmission line at the top of its Group 1 Priority Projects.

The 900km interconnector linking Robertstown in South Australia’s Mid North with Wagga Wagga in central New South Wales is expected to provide grid stability and lower electricity prices in South Australia when completed from 2022.

Electricity infrastructure provider ElectraNet is planning the $1.5 billion 800MW National Energy Grid interconnector with its NSW counterpart TransGrid. The project was listed as Group 2 in the previous 2018 Integrated Systems Plan.

Other projects given Group 1 priority in today’s 2020 Draft ISP include upgrades to interconnections linking Queensland with NSW and NSW with Victoria and Increasing inertia and fault current in South Australian transmission networks.

South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining Dan van Holst Pellekaan said the project would increase stability and reduce electricity prices for residential and commercial customers.

“In essence AEMO has labelled the SA-NSW interconnector a ‘no brainer’ to deliver cheaper, more reliable electricity for South Australian households and businesses,” he said.

“South Australia currently only has interconnection with Victoria which puts us at the end of the line and vulnerable to the type system risks that saw the entire state blacked out in 2016.”

Modelling released earlier in the year showed that small and medium businesses with significant electricity consumption will save many thousands of dollars each year when the interconnector is energised.

The South Australian Government granted the interconnector Major Project Status in June with the NSW Government is declaring it Critical State Significant Infrastructure in August.

AEMO describes Group 1 projects as critical to address cost, security and reliability issues and should be either underway or commencing soon.

The Draft 2020 Integrated System Plan (ISP) provides an actionable roadmap for the efficient development of the National Electricity Market. It uses forecasts of demand and generation retirements, scenario modelling and comprehensive engineering analysis to develop an optimal development path for Australia’s energy future.

The draft ISP also found:

Rooftop solar capacity is expected to double or even triple, providing up to 22 per cent of total energy by 2040.
More than 30 gigawatts (GW) of large-scale renewable energy is needed to replace coal-fired generation by 2040, with 63 per cent of Australia’s coal-fired generation set to retire by then.
Up to 21 GW of new dispatchable resources are needed to back up renewables, in the form of utility-scale pumped hydro or battery storage, demand response such as demand-side participation, and distributed batteries participating as virtual power plants.
System services including voltage control, system strength, frequency management, power system inertia and dispatchability all need to be managed as the generation mix changes.
Targeted and strategic investment in the grid is needed to balance resources across states and unlock much needed Renewable Energy Zones (REZ).
AEMO’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Audrey Zibelman said the Draft lays out the future requirements of the energy system to deliver the most cost-effective pathway considering multiple scenarios for achieving a secure and reliable system.

“We’ve been working collaboratively with the energy sector on an actionable roadmap to manage a smooth transition that maximises benefits and avoids unnecessary costs for Australian consumers,” she said.

“To maximise economic benefits, as traditional generators retire, Australia must invest in a modern energy system with significant consumer-led distributed energy resources – such as rooftop solar – and utility-scale variable renewable energy, supported by sufficient dispatchable resources and well targeted augmentations to the electricity network,” she said.

The interconnector will play a critical role in exporting excess renewable electricity to the eastern states, particularly if several of the many green energy generation projects approved this year go ahead.

South Australia leads the nation in the uptake of wind energy and rooftop solar with renewable sources accounting for more than 50 per cent of the electricity generated in the state.

This followed the closure of the state’s last coal-fired power station in 2016, which initially increased South Australia’s reliance on energy supplies from the eastern Australian states, particularly in times of peak demand.

South Australia is home to Tesla’s 100MW/129MWh battery, which became the “world’s largest lithium-ion battery” when it was installed at Neoen’s Hornsdale Wind Farm in December 2017. Neoen this year announced it would expand the battery by 50 per cent.

http://theleadsouthaustralia.com.au/ind ... -priority/

[NTRabbit]

The Happy Valley Reservoir Solar Farm is proceeding, I drove past today down Black Rd and all of the pine plantations had already been cut down, save for a 40 metre deep curtain along the fence line.

Looks like they caved to the pressure of residents diagonally adjacent who liked to think they were living across the road from the Schwarzwald, they've reconfigured the solar layout to fit into a smaller area to keep that pine tree curtain, which disappointingly means less native vegetation

[PeFe]

New solar and wind farm proposal for Port Augusta.
from The Guardian

'Shovel ready': Spanish firm to put $500m into Australian wind and solar farm

Energy giant Iberdrola predicts renewables will take ‘much more relevant position’ in Australia in coming years – and hopes to develop further projects


Turbines at a wind farm: the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola plans to invest $500m in a wind and solar farm in South Australia as the first of a series of renewable power projects it wants to develop in Australia. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola says it has decided to invest $500m in a wind and solar farm in South Australia as the first of a series of renewable power projects it hopes to develop in Australia.

Iberdrola’s head of renewables, Xabier Viteri, said that in the new year the company would also probably increase its target for renewable energy from the “ambitious” target of 10GW by 2022.

“Our ambition is going to be a little bit higher,” he told Guardian Australia.

Renewables meet 50% of electricity demand on Australia's power grid for first time

Viteri seemed unworried by the hostility expressed towards renewables by some parts of the Morrison government. “All of us can work together and there’s not going to be any problem.”

Viteri said Australia was an ideal place to invest because of its high power consumption and stable market.

“It’s a place where renewables are going to play a much more relevant position in the coming years, clearly,” he said. “It’s a bit far away from where I am now, that’s the only problem.”

The project, the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park, has been under development by the privately owned DP Energy.

DP Energy’s country manager for Australia, Catherine Way, said the project was now “shovel ready”.

She said DP Energy would assist in building the plant but it would ultimately be owned and operated by Iberdrola.

The plant is to be made up of a 210MW windfarm, designed to peak at the same time as demand at about 6pm to 7pm every day, plus photovoltaic solar to provide electricity during the day.

It will feed directly into the South Australian power grid, but Way said direct sales to industrial customers were also possible.


Australia's emissions to start falling thanks to renewables boom, researchers say
Read more
She said demand from business customers was based on both a desire to decarbonise their operations and economics.

“Renewable energy electrons are typically cheaper than electrons where you have to pay for the fuel,” she said.

Iberdrola’s country manager for Australia, Fernando Santamaria, said construction would start next year and the plant should be complete by the second half of 2021.

“The combination of those technologies, it’s a trend we are seeing globally,” he said. “The wind profile matches very well the South Australian demand, and the solar provides the perfect complement.

“I think corporate, big customers, are becoming more and more interested in decarbonisation, getting cleaner sources of energy for their projects, for their consumption.”

He said future investments would likely be in the areas serviced by the National Electricity Market, which excludes Western Australia, especially the east coast.

But he declined to identify where Iberdrola would go next. “We already have some focus and some ideas,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... solar-farm

[PeFe]

Looks like we will soon know where SA's first pumped hydro plant will be.
From The Australian

Pumped hydro plant in SA next on energy list after gas power announcements for Victoria, Queensland

A pumped-hydro project in South Australia is expected to get the green light for the Morrison government’s energy underwriting program in 2020 after new gas plants in Victoria and Queensland were the first to be given initial approval.

Three pumped hydro proposals in South Australia were included on the shortlist of 12 projects hoping to obtain financial support from the government under the underwriting scheme aimed at lowering prices, boosting competition and increasing the reliability of supply.

The pumped hydro schemes include a Sunset Power and Delta Electricity project at Lincoln Gap, a Rise Renewables project at Baroota and a SIMEC Zen Energy proposal on the Eyre Peninsula.

Announcing the first two projects to gain in-principle government approval under the Underwriting New Generation Investments program, Energy Minister Angus Taylor declared he was “taking action to bring prices down.”

The government has agreed to underwrite APA Group’s 220 megawatt (MW) gas generator at Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast. It will also support a 132MW gas generator in the southeast Queensland town of Gatton.

Scott Morrison said it was critical the government move towards the “underwriting of reliable power into the system.”

“That’s particularly needed in Victoria, as we know, and so these projects have gone through a very extensive evaluation … There’ll be more projects which we’ll be announcing, but this is all about getting the reliability into the system.”

Mr Taylor said construction on the gas projects was expected to commence next year.

“The government will now enter detailed underwriting and contractual negotiations with the project proponents ahead of their financial investment decisions,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’re delivering immediate relief through our new price safety net and banning sneaky late payment fees but we’ve also got our eye to the future with projects like these.”

There are 10 other short-listed projects under the government’s underwriting program and there is also a proposal for a feasibility study into the power needs of north Queensland, including a coal-fired power station in Collinsville.

Mr Taylor told 2GB radio on Monday that he would support a new coal-fired power station if it brought power prices down without impacting the government’s emissions reduction target.

“The work is ongoing on north Queensland electricity and making sure we have got enough supply up there, and that includes feasibility projects on coal-fired power stations. That work will continue into the New Year. We will have more to say on that in the coming weeks and months,” Mr Taylor said.

“We will do whatever is going to get the outcomes … I don’t get overly caught up in which technology or which fuel source. It is the price coming down that we really need and I will use whatever tools I need to deliver that outcome.”

Anthony Albanese took aim at the government, saying that “we don’t have a national energy policy in this country.”

“Australia was one of the states that were arguing in Madrid for less action, not more. All the science tells us that we need to do more,” the Opposition Leader said. “When Australia has modest targets that it won’t meet, and goes to an international conference, and argues for accountancy fiddles, rather than actually taking action to really reduce emissions, then it undermines our capacity for global action.”

In a report on the National Electricity Market, released on Sunday, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission found the average power bill for households fell $65 in 2018-19 year compared­ with 2017-18, but there was little change for small and big businesses. Average household bills fell to $1509 in 2018–19.

But this was still about 20 per cent ($254) more than in 2007–08, and the average price for a unit of electricity drawn from the grid was about 45 per cent higher in real terms.

“That’s particularly needed in Victoria, as we know, and so these projects have gone through a very extensive evaluation … There’ll be more projects which we’ll be announcing, but this is all about getting the reliability into the system.”

Mr Taylor said construction on the gas projects was expected to commence next year.

“The government will now enter detailed underwriting and contractual negotiations with the project proponents ahead of their financial investment decisions,” Mr Taylor said.

“We’re delivering immediate relief through our new price safety net and banning sneaky late payment fees but we’ve also got our eye to the future with projects like these.”

Full article : https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation ... 38805296b1