The chaotic delivery of wind and solar has left Australia’s Eastern Grid on the brink of collapse. The Eastern Grid connects Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. Reliable coal-fired generators have been knocked out of the game, made uneconomic thanks to renewable energy policies that direct more than $3 billion a year in subsidies to wind and solar, and which give wind and solar preferential access to the grid. The most recent losses – Victoria’s Hazelwood and South Australia’s Northern power plants – resulted in the removal of more than 2,200 MW of reliable supply, at a time when Australia needs it most. When the sun sets and/or calm weather sets in, wind and solar power output collapses, like night follows day. That (now routine) chaos has two immediate consequences: spot prices for power go through the roof; and the grid manager starts ‘dumping load’. For power punters, ‘dumping load’ manifests as load shedding (controlled blackouts) and sometimes blackouts involving less deliberation and design. The renewable energy zealots that hijacked Australia’s Energy Market Operator are less than candid about that relationship. STT, on the other hand, is only too happy to spill the beans – eg: […]

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September 3, 2018 at 02:30AM