The National Electricity Market (NEM) is changing from “peak” and “off-peak” periods being determined by electricity demand, to when electricity is generated. As more massive coal fired power station are retired in the coming years, a system that was developed with base loads (mostly coal) and peak loads (mostly gas) responding to network demand, will become dominated by use-it-or-lose-it variable renewable energy (solar and wind) and storage (pumped hydro and batteries).
While high noon in Byron Bay occurs at a different time to high noon in Adelaide, which somewhat spreads solar generation across the network, there are many hours each day when the entire NEM is in darkness. South Australia, where almost a third of houses already have solar panels, generates so much solar energy in a short period each day that requirements for new rooftop solar, including the ability for them to be switched off remotely, were recently introduced.
The transitioning grid is driving exciting advances in technology that will not only change how, where and when electricity is used, but will also ensure “excess” electricity generation is transmitted or stored. Each coal fired power station retirement will remove a huge amount of generation capacity from the network. Just the next coal fired power station due to be retired (Liddell in NSW, in 2023 – 2024) annually generates more than ten times that of all of South Australia’s rooftop solar.
With many coal and gas retirements to follow in coming years, it will become increasingly critical that variable renewable generation is used, transmitted or stored, and not switched off.
You can find out more about Australia’s electricity roadmap here
Image: Scheduled power station retirements, AEMO ISP 2020
