Remote communities are particularly vulnerable to power disconnections during extremely hot days. Solar and energy efficiency measures could be the answer. (Photo credit: Canva).
The energy payback time for solar PV can be less than a year, meaning it will produce 20 times the energy needed to produce it over a 20 year lifespan.
Another near disaster in mid-April was the result of a lot of thermal generation – coal, gas and nuclear – being offline for maintenance, not renewables performing poorly.
Preliminary data shows culprits from last month’s load shedding were not variable renewables, but the sudden loss of a big fossil fuel generator, and human error.