The Australian Energy Market Operator, in its latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics report said that the level of curtailment in the state had been reduced to around 1 per cent of the unconstrained intermittent generation forecast, down from record highs of around 10 per cent in the previous quarter.
In the report, AEMO said the reduction in curtailment over the first few months of 2019 had been driven by increased availability of wind and solar generation in the region, comparatively fewer periods of high wind conditions, and changes to operating guidance.
Those changes have allowed dynamic levels of non-synchronous generation – ranging from 1,000MW to 1,460MW – based on the synchronous unit combinations available.
This compared to the strict rules of the previous quarter, that limited total wind and large scale solar output to 1295MW at any one time if there are not enough gas generators available to protect what it calls system strength.
Infigen is currently in the process of installing a 25MW/52MWh Tesla battery system at its Lake Bonney wind project, to provide frequency and ancillary services to the grid, as well as to store energy, allowing for “firmed” supply for its contracts with commercial and industrial customers.
The company had originally planned to have the first stage of the battery system completed in February and the second stage in May. But as Giles Parkinson reported here, connection delays mean it is now not likely to be completed until the September quarter.