Renewables

Taste of the future: Australia’s southern states at 50% renewables

Published by

Here’s a taste of the future: Last week, over the three southern states of Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia, the share of renewable energy was above 50 per cent for most of the time.

Prices were low, observes Hugh Saddler, the leading energy analyst from The Australia Institute, who provided these graphs. And in South Australia, where there was a very high share of wind energy, only four gas units operated on days such as Thursday and Friday.

The top graph shows the share of grid supply in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia, while this below shows the share in South Australia only.

Note that wind, from Monday on, accounted for a minimum 60 per cent of supply, and on occasions more than 100 per cent. Gas went up and down as needed – but note how little was needed from Wednesday through Friday.

The balance was maintained by the inter-connector, with exports as the wind blew hardest, and some imports when it pulled back slightly and offered a cheaper option than gas.

Here’s much the same thing in South Australia, with rooftop solar included in the graph below.

And here’s what the prices showed us. By and large, prices stayed around $50/MWh and below, apart from the occasional spike. And there were some negative pricing events, not including the midday negative pricing that was recorded in Queensland as a result of its solar production late last month.

Sadly, such low prices don’t last. As we saw on Monday, when the wind and solar back off, and the fossil fuel generators can create an artificial network constraint, they then have the market power to bid prices to the market cap in order to extract maximum value from the market.

Giles Parkinson

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and of its sister sites One Step Off The Grid and the EV-focused The Driven. He is the co-host of the weekly Energy Insiders Podcast. Giles has been a journalist for more than 40 years and is a former deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review. You can find him on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

Share
Published by

Recent Posts

“Miles lower:” Rooftop PV takes biggest bite yet out of grid demand in Australia’s biggest coal state

Electricity demand in Australia's biggest grid, and biggest coal state, hits a dramatic and surprising…

16 February 2025

Queensland pushes ahead with Borumba pumped hydro despite cost blowout and renewable pause

Queensland Hydro calls for submissions on its proposed Borumba pumped hydro scheme, despite government concerns…

16 February 2025

Australian company wins contract to design “hydrogen ready” high speed ferry

Australian ship builder wins roughly $270 million contract to design a 130-metre, "hydrogen-ready" high-speed passenger…

14 February 2025

Australians want renewables to replace coal, but don’t realise how soon this needs to happen

New survey confirms majority of Australians support replacing fossil fuels with a mix of firmed…

14 February 2025

Gupta to sell troubled coal mine in bid to save Whyalla steelworks – and state’s green hydrogen plan

Gupta to sell a stake in coking coal mine to relieve debt pressures and free…

14 February 2025

Energy Insiders Podcast: Are renewables back on track?

New data suggests renewable connections, commitments and commissioning are getting back to where they need…

14 February 2025