Sometimes moderating the comments section is trying. Some trolls get quietly and politely under your skin, and the best way to save yourself from a satisfying expletive-laden rant (that may get you sacked) is a measured blog post to explain the situation.
Reading those blog comments sometimes makes me feel like babies with full nappies are the only ones who relish change.
And for others, you need the patience of a saint and a lot of crayons to explain in a manner they’ll understand. The electricity grid is transforming as renewable energy sources, and advanced storage technologies reshape how we generate, distribute, and consume electricity. With innovative solutions such as battery storage and the integration of renewable energy generation, the grid is becoming more flexible, resilient, and sustainable. In this post, I will explore how these changes revolutionise the grid, reduce reliance on conventional inertia, optimise frequency control, and enable a transition to a cleaner and more efficient energy future.
Transitioning from Conventional Inertia to Inverter-Based Systems:
Maintaining grid stability and frequency control traditionally relied heavily on conventional inertia provided by spinning reserve capacity. Having flywheels, tons of metal spinning at 50Hz grid speed, was how it was done. However, recent advancements in inverter-based technologies, backed by batteries, have proven faster and more accurate in responding to disturbances and maintaining grid frequency. Australia has some scope to make improvements.
In South Australia, for example, the installation of 4 syncons (synchronous condensers) has allowed the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to reduce the required conventional gas-fired inertia from 300MW to just 80MW. These special flywheels offer really gutsy instantaneous response, like the anchor man on your tug-of-war team. They’re a great combination of old technology working in tandem with the inverters (coupled with batteries), which are now spread throughout the network, we can rapidly and precisely address disturbances, preventing system-wide disruptions.
Synchronous condenser installed at Davenport, otherwise known as the switch yard attached to the former Northern Power Station at Port Augusta.
The Role of Inverters and Batteries in Frequency Control:
During large disturbances, inverters backed by batteries are unmatched in their ability to respond swiftly and maintain grid frequency. They excel in controlling the rate of change of frequency (ROCOF), an essential factor in preventing grid instability. These advanced technologies offer unparalleled speed and accuracy by decoupling frequency control from large rotating generators, which sometimes struggle with oscillations and overshoots. Furthermore, Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) can be integrated with inverters and batteries to ensure the grid is quickly controlled.
Think of it like noise-cancelling headphones. When something goes bang unexpectedly, the system doesn’t end up ringing like a bell because digital-era electronics so accurately damp it.
The Shift from Spinning Reserve to Battery Storage:
The concept of “spinning reserve” is also aptly described as “waste” because it’s like having a train, with a spare locomotive following just a metre behind. There are all the costs (staff, maintenance, fuel, pollution) of running that engine, at full speed, without it doing any useful work. It’s just there in case of emergency.
But if we have a battery electric locomotive, it can always be coupled to the train. There’s no driver needed, and no fuel burnt or pollution made, while maintenance is little more than greasing the wheels… so it’s cheap. The spare loco can be programmed to act as brakes and energy recovery when going downhill, and if there’s a hill to climb, it will assist, instantaneously.
In the steam age, you just had a few more shovels of coal and more pounds of steam pressure available. That’s how it was always done in the past, but now that “pressure” is direct electrical current stored in a battery, there’s no waste heat and no need for a steam engine to turn it into power you can use.
The Rise of Distributed Renewable Energy:
The traditional centralized model of electricity generation, with a few dozen large power plants, is gradually giving way to a distributed network of renewable energy sources. Wind and solar farms are now scattered across vast geographic areas, ensuring a continuous power supply because maintenance, like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge, is carried out continuously on different sections of these facilities.
The resilience of renewables was demonstrated during events like the recent Lismore flood, where solar farms continued functioning while coal mines could not. This decentralized approach to generation enhances grid resilience and reduces the risk of large-scale blackouts caused by a single point of failure.
Fun Fact : The longest ever outage on the NEM, which is still ongoing, is Calide in Queensland. One of the newest steam turbines in the country had an utterly catastrophic explosion. Lodging a 300kg piece of shrapnel in the roof of the building, it was lucky no one died. The entire turbine, alternator, stator & rotor has to be replaced.
BANG. That’ll be two hundred million dollars thanks.
Moving Forward After The Lost Decade
Pumped hydro remains a valuable option for deep storage capacity, and hopefully, one day, Snowy 2.0 will be up and running. The evolving grid increasingly incorporates lightweight and fast-start generators, such as aero-derivative turbines and reciprocating engines like those installed by AGL to replace the steam plant at Torrens Island A. These technologies, characterized by their quick response times and flexibility, support the integration of renewable energy sources and provide backup power during peak demand periods or, moreover, lulls in wind generation. They use fossil methane but could be converted to green hydrogen, albeit with a terrible efficiency compared to batteries. There’s no magic bullet, but hydrogen only becomes viable when we have renewable electricity to burn.
Harnessing the Potential of EV Batteries:
As Australia moves toward a fully electrified car fleet, the substantial battery capacity within these vehicles can play a significant role in grid storage. Electric vehicles’ aggregated energy storage potential can provide a substantial buffer for the grid, allowing for increased stability and resilience. With nine times the storage capacity needed, the widespread adoption of electric vehicles represents an opportunity to leverage existing assets to support the grid while also soaking up energy that would otherwise be lost to renewable curtailment.
Once the whole light vehicle fleet is electrified, we should only need half of the cars willing to trade just 20% of their battery capacity to provide the storage we need in Australia. Being that these vehicles spend, on average, 95% of their life parked, it shouldn’t be hard to wire them up. Even easier will be the Janus model of heavy vehicle electrification. Using battery packs available for swap means there will be huge amounts of stationary storage batteries spread across the countryside being charged by renewables.
Charting the Course to a Cleaner, More Resilient Grid
As our electricity grid gets a twenty-first-century facelift, it’s clear we’re not merely tweaking the old; we’re pioneering the new. We’re shifting gears from inertia-laden past to an inverter-driven future, and from centralized powerhouses to a kaleidoscope of renewable energy sources.
Our path is paved with exciting potential – think battery-backed locomotives, resilient solar farms, and the transformative power of electric vehicles. But, as we know, many Australians have made it clear – through their voting and their blog comments that they fear change. For the rest of us, it’s a challenging but thrilling expedition. So, let’s navigate these changes together, not just moderating the grid, but modernising it. We’re stepping into an era of electricity that’s not just more efficient, but resilient and sustainable. Buckle up; our electrifying journey has just begun.
About Anthony Bennett
RSS - Posts
Yes, i understand that you need the patience of a saint to explain stuff to people like me. I was given a formula for working out whether my panels are efficient, but got totally stuck anyway. How about this for an idea?
If my friend 16 Km away has 40 new panels on her roof and I have 20, and she gets 4 times as many KWH‘s on any given, does that mean that my panels are getting too old? I dont lnow how old they are.
Many factors could account for that; orientation, bird shit, etc just two.
Probably means her panels are twice the wattage
Hello Robyn,
I haven’t seen any response to your dilemma yet so see if I can help …
the obvious answer is “maybe”, or “probably”.
Like us panels age, some at different rates to others.
The new panels may be more efficient from the start incorporating new technology.
The new installation ditto because the installer has more experience and is smarter than yours was – or he was when he did your job.
Shading, orientation, dust, smog, pigeons, spiders … are all factors affecting performance of the array.
So, what can you do?
Buy or borrow one of your friend’s panels and see if it can generate 1/40th of what she is getting then you will know for sure.
good luck.
I have recently replaced a ~15yo 2kW PVA with a split 6k6W array and am exporting 50% of what it generates so currently getting battery quotes to use some of the 14kWh/day going up the grid wire.
Other possibilities for lower output is shading and orientation.
Our house is on the lee of a hill with trees to the north east. We get very little power until around 10am.
The roof also faces north east so as the sun progresses across in summer the panels get very little late afternoon sun.
Apart from shading, aging, and bird poop, the double output per panel could be because you have old 250 watt panels, and she has new 430 watt units. It’s not enough to count panels, but panel count times panel rating is a fair comparison of the two arrays. If you’ll use the extra power, then it might pay to upgrade the old array, but you might have to upgrade the inverter as well. And if you’re on one of those old fat feed-in tariffs, you’ll drop to the new norm.
If you’re eyeing an EV, then filling the roof with panels is attractive. In the end,it all boils down to money, doesn’t it?
This is a very good explanation of how renewables will change the grid – and change the role of inertia.
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/babbage-from-economist-radio/id508376907?i=1000611619459
Thanks for this, it’s a a great article. I’m particularly excited about the prospect of ‘electric vehicles’ aggregated energy storage potential can provide a substantial buffer for the grid’.
Currently my perception is that few (any?) EVs on sale in Australia allow this, and that this seems to be impacted by warranty conditions that restrict this application.
If this is the case, then it’s a major barrier to this potential. What do we know about this, and how is it or can it be addressed so that the potential you’ve described can be realised.
Can’t thank you enough for this piece, I have many friends interested in the bigger picture, and this will be perfect for them as well.
Increasingly it seems like the grid is neither centralised nor de-centralised. ‘De-centralised’ suggest there’s still a centre, and you’ve shifted the locus of activity away from that centre. But there is no real centre in this evolving grid, as you say in the blog part of its resilience is there is no longer any single point of failure.
Given how many blackouts some areas suffer, or how unreliable power is, there may no longer be a centre, or multiple centres, for power, but there is a hierarchy of supply. Hospitals for instance are usually first for supply as I understand it, and of course the area around them benefits. Country and regional areas seem to be way down the list, and after some disasters can face weeks or months before power is restored. Can you imagine the public outcry if power in Sydney or Brisbane or Perth were offline for weeks on end? Politicians would be lynched!!!
I almost put lunched by mistake but I don’t think anyone would be taking politicians out to lunch if their power was off for weeks or months!!! : – )
Experienced just that in the floods early this year. I’m in a regional area, and the gas mains to the area was badly damaged by floods. We had no gas for weeks, and were boiling water on the electric stove to have something to wash with. It took a fair amount of throwing weight around by the local member to get action expedited.
Lots of people in West End, Milton and South Brisbane did lose power for weeks in 2022 and 2011 during flooding. I guess the public outcry that you ‘imagine’ wasn’t sufficient to even notice.
In June 2021 we were without power for 5 weeks here in the Dandenongs, just 43 km from Melbourne’s CBD. It seems to me that as Australia moves to a declared “Service Economy”, that just means more agents punching tickets for a fee, and rampant rate increses, accompanied by bank closures, council amalgamations, and overseas call centres.
Independent distributed power generation provides resilience in the event of natural disasters. And an increase in them is in the process of being added to death and taxes, on the inevitability list.
Mind you, Sweden’s new right wing government has just added nuclear to renewables as an option for replacing all fossil fuel use. The policy shift might be moot though, not because nuclear costs are enormous (it’s only taxpayer kronor), but a rector takes so long to build that twenty renewable installations are up and generating ten times the power, in a fifth of the time. And yes, CST is resurgent, supplementing grid-scale batteries and pumped hydro, so intermittency will be managed.
Brilliant.
Thanks for that. I for one didn’t know any of that.
Some will be dragged kicking and screaming to future, some will go quietly along for the ride and others will assist by adopting, utilising and contributing.
I chuckled to myself when discussing the wonders of the Kia EV6 with an old friend who is in the first cohort mentioned. Back in the day we both were self confessed petrol heads, spent $,000s on our “shitbox”s to make them go quick, and getting about 12 miles a gallon fuel wise. This meant a range of about 300 klms, even with oversize fuel tank. When I expressed amazement at the power, acceleration and speed of the EV6 he wasn’t interested until an ev had a range of over 600Klms. Clearly, his objection isn’t the range but the change.
Hi,
being a rural dweller, I think another revolution will be in Agriculture: I feel smaller platforms (tractors) that are robot controlled & able to run 24/7 quietly then interleave charging with site generated power & storage will be a huge reduction in Australia’s balance of payments. Mining is already going this way.
My other prediction is partial/full replacement of diesel in freight trains: perhaps Lithium Titanate supercaps can be topped up with sections of powered gantry line then have sufficient to reach the next powered section. Once a train is moving, which can be from a powered section of line, the power requirements would be much lower. There would need to be a backup generator (Ammonia powered?) for non-planned stops. This would mean most of the line could be unpowered.
I worry that Australia is not investing in alternative technologies as above. We are innovators, but most of the ‘new’ technology is imported. Poor farmers need to wait for specialists to repair their imported equipment: local design & manufacture can assist with that I feel.
Nice information, thanks. Don’t suppose you’d have a simple answer I could give my argumentative friends who quote the energy regulator, saying the recent electricity prices increases are due to renewables not being available at night.
The price increases are due both to more renewable electricity being available at times, and to it not being available at other times.
The grid operators need to make a reasonable return on their investments in wire, poles, insulators, transformers, etc. And to do maintenance and repair.
They use those capital cost and fuel cost numbers to calculate rates. Up to the point where the generators are never needed, they’ll have to continuously increase the price per unit of electricity as they sell less of it.
In Alberta, Canada they’ve separated generation, transmission, distribution, and sales, literally into separate companies. Everyone gets the same price for electricity generated at any point in time, but prices generally spike on windless nights, so even though the cost of wind + solar has gone down, the *average* price has gone up.
Imagine if all your restaurants were legally required to be fully staffed, fresh food at the ready and enough for everyone in town, 365 days a year, just in case?
And the transmission and distribution is billed separately, so what you pay for that is based more or less on how far you are from always-on generation, and it has to be large enough to handle windy and sunny days’ generation going the other way.
The whole thing is a house of cards that would come crashing down if storing electricity was as cheap as storing frozen summer berries. But cheap multiday storage is not likely in my lifetime, so the ‘transition’ will never completely end.
Hi Randy,
I’d invite anyone arguing about “a reasonable rate of return” to have a look at these links and see just what’s been going on with privatised monopolies, being regulated by bodies all staffed by industry insiders… pretending to be markets.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-power-networks-owned-by-billionaire-li-kashing-makes-four-times-more-profit-out-of-us-than-its-uk-group/news-story/d00954c420ee1173a7549360eac879b7
I like to have a more positive outlook on the transition because I genuinely want people such as yourself to see it come to fruition. My parents are in their 70s and they’re working towards it with 38kW of solar of their own because as primary producers they want a viable climate to hand the farm on to their grandkids.
Luckily I think we’re closer to it than many think, but we need to get cracking in any case.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/a-near-100-per-cent-renewables-grid-is-well-within-reach-and-with-little-storage/
Greg,
“Don’t suppose you’d have a simple answer I could give my argumentative friends who quote the energy regulator, saying the recent electricity prices increases are due to renewables not being available at night.”
Your “argumentative friends” are wrong. I’d suggest you quote them:
https://reneweconomy.com.au/acts-electricity-prices-to-fall-as-renewables-provide-shield-from-energy-market-chaos/
And:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-25/australian-energy-regulator-market-offer-electricity-price-rise/102385284
IMO, residents in the Eastern states of Australia (excluding ACT residents) are now reaping the consequences of more than a decade of incompetent energy policies by a succession of governments, both state & federal.
I just read about a new grid link being built in China.
1 Mega Volt DC over a distance of 3000Km, apparently very low loss.
Sounds like a few of those grids around Australia might be just what we need .
There is a distance and format (poles, underground, under sea) cost threshold that is the crossover point of HVAC and HVDC long distance transmission. For poles I have seen 750km mentioned as entering HVDC territory. The Morocco to UK is an interesting project as is SunCable. India may also be heading down the HVDC path for some of its grid modernization.
I talked to a local friend in the (old) industry, who raised the issue of Fault Current and believed that spinning machinery and transformers are a lot better able to handle it, particularly compared to say neighbourhood-level distributed inverter infrastructure. I haven’t read much about that side of things in the various RE blogs. How does Fault Current factor into an inverter, distributed world?
Hi Kiwinigma,
You raise a good point that I have had experience with first hand. When you build an off grid system with a Selectronic SpPro there is a very heavy transformer at the heart of the machine, and the way that it’s rated means that a 5kW/22amp nominal inverter will deliver 12kW/52amp in a surge. That capacity is gutsy enough that it will deliver fault current to open circuit breakers when there’s a short. Lightweight transformerless inverters aren’t so capable.
To explain there are kind of three ratings for a circuit breaker and two modes of operation. In straight overload, say 120%, the current means they get warm and a bi-metal strip opens the contacts to break the circuit. If there is a short circuit, perhaps 300%, then you want the breaker to open much quicker than a thermal strip. So for that there is a magnetic winding to flick the contacts open in an instant… and that function needs LOTS of current to flow under fault conditions. Hence you want a good path to earth and a stout supply and a protection device rated to break 6000amps.
In terms of local distribution we’ll still have local transformers in the network, backed up by local batteries, so there should be no real change in the way faults are cleared. However the synchronous condensers in the generation and high voltage distribution network are designed to stiffen the supply at the largest scale.
I’m not qualified to say but word is that the explosion of the generator at Calide was dues to protection circuits that didn’t work as designed. Conventional inertia or not things can still go pear shaped, but renewables will spread the risk.
Exackery.
Enjoy the ride and do what you can to help
Thanks Rod,
The frustrating part is that there are people trying to actively undermine the progress we’re forging ahead with, be it the dead end thinking of certain regressive Senators in Queensland or the regulated spending on networks that ensures fat profits for the monopoly network infrastructure companies (who constitute 50% of your retail bill) while people are obviously hurting from energy price rises.
Has SolarQuotes done an analysis of the proposed 10,000km of new transmission lines, guided by AEMO? I see some in the engineering community have come out to question at least some parts of it (particularly in Victoria), but I’d be interested in a wider SQ view?
Hi Nick,
For my mind there is a lot of NIMBYism going on at the moment with farmers objecting to transmission and fishers objecting to offshore wind. The thing is that climate is everyone’s back yard. The way I see it, transmission is a great way to diversify the supply. Instead of cycling a battery or pumping hydro, it’s easier and more durable to get energy from wherever the wind is up or the clouds have cleared. It would be cheaper to just tell everyone to use half as much power, but the punters aren’t going to accept that and many are struggling to pay for what little they use trying to heat badly built houses… it’s another subject for another time.
I asked Ronald what he thought and this was his measured opinion :
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/renewables-long-distance-transmission/
Now that interest rates are up and battery prices have gone back to falling, it’s only natural that some people are going to get antsy about whether or not long distance transmission will pay for itself. The good news is, even if it doesn’t provide the returns expected, it’s still a useful thing to have. It’s not going to be the same waste of money investing in a new coal power station would be.
Technology advances such as using electric vehicles to support the grid through V2H and V2G have the potential to greatly reduce the need for new transmission capacity. But I think the risk of not building extra transmission capacity that doesn’t pay for itself is outweighed by the odds of not building it and then discovering it would have been a really good idea.
As for the specifics of particular transmission projects, I’m afraid I don’t really know enough about the details to comment.
Thanks to you both, excellent information as always. I think the debate I saw was about the Humelink? Not about high transmission itself, just a couple of experts saying it’s a ridiculous waste of money and an existing corridor in the La Trobe valley would make more sense.
I’d be interested what your gut feel is about them pulling off the 10,000km of new transmission by 2030? I’m not confident, though would like to be. One of the reasons I bought a battery with my solar installation last year is as some buffer from what could be a rollercoaster ride on the grid in the next 5-10 years.I see AEMO says two-thirds of existing coal generation will be retired by 2030, and solar and wind installs are way behind schedule.
To be honest Nick,
I haven’t turned my attention to any particular transmission project beyond the NSW – SA link. That was cancelled by the previous Liberal Govt when they privatised ETSA. They wanted a less competitive asset which would command a higher sticker price, knowing the general public would be gouged by the new private owners because there’s less competition.
As for the new build capacity I like to cite two things, renewables are very fast to deploy compared to anything else and nothing would get done around here if it wasn’t for last minute productivity.
Hopefully this won’t count as a full pack of yummy crayons troll post! ; – )
While I fall on the skeptic side of the equation, a fair number of those I communicate with, at least those that actually discuss energy (albeit rarely), probably fall into whatever category is past skepticism. Coal power, gas, nuke, hydro (incl. pumped?), and other reliable technology is fine, sunshine, windmills and unicorn farts, not so much.
It strike me there seems to be one gaping flaw in this article. While it argues renewable energy + batteries can replace reliable energy (some folk might dispute that term given Callide etc but the point stands), it assumes the grid will continue. Why should Australians support a grid if it’s redundant and expensive?
Consider, with electricity at around 30c per kWh, 1 kWh per day per year for 10 years translates to just under $1,100. If an average 1 person household uses 9 kWh per day, a 2 person 14 kWh/day, and a 4 person 21 kWh/day that translates to almost $10,000 for a 1 person household, over $15,000 for a 2 person, and over $23,000 for a 4 person.
Note roughly two-thirds of households in my region have solar, and the average system is 5.9 kW according to SQ figures. With judicious use and a large solar system, actual ‘grid consumption’ may be closer to two-thirds of that average. YMMV.
According to SQ a BYD Battery Box Premium HVM 11.0 (kWh) costs $10,500, while 2x BYD Battery Box Premium HVS 12.8 (kWh) are $22,440. How much storage does a household need?
That doesn’t cover installation or a reliable backup generator of course, but at $1.40 per day there’s another $5,000 in savings if you go off-grid.
While the power rise this coming financial year is offset by the Labor handout, if there’s similar rises next year and no handout, what then, esp. if FiTs don’t rise?
What happens when a third or more of Australian households go off-grid – large solar + large battery + reliable backup generator? Can the grid survive?
Hi George,
I’m glad you’re aware that Calide is a glaring example that burning things, in incredibly complex steam engines, is indeed less. reliable. than. sunrise.
https://www.rewiringaustralia.org/
https://electrify2515.org/
Re the ability of EV batteries to act as storage for household use, last night was looking at the Hyundai Kona. It has Vehicle to load connection. If one had connection point in power box for a generator blackout backup, coukd the EV to load be plugged directly to this? A bit clunky but should work, right, even if just to power essentials during blackout.
Hi Neil,
It’s something I know people are already doing while we wait for proper V2G capabilities to come down in price.
The issue is that your V2L system in the car will likely have a “safety switch” function that looks for earth leakage. When you connect the house via an inlet socket, the MEN link in the switchboard is an earth fault as far as the car is concerned, so it will trip the V2L inverter off.
I think these problems can be solved with an isolation transformer, such as they use for boats plugged into shore power at a marina, but that will be another expense to consider of course. Look out for an upcoming blog post on the subject.
But is V2L adequate? For ability to synchronise with existing power, we surely need V2H or even V2G. With only V2L, I’d connect it to the Generator input on a Victron Multiplus II connected to the main distribution board, but ONLY on the master inverter and ONLY if off grid, as the Generator input becomes the new frequency master. (If I grok this stuff.) Dunno if a Selectronic can do it.
Might just be safer to wait for at least V2H.
Its highly likely a grid connection be supported via ‘involutary spending’. Taxes or mandatory connection
I can’t back this up with numbers, but have a strong feeling that the sweet spot future state for much of residential areas is semi-independent neighbourhood-level microgrids, with mostly solar and a neigbourhood battery, 2-way interconnected with each other to some degree (how? ac? dc? daisy chain? parallel?), and a much reduced and perhaps at most regionalised in physical scope generation-transmission-deep storage grid. That’s what I would trial in greenfield. But not being in the industry I’m sure there’s things I don’t know about that makes this less ideal or true – eg fault current and fault ride through. Also how things like industrial energy use, EV charging etc fit into the picture…
An excellent explanation of the overall basic issues facing our grid.
To me the only possible benefit we gained from the wasted decade of coalition knuckle dragging was how clear the major advantages of big batteries have become in efficiency and cost.
Thank you for this clear look at those issues.