|
I believe there is a major problem with the Victorian electricity market for renewable energy which needs to be changed so that we can move forward in positive ways instead of continuing on our current destructive path.
I'm will try to keep this as simple as I can.
Large Scale Wind Turbine Facilities connected to the grid use a figure of 35% to convert the installed capacity into the estimated power sent to the grid. This output is then divided by the estimated annual household power consumption to deterimine the environmental benefit of the turbines.
For example, the 34, 2 megawatt turbines of the Sidonia power facility are professed to be able to power 33,000 homes.
The reality is that wind turbines alone cannot power houses due to the intermittancy of their output, from zero to 100% of capacity. If houses were powered by turbines there would be both blackouts and power spikes in the same day.
Because the scale of the power generated by turbines is large, it cannot be stored, therefore other generators need to moderate the power of the turbines. They do this by ramping up the power when the wind stops or reducing output when the wind blows. There is a cost to providing this ancilliary power service and management that is currently not included in the price paid to turbine operators.
Because of the intermittancy of the wind power, and the need to provide ancilliary power to maintain the stability of the grid, the grid managers (NEMMCO) need to supply power to each region on a contingency basis. This means that they need to predict the maximum demand at each node. To predict the demand at each node they need to estimate the firm contribution from each generator supplying to that node.
For wind turbines the figure of reliable output used by NEMMCO demand projections is 8%. The projection above now drops from 33,000 homes to 7,550.
This is closer to the true benefit provided to the grid by wind turbines in Australia.
This figure is documented and published by the NEMMCO Load Balancing White Papers and is supported by the South Australian Planning Council Wind Report for the Electricity Supply Industry Planning Council. The WEPWG has highlighted these issues in 2005 and then NEMMCO provided their responses. These documents are complex and detailed, however they support all of my assertions. So what? You say.
Well, the problem is that we are paying them at the rate of 35% and discharging them from their downstream responsibilities and costs, once the unreliable power hits the grid. This does not recognise the true cost of wind power and it creates an artificially inflated market, or a market perversion which supports the building of turbines.
It also disadvantages other scheduled generators by the incurring of additional costs and the reduction of generating revenue.
As the figure of 8% is significantly lower than 35%, wind turbine facilities are misrepresenting their environmental benefits and economic impact.
Due to the perverted market for turbines, money and development is focussed inappropriately, to the detriment of more beneficial technologies. This represents a lost opportunity for other alternatives such as locally installed solar or community heating and power projects.
Please do your own research and convince yourself of the real benefits of wind turbines. If you are convinced of the voracity of my arguments, support me in my call for a: FEDERAL SENATE ENQUIRY INTO RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER PRICING!
|
