Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
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Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#2TLDR battery storage can replace grid inertia (“ancillary services”) historically provided
by thermal generators (coal and various forms of fossil gas). This is a distinct service/capability from energy arbitrage and has its own revenue stream.
South Australia (where the Hornsdale Power Reserve was installed) runs a minimum of 80MW of fossil gas generation to provide these services (in concert with synchronous condensers), and this year the grid operator AEMO plans on lowering that minimum further, approaching a point where they’ll allow running on renewables and batteries alone around 2025-2026 (once a new interconnector with adjacent New South Wales is complete).
https://reneweconomy.com.au/remarkable-south-australia-may-s...
(also of note are new capabilities in battery and solar power controls that allow them to form grids independently vs simply following existing grid reference)
https://reneweconomy.com.au/aemo-to-fast-track-grid-forming-...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235246772...
Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#3TLDR battery storage can replace grid inertia (“ancillary services”) historically provided by thermal generators (coal and various forms of fossil gas). This is a distinct service/capability from energy arbitrage and has its own revenue stream. South Australia (where the Hornsdale Power Reserve was installed) runs a minimum of 80MW of fossil gas generation to provide these services (in concert with synchronous conden…
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Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#4TLDR battery storage can replace grid inertia (“ancillary services”) historically provided by thermal generators (coal and various forms of fossil gas). This is a distinct service/capability from energy arbitrage and has its own revenue stream. South Australia (where the Hornsdale Power Reserve was installed) runs a minimum of 80MW of fossil gas generation to provide these services (in concert with synchronous conden…
The cost however remains remarkably high. A combination of renewables and giant piles of lithium is more expensive than nuclear, by quite a bit. [1]
Anyways, the future is a mix of all sorts of things and this is a strict improvement so it's hard to be anything other than supportive.
[1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-energy-storage-would-have-to-...
Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#5The graph partway down is pretty interesting. In terms of grid battery capacity that's in the works, Australia is second only to China (albeit a fairly distant second). They're even beating the US in 3rd place, which also highlights how much we're slacking in this space.
If Australia is successful here, I wonder if it will spur more investment in places like the US. China is probably not a good bellwether since they invest in infrastructure projects like the money is burning a hole in their pocket and their unique political environment has certain advantages in terms of pushing through big projects. But if a country like Australia can leverage grid storage at scale, a lot of other countries probably can as well.
Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#6TLDR battery storage can replace grid inertia (“ancillary services”) historically provided by thermal generators (coal and various forms of fossil gas). This is a distinct service/capability from energy arbitrage and has its own revenue stream. South Australia (where the Hornsdale Power Reserve was installed) runs a minimum of 80MW of fossil gas generation to provide these services (in concert with synchronous conden…
The cost however remains remarkably high. A combination of renewables and giant piles of lithium is more expensive than nuclear, by quite a bit. [1] Anyways, the future is a mix of all sorts of things and this is a strict improvement so it's hard to be anything other than supportive. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-energy-storage-would-have-to-...
You’re assuming long duration lithium storage vs excess renewables with curtailment. Australia is going 100% renewables at a reasonable cost with solar, wind, hydro, transmission, and some batteries. No nuclear is required to decarbonize.
https://aemo.com.au/newsroom/media-release/engineering-frame...
https://aemo.com.au/initiatives/major-programs/engineering-f...
Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
The cost however remains remarkably high. A combination of renewables and giant piles of lithium is more expensive than nuclear, by quite a bit. [1] Anyways, the future is a mix of all sorts of things and this is a strict improvement so it's hard to be anything other than supportive. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-energy-storage-would-have-to-...
You’re assuming long duration lithium storage vs excess renewables with curtailment. Australia is going 100% renewables at a reasonable cost with solar, wind, hydro, transmission, and some batteries. No nuclear is required to decarbonize. https://aemo.com.au/newsroom/media-release/engineering-frame... https://aemo.com.au/initiatives/major-programs/engineering-f...
I'm not actually making that assumption, I linked an article with the numbers as [1] in an edit to my initial reply.
Nuclear is renewable :) [2]
But yes, adjusting demand is far more efficient than adjusting supply. However it seems there's limited appetite.
> No nuclear is required to decarbonize.
No but it's less expensive, and better from a space utilization and environmental impact perspective. It's the best energy source we have. Safest, cleanest and lowest carbon. And most reliable. [1] Not perfect, but better than anything else we've got.
[1] https://sustainablereview.com/nuclear-energy-is-better-than-...
[2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/07/01/uranium-s...
Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#8Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#9The fact that in the opening hook the author mistook the state of South Australia for a province just me doubt even more how close to reality this is.
Re: Australia is quitting coal in record time thanks to Tesla
#10TLDR battery storage can replace grid inertia (“ancillary services”) historically provided by thermal generators (coal and various forms of fossil gas). This is a distinct service/capability from energy arbitrage and has its own revenue stream. South Australia (where the Hornsdale Power Reserve was installed) runs a minimum of 80MW of fossil gas generation to provide these services (in concert with synchronous conden…
The cost however remains remarkably high. A combination of renewables and giant piles of lithium is more expensive than nuclear, by quite a bit. [1] Anyways, the future is a mix of all sorts of things and this is a strict improvement so it's hard to be anything other than supportive. [1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/what-energy-storage-would-have-to-...
It doesn't matter that nuclear is cheaper if you can't build a nuclear plant.
The difference is that a lithium battery facility can be installed and functional in 12-24 months. A nuclear plant takes 12-24 years.
Much like World War I strategies, a solution that nobody has the political will to implement isn't a solution.