SA power price burden from interconnector loss an event of the past, Australia Institute finds
When SA was cut off from the electricity market this year, the state had plenty of power but was forced to use more expensive generation. That’s unlikely to happen again, new analysis shows.
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High power prices when South Australia was cut off from the rest of the electricity market earlier this year is unlikely to happen again, new analysis shows.
When a storm blew over pylons in Victoria in January, cutting off the interconnector, SA was forced to turn off cheap wind power and use more expensive gas.
However, extra safeguards have now been built into the system in SA, analysis by the Australia Institute says.
“Infrastructure like SA’s three battery systems, four synchronous condensers and the upcoming NSW interconnector, will all help to reduce the state’s reliance on gas if SA is ever cut off from Victoria again, but more could always be done,” said institute analyst Hugh Saddler.
“New technologies like virtual power plants and wholesale demand response are innovative and very affordable ways to better manage electricity.”
SA continues to increase its virtual power plant capacity where residential batteries are linked together. It also has several demand response projects in operation.
A new report by the Australian Energy Market Operator into virtual power plant trials found they provided vital stabilisation, including SA stepping in when a coal plant in Queensland broke down.
“This included immediately charging and discharging batteries in response to frequency deviations,” AEMO executive general manager Violette Mouchaileh said.
Following the January loss of the interconnector, SA bore an extra $93 million in costs while the state was islanded, according to the State Government.
The Australia Institute analysis of the islanding found never less than five gas-generation units were on at all times while four wind farms were forced to turn off and others had output curtailed. This was required for security of supply but increased prices.
Separately, the Australia Institute surveyed 521 South Australians about developing a hydrogen industry.
An overwhelming 79 per cent backed the industry, particularly if the hydrogen was manufactured from renewable energy.
“SA has the potential to be a global hydrogen fuel exporter, but our research shows the concept will only receive public support if it uses renewable sources of energy,” said Noah Schultz-Byard, SA director at The Australia Institute.
Meanwhile, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a surge in SA jobs in renewable energy last financial year.
An extra 750 jobs were created in the year, taking SA’s full time equivalent jobs to 2560, with the biggest increase coming from solar projects.
SA held 10 per cent of the nation’s renewable energy jobs, higher than its population share of 7 per cent.
Nationally, jobs totalled 26,850 a 27 per cent increase on the year before.
Large-scale solar projects have been providing an increasing proportion of renewable jobs but rooftop solar still dominates, accounting for about half the total jobs in the sector nationally.
The ABS recorded 38 per cent of SA’s suitable houses having solar panels, just behind national leader Queensland on 39 per cent.