South Australia locks in federal funds to become first grid in world to reach 100 per cent net wind and solar
South Australia locks in federal funds to become first grid in world to reach 100 per cent net wind and solar
South Australia locks in funding deal with Canberra to ensure it can become first grid in world to reach 100 per cent net renewables via wind, solar and storage.
Wow that's amazing. Some key points from the article:
The funding deal – through what’s known as a Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement – means that the federal government will underwrite a minimum one gigawatt of new wind and solar generation capacity and another 400 MW (1,600 MWh) of storage – to ensure it meets its target of 100 per cent net renewables by 2027
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That does not mean it will be powered at all times by wind and solar. But the amount of wind and solar generated and stored each year will be equivalent to what it consume each year. The state will export power at times and import at other times, and can fall pack on existing peaking gas plants to fill in the gaps.
14No, I was told this sort of thing is impossible
6Liars do that.
Especially if they have a financial incentive.2
SA isn't an independent grid though
1That's what makes this possible.
Part of this funding is to underwrite a new interconnect with the NSW grid, to increase the SA grids ability to transfer power in and out.
Having those interconnects means when we have a surplus or shortage of sun + wind in one location, we can transfer it from somewhere else.
The plan even relies on the ongoing backup of gas turbines, which will be turned off 99.9% of the time, but still require maintenance etc adding cost to the grid.
But the plan is to have enough solar + wind + storage to go 100% net green over any given year.
3