Low carbon generation

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | NEM wind generation: Do birds of a feather flock together?

    With a growing expectation that coal plants will face early retirement, this week’s ‘Chart of the week’ examines the correlation between different wind patterns in the various identified Renewable Energy Zones in the NEM. As would be expected, there is a tendency of high correlation within the individual states, where...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | The GB renewables pipeline: Snakes and Ladders

    Through our Renewables Pipeline Tracker (RPT) service, we have been reporting on and analysing the growing renewables pipeline in GB for the past 18 months. This week’s ‘Chart of the week’ looks at the latest numbers in the pipeline and the key trends impacting renewable assets. RPT research is gathered through a...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Hungry ducks – Can we flatten the belly of the ducks?

    Rooftop solar installations have continued record growth in 2020, as reported by Clean Energy Regulator (CER) in its latest December Quarterly Carbon Market Reports. In the report, 3GW of rooftop solar capacity was installed in 2020, which is a year-on-year increase of 40%. This brings the total rooftop solar capacity...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | When less could be more – on the states’ green targets

    This week’s ‘Chart of the week’ looks at the impact of the states’ targets on the overall NEM’s demand-supply profile. We start with the time-of-day average generation profile in 2020; add the extra renewable needed for the states’ 2030 targets; but also subtract coal and gas that are projected to...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Slow is smooth and smooth is fast for the NEM transition

    Reporting season is all but over for the energy majors in Australia and that has left us with a bevy of takeaways on the sentiment for the not-so-distant future. A key thread among reports has been the current low-price environment in the NEM. This is a topic that we have...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Winds of change: Victoria and its unique afternoon ‘belly bump’

    To say the transition is well and truly underway in the Australian NEM is not exactly news. In the last year alone, renewables have delivered record shares in generation mix across the NEM. Whilst solar is the technology often in the news given its impact on both operational demand, mid-day...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Show me the future: can storage bank on FCAS being bankable?

    Previously we have examined the importance in FCAS prices for the revenue stream for batteries. With a growing interest in batteries in the market, this ‘Chart of the week’ takes a deeper look into the impact of bidding behaviour on the Regulation Raise price since 2012. From January 2012 until...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | REGO rebound: Prices to rise on COVID recovery

    We recently published the findings from the January 2021 edition of our Green Certificates Survey. The survey, which had 62 respondents from 59 distinct organisations, is designed to provide greater market transparency for Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO), Continental Guarantees of Origin (GoOs) and Renewable Gas Guarantees of Origin...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Gassed out: are renewables running gas out of the market?

    Last week, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released its ‘Quarterly Energy Dynamics’ (QED) report for Q4 2020. The report highlighted that operational demand has fallen to its lowest quarterly level since 2001; largely driven by mild weather and strong uptake of rooftop solar. Coupled with record high wind and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | December 2020: when Santa brought low temperatures & prices

    With just about half of summer left to go, many keen NEM observers would agree that it has been a pretty mild journey so far; at least as far as the NEM is concerned. But how mild are we talking here? In this 'Chart of the week', via a time-of-day...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to [dispatch]”

    We have had a number of contingency events this year that have stretched the electricity market to it limits including bushfires, high winds and high temperatures. These are all weather events that we can expect will continue into the future, putting continue stress onto electricity infrastructure (see CSIROs report). These are...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Out with the old? Capacity Market Prequalification

    On 11 December 2020, the EMR Delivery Body (National Grid ESO) published the prequalification registers for the T-1 (2021-22) and T-4 (2024-25) Capacity Market (CM) auctions. In this 'Chart of the week', we explore the prequalification picture for the T-4 auction and what this could mean in terms of pricing...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | A little [ price volatility ] goes a long way

    The year of 2020 is slowly ending which means that summer has well and truly arrived. However, for those with some connection to the NEM, this is a period where speculation peaks in terms of what summer has in store for us – and with good reason! Of all parts...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | Push it to the limit: the evolution of MPC & market tightness

    With summer officially starting last Tuesday, the National Electricity Market (NEM) is about to go through the season that typically has the highest demand. Market tightness usually seen during summer sometimes pushes power prices to their maximum level – the Market Price Cap (MPC) – currently set at $15,000/MWh. In...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Out of sight, not out of mind: DER record growth continues

    The growth in behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (BTM DER) has been a key feature of the NEM over recent years. BTM solar has grown from ~1-2% of total energy supplied five years ago to ~6% this year. In fact, looking within the day, the percentage of supply being provided by...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Market design concepts for offshore wind farms

    The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) published a position paper on offshore wind development in October, where it advocated applying a holistic perspective when choosing the market design concept for integrating large amounts of offshore wind generation. ENTSO-E considered three perspectives on market design: Market design...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | SA ducks in the news (again); what about the QLD duck?

    South Australia is back in the news again with the state achieving a world-first on Sunday, October 11, 2020. According to a recent update from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), between 12-1PM, solar power provided 100% of South Australia’s energy demand - a first in Australia and for any...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian chart of the week | SA shatters record: lets talk about the elephant in the room…

    As springtime rolls around in the NEM, those with interest in the market are always keeping an eye on South Australia to see just how low operational demand will go and when (not so much if) the record will be broken. This year has not disappointed. On 11 October 2020...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Don’t’ stop me now don’t stop me, ‘Cause I’m having a good time

    The news continues to be dominated by new renewable projects signing Power Purchase Agreements and the Integrated System Plan that is forecasting 28GW of new capacity is required by 2040. So if we are already seeing average curtailments for renewable projects of 5% across the National Electricity Market (NEM) in...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | To the left, to the left; is Liddell irreplaceable through the day?

    In Issue 52, considering the recent announcement from the federal government to build a 250MW (previously 1GW) gas-fired plant in New South Wales (NSW), we investigated price volatility trends in the state and the opportunities for storage to fill the impending energy gap when Liddell retires in 2023. In this...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Chart of the week | New to the party: Recent changes in Balancing Mechanism activity

    The Balancing Mechanism (BM), one of National Grid Electricity System Operator’s key tools to balance supply and demand in real time, has experienced a notable increase in activity in 2020, especially in light of the heightened challenges that have come from COVID-19. In the BM parties submit bids and offers...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Got your money; wind shaking up the merchant revenue order?

    Ideal weather conditions for wind and solar across the NEM in recent weeks saw renewables hit new highs in the National Electricity Market (NEM). A recent update from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) indicated that around noon on the 20th of August, wind and solar contributed 11.7GW - 46.5%...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | One of these things is not like the others: FCAS separation value

    Energy storage has been at the forefront of conversations resulting from AEMO’s newly released 2020 Integrated System Plan (ISP). The ISP states that 6-19GW of dispatchable resources are needed to support more than 26GW of new renewables. So where will battery energy storage fit in and where will they make...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | What might compete in upcoming Capacity Market auctions?

    The next round of Capacity Market (CM) auctions are set to take place in March 2021, starting with the T-1 (Delivery Year 2021-22) on 2 March followed by the T-4 (Delivery Year 2024-25) on 9 March. The prequalification window for these auctions have been open since 20 July 2020 and...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | I’ve got the (re)power: extensions & repowering in onshore wind

    With the release of our latest Renewables Pipeline Tracker Report, this week’s 'Chart of the week' analyses the report findings for repowering and extensions of onshore wind sites in GB. This sector of the market has not as yet seen the same attention from policymakers as new build. However, without...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | Don’t let the sun go down on me: solar in the sunshine state

    Previously, in Issue 45, we examined how wind and solar technologies are performing against (and impacting) the time-of-day price shape in New South Wales (NSW). In this Chart of the Week, we move further north to examine the situation in Queensland and the profound impact solar is beginning to have...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Offshore wind – OFTO the bank

    With the Government recently announcing the offshore transmission network review, this Chart of the Week takes a look at the recent trends in the OFTO tender process. The OFTO regime was established in 2009 by the Government and Ofgem. In many countries, responsibility for constructing and operating offshore electricity transmission...

  • Energy storage and flexibility

    Australian Chart of the week | A little respect (just a little bit): FCAS costs hit solar hardest

    Wholesale energy prices may have hit some of their lowest prices in years, but the total cost of Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) skyrocketed in Q1 resulting from the South Australian Islanding event. The islanding event threw back into the spotlight the importance of understanding the costs associated with FCAS...

  • Low carbon generation

    Chart of the week | Colours of the Rainbow: Green hydrogen and FES 2020

    On 27 July, National Grid ESO released the 2020 issue of its Future Energy Scenarios (FES), exploring different pathways towards GB’s 2050 net zero goal. A new set of scenarios were developed for this year’s FES, with three of the four (Consumer Transformation, System Transformation and Leading the Way) meeting...

  • Low carbon generation

    Australian Chart of the week | The wind and the sun: an old age quarrel… or friendship?

    Last week, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released the Q2 edition of its Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report. A key finding in the report is the reduction in wholesale electricity prices seen last quarter. With government-supported Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) being proposed especially in New South Wales (NSW), what...