It was once a common assumption in the utility industry and among solar skeptics that solar power could not supply more than 5% of grid electricity or the grid would fail. And by common, I mean it was conventional wisdom, except among sun loons. How times have changed!
In the latest watershed for the rooftop solar world, in Western Australia, rooftop solar recently supplied 72% of electricity to the grid for some time on a Sunday and 71% for some time a Saturday. This is particularly noteworthy since the Western Australia network is a completely isolated network – the largest completely isolated network in the world.
“The new records appear to have broken the previous benchmark set exactly one year earlier on September 10, 2021, when AEMO data shows peak penetration of 69% was reached,” Giles Parkinson of RenewEconomy writing.
Due to the large amount of solar energy (thanks, spring) and relatively low electricity demand (thanks, spring; thanks, weekend), the network operator, AEMO, noted that the weekend set minimum operational demand levels for the network — 759 MW on Saturday and then 742 MW on Sunday.
On top of all that, the network doesn’t even have a full-scale battery yet! One is finally under construction. For now, demand response systems are critical to managing the grid with all that integrated rooftop solar. “One of its main programs has been the so-called ‘Symphony of Projects,’ which is designed to orchestrate demand and generation from distributed sources, including encouraging load activation when the amount of energy Rooftop solar is driving demand from the grid down to levels the market says the operator are hard to handle,” reports Giles. It seems to be working for now. But Western Australia is expecting more from itself. .
“The WA government has brought forward the closure of the last of the state-owned coal generators and has committed to spending $4 billion on renewables, storage and grid upgrades that will be required.”
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