Worried the electricity system won't keep up over summer? Worry about coal. Seriously.
One of the four giant units at Victoria's ageing Loy Yang A power station broke down on Tuesday night at 11.05, taking out 230 megawatts, and then at 1.10 on Wednesday morning after being partially restarted, taking out what by then was 161 megawatts.
Turnbull labels coal opponents 'delusional'
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has mounted a defence of coal-powered electricity, saying those who think the resource doesn't have a future are 'delusional'.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has mounted a defence of coal-powered electricity, saying those who think the resource doesn't have a future are 'delusional'.
On New Year's Day, unit 1 of Millmerran in Queensland stalled, taking out 156 megawatts. On December 28, unit 2 of Tarong in Queensland stalled, taking out 314 megawatts. On Boxing Day, unit 4 at Loy Yang stalled, taking out 528 megawatts. On Christmas Day, unit 1 at Gladstone stalled, taking out 230 megawatts, then unit 1 at Tallawarra in NSW, taking out 187 megawatts. And so on, back to the start of summer.
When unit 3 at Loy Yang shut down without warning on December 14 taking out 560 megawatts and imperilling the entire system, the new Tesla battery 1000 kilometres away in South Australia sprung into action ahead of the coal-fired power station that was contracted to restore stability. It proved to be "dispatchable" in a way coal-fired power stations are not.
Age, heat and the steady encroachment of renewables are destroying the only advantages coal-fired power stations ever had.
When Treasurer Scott Morrison stood up in Federal Parliament and waved around a lump of coal in a stunt unworthy of his office, he said coal was an important part of ensuring a "more certain" energy future.
But he was speaking about the past.
Illustration: Dionne Gain |
When temperatures in control rooms get as high as 50 or 60 degrees the electronic control systems buckle and the boilers leak. Failures are inevitable, although unfortunately not predictable.
One of the four giant units at Victoria's ageing Loy Yang A power station broke down on Tuesday night and early on Wednesday morning. Photo: Bloomberg |
But in summer it's becoming impossible to know when and where coal-fired power stations will blow. They are becoming unpredictably intermittent, all the more so each year they age.
The biggest wind and solar farms are much smaller. While they require storage and gas peaking plants to fill in overnight and when the wind's not blowing, they don't need anything like as much back-up for when mechanical problems knock them out of service.
Output of Loy Yang A Power Station, December 26, 2017 Photo: Australia Institute |
A future without coal-fired power stations is inevitable, and entirely manageable. Wind accounts for 40 per cent of South Australia's electricity supply, 8.5 per cent of Victoria's supply, and 2.8 per cent of the NSW supply. One of the many reasons no new coal-fired power stations will be financed or built is they are not well-suited to filling in gaps.
Output of Tarong Power Station, December 28, 2017 Photo: Australia Institute |
The Turnbull government's proposed national energy guarantee would require retailers to ensure that a certain amount of the electricity they line up is dispatchable. Critics took this to be a code word for coal, but it can't be, not unless Turnbull wants to misuse the word. Battery storage, pumped hydro, molten salt solar plants that can fire up overnight, and gas peaking plants are far more dispatchable.
And they are more reliable. The more we move away from coal the more secure our power system becomes.
Links
- 'Worse than Liddell': Another coal-fired plant starts tripping
- Cooking the books on climate change policy
- Audit Office Slams Australia’s Dud Investments In “Clean Coal”
- NSW Coal Mines In The Pipeline Are 'Bigger Than Adani', Lock The Gate Says
- Coal-Fired Plant Shifted $1bn Offshore While Pocketing $117m From Australian Taxpayers
- One of the World's Biggest Miners Is About To Go Coal-Free
- A Coal-Based Grid In 2030 Will Make Australia Un-Competitive
- Coal Use Must 'Pretty Much' Be Gone By 2050 To Curb Sea-Level Rise, Researchers Say
- One In Seven Coal Power Plant Owners Are Heading For The Exit
- The World Is Going Slow On Coal, But Misinformation Is Distorting The Facts
- Australia Debates: Does A Warming Planet Really Need More Coal?
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