South Australia Hits 33% Renewal Energy Target 6 Years Early

ferrisoxide.com writes: South Australia has hit its target of 33% renewable energy by 2020, 6 years earlier than expected, delivering clean power to the state through investment in wind, solar and geothermal energy — mothballing one coal-fired power station in the process. Not content to rest on their laurels, the SA government has now announced a new "stretch" target of 50% by 2025. South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill declared that despite initial upfront costs to renewable energy generators such as wind farms, the 50 per cent target will not add one extra dollar to energy prices.

Comments

costs

[sr180]

Thanks to our privatized system we generally pay up to 30 cents per kwh. 50 per cent of that goes to network charges and a significant amount towards wholesale and retail profits.
Wind has been bringing down the wholesale price significantly - to the point that the coal industry has seriously kicked their political machines into gear to get renewables stomped on.

Re:costs

[volmtech]

If Florida adapts Australian standards my power bill triples to $600, one third of my income. I guess I could cancel my internet service, TV cable, cell phones, and insurance on my cars. Or just quit eating.

Re:Works particularly well in SA/Victoria

[TapeCutter]

Large scale grid storage doesn't exist in a cheap and efficient manner.

That's what hydro dams are for. They already use them as "batteries" for coal plants because the demand curve of a city is not flat like the output curve of a coal plant. The buffer provided by the dam doesn't stop working just because you swap out the coal plant for a solar/wind farm.

Re:Works particularly well in SA/Victoria

[durrr]

Go tell the managers of Hydro Aluminium that the renewable induced grid instabilities that costs them thousands of euros in equipment damage and then some more from lost work is great for their industry.
http://www.spiegel.de/internat...

Re:They need to get their shit together

[angel'o'sphere]

You are not able to read, are you?
The parent wrote: Solar thermal power
So yes: they would be able to power the whole USA exactly with the amount of power consumed.
some energy storage system
Surprisingly a solar thermal power plant has a storage ... molten salt usually.