Wind and Solar Curtailment Jumps As Renewables Reach Record Levels

Curtailment of wind and solar generation reached record levels in South Australia in the latest quarter, amid record wind generation and the struggle to find gas generators which could stay on line as the price of electricity fell.

The Australian Energy Market Operator, in its latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics said that the level of curtailment in South Australia reached 76GWh, or about ten per cent of the state’s non-synchronous generation.

AEMO poses strict rules that limit total wind and large scale solar output to 1295MW at any one time if there are not enough gas generators available to protect what it calls system strength.

Source: Global Energy World