From Cosmos (8/12/23)…
Town finding new solutions to the problem of instability in a renewables’ grid
The central Australian town of Alice Springs – bathed in fierce desert sunlight – is on track to achieve 50% renewable power generation by 2030. But the good news is tempered by – of all things – the hugely successful uptake of rooftop solar in the town.
In Alice, distributed (or uncontrolled) rooftop solar now accounts for 9% of the power generated for the town up from zero in 2008, a terrific success story, though one not unique to Alice. Uptake of rooftop solar is high across the nation.
Unsurprisingly then, consumer demand for solar in Alice Springs is forecast to keep rising, even as gas continues to generate about 87% of the town’s power.
And there’s the snag: grid managers say more solar for Alice Springs will cause “instability” in the grid, where the amount of electricity produced is not matched to the amount being used. This comes on top of regulatory barriers and as part of a set of complex social “drivers” around power generation.
These problems are faced across Australia and much of the world – the electricity grid isn’t built for renewable energy.
