Australian Energy Market Operator

Energy market analyst Cornwall Insight Australia has flagged that proposed new rules for the operation of big batteries could have negative effects on the energy storage market, suggesting the changes could reduce the revenue streams available to batteries and cut their lifespan.

Solar generation in Australia’s main electricity grid has surged to record highs with the latest data from the Australian Energy Market Operator revealing that rooftop solar generation increased 30% in the second quarter of 2023 while grid-scale solar output rose by 37%.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has released a report identifying the key engineering and operational activities it plans to undertake in the next 12 months to help prepare the country’s main grid to operate with 100% instantaneous renewables.

The Australian Energy Market Commission says the regulatory process for new transmission network projects must be overhauled to strengthen social licence and speed up the multi-billion-dollar expansion of the grid that is critical to the transition from coal to renewables.

Record solar generation from both large-scale and rooftop PV is driving down the wholesale cost of energy, helping set new records for minimum demand for electricity from the grid and reducing emissions to record lows according to new data provided by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

The Australian Energy Market Operator will undertake a trial of real-time inertia measurement technology in Victoria as it looks to ensure reliability and stability across the electricity network as more renewable generators come online and coal-fired power continues to exit the nation’s energy mix.

The Australian Energy Market Operator this week released an update to its annual assessment of reliability, the so-called Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This has been reported as the market operator forecasting “power shortages”, or the network being “at risk of supply shortages”.

Renewable energy generation provided a record high proportion of Australia’s electricity mix in the final three months of 2022, supplying on average more than 40% of power in the nation’s main grid, eclipsing the previous record of 35.8% set in the same period the previous year.

With Australia’s energy system rapidly transitioning from a traditional dependency on coal-fired power generation towards a future built on renewables, the market operator has detailed the engineering roadmap required for the country’s main power systems to operate on 100% renewable energy more frequently and for longer periods.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has launched an online connections simulator designed to improve and accelerate the grid-connection process for new energy generation and storage projects in the National Electricity Market.