From Melbourne's The Age newspaper
Energy giant AGL is preparing to mothball one of four units at South Australia’s biggest gas-fired power station as the influx of large-scale renewable energy and rooftop solar power continues to price fossil fuels out of the market.
AGL has notified the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) it will take the unit at its Torrens B power station offline in October, citing “challenging conditions” that do not support the viability of operating all four generation units.
AGL’s move is the latest sign of the accelerating clean-energy transition driving down wholesale electricity prices to the point where coal and gas are unable to compete, and comes as the federal government presses on with plans for Snowy Hydro to build a $600 million taxpayer-funded gas-fired power plant at Kurri Kurri, NSW.
Average wholesale power prices in South Australia fell sharply last year, from $122 per megawatt hour in 2019 to $51, according to the Australian Energy Regulator, which attributes the fall to high levels of rooftop solar generation and mild summer conditions. In the first three months of the year, the average cost of power per megawatt-hour fell below $0 between 10am and 3.30pm, when rooftop solar is a major contributor to the grid.
Quarterly volume weighted average price by contribution of price bands - South Australia
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| Source:Australian Energy Regulator |
The Right, which has spent a lot of time and energy complaining that renewables would drive up electricity prices, has been silent about this. I wonder when opposition to renewables became a litmus test for being conservative? I wonder how long it will take them to acknowledge the facts?
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