Originally Posted by
Snoopy
I am not going to let this one slide by. What is this 'maximum intermittent generation capacity?' I get it is related to 'total generation capacity'. But I think the calculation of 'maximum intermittent generating capacity may not be as straightforward as you imply.
For a start, why is all 'intermittent generation' being lumped together? It is clear that solar energy is best captured when the sun is shining brightest, It is also clear that wind energy is best captured when the wind is blowing strongest (up to a point anyway). But it is also clear to me that the time that the sun is shining brightest, is generally not the same timer as when the wind is blowing strongest. And it is certainly not true to say that how brightly the sun shines or how hard the wind blows are uniform numbers all over the country at any particular time. So it seems to me that what we need is some kind of 'correlated model' that mixes and matches generation patterns from different intermittent energy generation sources across time periods and across geographical regions. Do that and I suspect your 'maximum intermittent generation capacity' -as a percentage of total generation capacity- goes right up. This is all on the assumption that Transpower has sufficient cable capacity to move power from one end of the country to the other when required.
Thinking along these lines, I am of the view that most solar panel installations in New Zealand are set up incorrectly. Most solar panels just sit on the roof, matching whatever gabled angle the roof is constructed at. But the ideal angle for maximising solar power generation should exactly match the latitude of the site, which boutique Vodka drinkers will know is '42 below', - which translates to 42 degrees for 'centre of the country' Wellington dwellers (a much steeper rake than most roofs). Yet in my view, the solar panels should be at an ever steeper rake than 42 degrees. Why? Because in winter, the sun in lower in the sky. And from a national energy perspective, it is best to capture energy when it has the highest value, and that is during winter when demand is the highest. Thus although such high angle solar panel installations would be less efficient in terms of total energy captured, they would be more efficient in capturing energy at the time it was most needed.
Unfortunately the way the NZ energy market is set up, the gentailers pay poorly for excess customer generated electricity generally, and there are no bonus rates for micro-energy generated 'at the right time' from consumer sites. That means consumer incentivised electricity 'sell back' sales for peak power periods are destined to be an under utilized component in our electricity generation system.
SNOOPY