Another Statewide Blackout: South Australia’s Wind Power Disaster Continues

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13 thoughts on “Another Statewide Blackout: South Australia’s Wind Power Disaster Continues

    • Yes, he’s right, we are essentially the same and power system (grid) physics works the same as in the US. One area we are different is our microfit solar panels are connected to th esystem through a seperate meter from the house. You get a check for power produced, and a bill for power consumed. However, he is quite correct in that if you put solar on your roof, you are stealing from your neihghbour. My qualifications, I was a power system “dispatcher”

    • The more of this intermittent generation we get, yes I would say it makes precarious. I mentioned this 6 years ago when the green energy act came into force. If you have a system collapse, as has ahppened in Australia, and has happened in our area several times over the last 50 odd years, you need substantial reliable generation to restablish transmission line connections (i.e. re energize transmission lines) from source to load. Since windmills (we won’t even consider solar) are far from the load ( the Golden Horseshoe) and are of small capacity ( 2 MW’s per machine or less) and unreliable, particulalry in a wind such as they’ve had, it can be near impossible to bring a system back up to operation again. Nuke plants can do it providing they don’t poison out before restoration is complete. Other wise you need hydraulic generation or coal fired (which we don’t have). We have numerous gas plants, but most, except for Lennox G.S., are too small to make a significant contribution.

  1. The problems that will be caused by sporatic windmill outputs into the Ontario grid have been explained over and over in many articles since 2004. One statement that always frustrates me is when I read some over educated idiot saying we need to stop spending on the nukes and put that funding into renewables like windmills. Hey ya bunch of dummies. We are upgrading the protection circuits to keep the spikes and surges and other dirty power fluctuations caused by the windmills out of the hydro or nuke stations so that the entire Ontario grid is not forced into another cascading crash. Just because the transformer or distribution station is near a hydro or nuke installation does not mean it is part of that generating station.
    Ask anyone in Cornwall where their power comes from!
    One of the world’s largest Hydroelectric generating stations is located in Cornwall and it is on baseload but it doesn’t feed Cornwall!
    Here’s a question for you know-it-alls.
    What province is paid to take Ontario electricity surplus and what Ontario city pays to buy it back at less than Ontario rates?
    Stan Thayer CET Alexandria

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