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Old 13-08-2021, 19:11   #1
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Renewable Energy Case History

The forum often hosts threads on renewable energy which often contain extremes of hyperbole regarding the desirability and simplicity of converting existing electricity networks to fully “renewables” generated.

The information contained in this post was extracted from a book called Black Out written by Mathew Warren. It's a good read and well explains how Australia got itself into the ongoing energy generation and distribution mess it finds itself in.

Australia is not a bad place to carry out trials of the implementation of renewables experiments it has a wide variety of weather conditions and thousands of “islanded” networks from which to choose candidates.

King Island in Bass Strait has a population of about 1,600 people and a small cheese making industry and being isolated from the rest of Australia in a very windy place was considered a good candidate for a renewables experiment and in consequence the King Island Renewable Island Integration Project was instituted by Hydro Tasmania.

Hydro Tasmania originally ran four diesel generators to supply electrical power to the island. In 1998 three small wind turbines were installed. The power produced was fed into the network via a regulator which responded to increases in power generated by throttling back the diese; generators. The savings in diesel fuel inspired Tassy Hydro to investigate further with an ambition to entirely power the island with wind generated AC power.

To increase the amount of wind power two more larger wind turbines were installed and a vanadium flow battery were installed in 2003. The battery was not included for bulk storage but for power fluctuation remediation purposes.

The battery failed fairly rapidly and a system of shunts installed to soak up extra power when the network could not absorb it. This is a wasteful process in that the diesels must generate a substantial portion of the power requirements to compensate for lulls and power dumped to ground during the gusts.

To increase the usable portion of power from “renewables” the battery was replaced with a more reliable lead acid type, and motor/generator flywheels were added. This combination of technologies then allowed the diesel generators to be turned off and the system has actually managed to run for two days entirely on “renewables”.

The King Island wind power experiment was successful because the project was placed in the hands of the engineers who, as they are inclined to do, responded rationally to the challenges thrown up during the experiment and consequently evolved a suitable design for the locally prevailing meteorological conditions.

The engineers appear to have solved all the problems related to the transfotmation of this small network and you can watch the King Island experiment at work using an Android app on your phone which can be downloaded from the KIREIP web site.
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Old 14-08-2021, 03:31   #2
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Re: Renewable Energy Case History

King Island has a world-leading hybrid power system that provides reliable and secure electricity supply using a high proportion of renewable energy (65% per annum). When conditions are suitable our hybrid power system delivers 100% of island's power from renewable sources, reducing diesel fuel costs.

The system has, on average, more than 20% per annum of 'diesel-off' or 100% renewable operation, including periods of several continuous days with no use of diesel generation, a world record for a grid of this scale.

The King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project (KIREIP)
About ➥ https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energ...es/king-island

Case Study ➥ https://www.hydro.com.au/docs/defaul...rsn=f3ad4828_2

More ➥ https://arena.gov.au/projects/king-i...ation-project/
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Old 14-08-2021, 04:06   #3
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Re: Renewable Energy Case History

Quote:
Originally Posted by GordMay View Post
The King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project (KIREIP)
About ➥ https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energy/hybrid-energy-solutions/success-stories/king-island
Contains the Real time energy dashboard, Ray mentioned, based on contributions from wind and solar and the enabling technologies that improve system security and reliability, such as battery, dynamic resister, flywheel and demand side management.
https://www.hydro.com.au/clean-energ...es/king-island
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Old 14-08-2021, 05:54   #4
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Re: Renewable Energy Case History

Maybe it has to be done by dragging "certain folks" along while they kick and cry but the world WILL go to renewables. Just hope its not too late...
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Old 14-08-2021, 06:05   #5
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Re: Renewable Energy Case History

Quote:
Originally Posted by RaymondR View Post
... The King Island wind power experiment was successful because the project was placed in the hands of the engineers who, as they are inclined to do, responded rationally to the challenges thrown up during the experiment and consequently evolved a suitable design for the locally prevailing meteorological conditions.

The engineers appear to have solved all the problems related to the transfotmation of this small network and you can watch the King Island experiment at work using an Android app on your phone which can be downloaded from the KIREIP web site.
Raymond makes a good point.

While scientists are best positioned to answer the essential [journalistic] “W’s”, engineers are certainly among those best qualified to answer the “H” [How].

[“Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How”]
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