Australian Daily Wind Power Generation Data – Tuesday 18 May 2021

Posted on Wed 05/19/2021 by

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By Anton Lang ~

This Post details the daily wind power generation data for the AEMO coverage area in Australia. For the background information, refer to the Introductory Post at this link.

Each image is shown here at a smaller size to fit on the page alongside the data for that day. If you click on each image, it will open on a new page and at a larger size so you can better see the detail.

Note also that on some days, there will be a scale change for the main wind power image, and that even though images may look similar in shape for the power generation black line on the graph when compared to other days, that scale (the total power shown on the left hand vertical axis) has been changed to show the graph at a larger size to better fit the image for that graph.

Tuesday 18 May 2021

Total Wind Power Generation

This image shows the total power generated across the whole day by every wind plant in this vast AEMO coverage area for Australia.

The total Nameplate for all these wind plants changes as each new wind plant comes on line delivering power to the grid. That current Nameplate is 8587MW, and this is from the current total of 69 wind plants.

Note that the shape of this wind power load curve does not follow the shape of the main load curve for total power generation, and that is seen in the image below, the solid black line across the top of the image for that graph. Wind power generates its power only when the wind is blowing, hence it does not follow the actual power generation Load Curve, which is also the the exact same shaped curve as for actual power consumption.

For this data, I have added the times for the daily minimum, and the daily maximum, to show how they do not correlate with the actual times of minimum power consumption (around 4AM each day) and maximum power consumption, the evening Peak. (at around 6.40PM in Winter and earlier during the Summer Months.)

Daily Minimum – 818MW (4.40PM)

Daily Maximum – 1977MW (11.55PM)

Average Wind Generation – 1210MW

Total Generated Power – 29.04GWH

Percentage Supplied By Wind Power At The Low Point For The Day – 3.2%

Percentage Supplied By Wind Power At Peak Power For The Day – 884MW of 28060MW – 6.05PM – 3.15%

Average Percentage Of Overall Total Power Generation – 4.9%

Daily Operational Capacity Factor – 14.09%

Wind Power Generation Versus Total Power Generation

This image shows the total power generated from all the wind plants in this AEMO coverage area, and compares it to the overall total generated power from every source of power generation, which is the black line at the top of the graph. Wind power is the green coloured area, along the bottom of this graph.

While the green colour in this image looks to be a different shape to the graph above, keep in mind here that the scale is completely different, and that green coloured Wind total is the same as for the image shown above, only with the scale changed so it can fit onto the graph.

Notes

  1. Finding Wind Power Average – On the graph, there are 25 hourly time points, starting with midnight and finishing with midnight. I have added the total at each of those hourly time points together, and divided the resultant total by 25 to give an average in MegaWatts. (MW)
  2. For total power in GWH, multiply the average daily power by 24, and then divide by 1000.
  3. For the Capacity Factor, that is calculated by dividing the average wind generation by the current Nameplate and then multiplying that by 100 to give a percentage.

Comments For This Day

As you can see from the graph, best shown on that second graph, wind generation was well down again, even lower than it was on the day before this. This is the main reason I included that second graph, as the data is collated and shown on that wind generation graph (the upper graph) to best fit the page, and, at times, it can look like low output shows a similar looking image as one for a high output. The most important thing to have in mind on occasions like this is that change to the left side vertical axis, the total power generated. You ‘see’ the graph on the page and it looks like the high point and the low point are basically similar, no matter what. It is probably best shown with a side by side representation as is shown here. The left graph is from last Friday 14 May 2021, and the right graph is for this day 18 May 2021. (Again, as with all images here, if you click on the image, it will open on a new tab, and at a larger size so you can better see the detail, here the left side vertical axis scale)

Now while the graphs look dissimilar you can see a high point and a low point on each, so the graphs ‘seem’ to look at the same depicted size, done to fit the graph so it shows on the page. However, when you note that left side vertical axis for power generated, you can see that the left graph has a high scale of 4800MW and the right graph has a high of just 2000MW. The total power generated across the whole day for the left graph is THREE times that of the right graph. (90.57GWH versus 29.04GWH)

And that is specifically why I have included that second (lower) graph for each of these Posts, as that graph shows the wind generation, the green colour, when compared to the total generated/consumed power across the whole day, that upper black line. So when you compare those two graphs for the same days, as shown below, you can see the difference, and here, also keep in mind that this depiction also shows best the low generated power from wind when compared to what is actually being consumed. And here, also note the similarity of the black line showing overall power generation, the same as for power consumption, This is now almost back to the typical cooler Months Winter profile for this Load Curve for power consumption, with the two peaks, one in the morning, and the second and larger peak at the usual time of 6PM to 6.30PM.

Wind generation was lower on this day than on the day before, as I mentioned, and that daily average for this day of 1210MW gave wind generation a daily operational Capacity Factor of 14%, a little less than HALF of the year round average. You can also see when correlating that day with the image, that wind generation was close to its low point at around the same time as the usual evening peak power consumption kicked in at around 6PM to 6.30PM. Note also that on days when overall wind generation is lower, that difference between the low and high for the day is lower, and here on this day, that gap was just 1160MW, still substantial, as that is larger than two of those large scale coal fired Units. Across the day, wind generation only delivered less than 5% of all the generated power from every source, and when it was at its low point, around that same evening peak power time, wind was only delivering a little more than 3% of all the generated power.

Macarthur wind plant in South Western Victoria is still off line, having gone off line at 6.30AM last Monday morning, (10 May 2021) so now more than eight days of no power output. This plant until recently was the largest wind plant in the Country with a Nameplate of 420MW. Only recently has it been surpassed by the Coopers Gap Wind Plant in Queensland, and that plant has a Nameplate of 452MW. Macarthur has a history of long periods with zero output, and this is just another of those occasions.

*****

Anton Lang uses the screen name of TonyfromOz, and he writes at this site, PA Pundits International on topics related to electrical power generation, from all sources, concentrating mainly on Renewable Power, and how the two most favoured methods of renewable power generation, Wind Power and all versions of Solar Power, fail comprehensively to deliver levels of power required to replace traditional power generation. His Bio is at this link.

OzWindPowerGenerationTFO

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Posted in: Australia, Climate Change, Electrical Power Generation, Renewable Energy, Wind Power