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.
Saturday 6 August 2022
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 9854MW, and this is from the current total of 76 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 – 2344MW (6.15PM)
Daily Maximum – 4415MW (12.01AM)
Average Wind Generation – 3047MW
Total Generated Power – 73.12GWH
Percentage Supplied By Wind Power At The Low Point For The Day – 8.9%
Percentage Supplied By Wind Power At Peak Power For The Day – 2470MW of 26305MW – 6.45PM – 9.39% (Mid afternoon Peak with maximum rooftop solar added was 24805MW at 1.30PM)
Average Percentage Of Overall Total Power Generation – %
Daily Operational Capacity Factor – 30.92%
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
- 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)
- For total power in GWH, multiply the average daily power by 24, and then divide by 1000.
- 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
After six days of quite high power generation, this day saw wind back at its average, and it will be lower again tomorrow. The average for this day of 3047MW gave wind generation a daily operational Capacity Factor of 30.9%, and that was right on the year round average. You can see that wind dropped fairly steadily across the day, and at the usual time of the evening Peak of maximum power consumption, wind was delivering 9.4% of the total generated power from every source. With that (somewhat) steady fall across the day, that made for a substantial difference between the high for the day and the low, and for this day, that gap was 2071MW.
*****
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
Robber
Sun 08/07/2022
Tony, Note Victoria’s wind output since Saturday from a nameplate capacity of 4,000 MW has been delivering under 200 MW, and this morning has been delivering under 20 MW.
LikeLiked by 2 people
TonyfromOz
Sun 08/07/2022
Robber, thanks for this comment.
As I have so often written, you can watch as those huge High Pressure weather systems approach, and know that wind generation will fall away by a large amount, and that’s the case here right now, (10.30AM Monday 8 August) with that large High Pressure system directly overhead of that area, South Eastern South Australia, and Central Western Victoria.
In that same area where those systems move across, we have the largest concentration of wind plants in Australia, almost two thirds of the total Nameplate for all wind power in Australia. (6388MW of a total of 9854MW, so 65%, almost two thirds)
Currently (at that time I quoted above) that total Nameplate of 6388MW is delivering the grand total of 66MW. That’s only a power delivery of ONE PERCENT of that Nameplate, A Capacity Factor of 1%, pitiful.
Okay, it might be just one point in time, (even if it is a regular occurrence) but, as I have also written a number of times. just what do you do if wind generation will be all there is to call on. The Country would just ….. stop.
And it’s not like it’s something that rarely happens. It happens regularly. Watch those weather maps, and you get a really good idea on just when it’s coming.
Tony.
LikeLiked by 1 person