Can You Run a Grid on 100% Wind + Solar? South Australia Shows Us How

Welcome to South Australia, a place where the winds of change are quite literal and the sun doesn’t just warm our homes but also powers them. I recorded this video in beautiful Adelaide when I visited recently, because South Australia is leading the world in several key aspects of the energy transition. South Australia has gone from a coal powered electricity grid with virtually no renewables in 2008 to 70% renewables with zero coal power plants today, a mere 15 years later. And, they’ve done it the hard way, with none of the "easy" clean energy sources (hydro, geothermal, nuclear). They've done it with variable renewables wind and solar.

If you look at any of the large net zero scenarios you will see that the bulk of the future world’s electricity generation is expected to come from wind and solar. It is simply not possible to expand hydro everywhere so that each country can follow Iceland or Norway’s lead. Geothermal, biomass and nuclear each have their own issues with location, scalability and cost standing in their way. So the challenges that South Australia is overcoming as it pushes towards 100% renewable electricity are really blazing a trail that other countries are going to end up following.

So, what does it mean to operate an energy grid dominated by variable renewables and with minimal connections to other grids? What are the challenges and the innovations emerging from such a unique energy ecosystem? Today, we will navigate through these nuances, unravel the intricacies of South Australia’s energy transition, and explore how this region is setting precedents and what it implies for the global energy narrative. Let’s take a look in depth, starting with how South Australia has gotten to where it is today.

Or for a one-off contribution you can support by buying a coffee ☕️ here —

Bookmarks:
00:00 Intro
01:00 100% renewables around the world
03:31 History of South Australia's energy transition
05:34 Challenges and solutions in a variable renewable grid
06:29 Grid scale batteries
07:05 Interconnectors & transmission
09:13 Synchronous condensers and grid forming inverters
10:50 Rooftop solar, household batteries and V2G

Sources:

The Engineering with Rosie team is:
Rosemary Barnes: presenter, producer, writer

[elephantintheroom]

Hi Rosie! Can you please do a video on how synchronous condensers and grid forming inverters work?

[SørenTjerry]

Great video, Rosie. Like reading a short version of an engineering report.

Just a minor correction/update: Denmark now also has a 700 MW interconnector to The Netherlands, and the Viking Link interconnector to the UK is coming online at the end of 2023.

[maxvandenberk]

Such a good channel, thanks for the great work and interesting insights Rosie

[martythemartian]

We were recently able to install a large solar/battery system on the south coast of SA.
I wasn't sure how good it would be, but now I find we use next to no grid energy, while exporting about 80% of the power the panels generate.
All this and no risk of a blackout. 😊

[valdisvi]

Best "batteries", which can help not only in Dunkelflaute but in any time, are Uranium tablets or Thorium salts, few kilograms of which provide GW of power and TWh of energy for more than a year.

[PS-Straya_M]

For me living in SA during the 2016 blackout was a turning point to prepare for off-grid living in suburbia. Recently came the Covid hard lock downs and I was more prepared than I would have been!

[bigfan]

A first time viewer from the US. With a relatively new rooftop solar here in New Jersey, a EE degree, and an interest in EVs your channels sounds like fun.

[hendrikbijloo]

One small correction. Denmark is interconnected with Germany, Sweden, Norway as said in the video AND the Netherlands!

[bearcubdaycare]

Very cool indeed. It's great to see that it's progressed so far somewhere.

[AlecMuller]

Very interesting overview. It would be great to see recent LCOE cost numbers in Australia for these technologies. I waited to install solar + batteries at our house until the installation cost plummeted and the price of grid power shot up, and the ROI was clear. When batteries get cheap enough and time-of-use pricing gets savvy enough, no one will be willing to pay more for technology that pollutes more.

[Drew_TheRoadLessTraveled]

I lived through the Black-outs in Outback South Australia. We now have the most robust energy delivery system thanks in part to the Hornsdale Battery and Sheep loads of wind.
Awesome video.

[andrewsydney]

You rippa! What an awesome, detailed technical video with no BS. Well done!

[bradplunkett]

Great video Rosie. Western Australia is even more isolated than SA and has a larger grid. Any chance of a rundown on its progress? An yes, please do a video on grid forming vs. grid following inverters!

[tommclean]

Thanks for the update from Adelaide. Wow, South Australia is leading the way!

[markwarren]

Hi 👋 Rosie
I stumbled on your channel last night and watched a couple of videos, very informative and explain things that people can understand in I simple way
Keep up the good work and way to go South Australia

[fredochs]

Thank you for giving us the history of renewables in South Australia! I'll be using this in class.

[NicholBrummer]

SA has the advantage of reliable sun every day. So you only need storage for the night. Seasonal storage is usually not your challenge. Northern Europe is has a long winter period with little sun, and sometimes also a week of little wind. Also solvable, but a bit more complex.

Still: wonderful how motivating it is when SA can be an example .. even if you probably need to acknowledge it is the 'lowest fruit".

[mikeklein]

Thank you for this Rosie. Canada needs to be paying attention to Engineering with Rosie.

[NeilBlanchard]

It is hard to *predict* when conventional generation plants fail. We can largely predict when/how renewable sources produce power.

[kindling]

Hi Rosie, thanks for the effort you put into your videos. I would however temper your commentary on the push to 100% renewables on our grids in the absence of flexible baseload generation. The suggestion that South Australia can operate without the support of flexible open cycle gas turbines isn’t supported by the SA generation profile - in any given week there’s always at least one period where renewables contribute circa 5% or less. As engineers we have a duty to encourage the transition, but in a way that is financially responsible and realistic. These concerns being increasing raised within the electricity industry and are ignored at our peril. Cheers.