The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) – an intergovernmental organisation – published its latest report in September: Hydrogen: a renewable energy perspective.
The report demonstrates that hydrogen production is only commercially viable at higher load factors, as illustrated in our Chart of the Week. It is also measured against the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) which represents the net present value of a unit cost of hydrogen over the lifetime of the generating asset.
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Energy storage and flexibility
The rise of renewables has seen the need for additional firming capacity in order to smooth renewable output and replace coal capacity in the evening peak. The ESB and federal Ministers are currently in discussions regarding the development (or not) of a capacity market for the NEM. Interestingly from the...
Commercial and market outlook
Last month, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced that there will be a gas shortfall in the east coast market in 2023, not a surprise considering the international gas crisis and high gas prices in Australia. Such events have increased attention towards expanding gas supply or reducing the...
Energy storage and flexibility
Hydrogen is considered a potential replacement for fossil fuels for energy generation, transport etc. Currently, 96% of hydrogen production originates from fossil fuels through steam reforming and coal gasifications. Only a small fraction (~4%) is produced via electrolysis. The high Capex of the electrolyser is usually referred to as the...
Commercial and market outlook
In this week’s ‘Chart of the Week’, we look at statistics published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, showing that the share of renewables in heating and cooling is steadily growing.
Energy storage and flexibility
Frequency control remains a challenge for AEMO. New PFR (primary frequency response) provisions established in March 2020 will help AEMO to control frequency more efficiently. However, is it yet to be seen how market participants will be incentivised to participate in PFR market. In light of the rapid growth of...
Commercial and market outlook
Is the NEM getting harder to control with rising variable renewable generation and distributed photovoltaic growth? AEMO’s balancing of scheduled supply is critical to ensure the system remains stable and wholesale prices work efficiently. This Chart of the week briefly examines if the NEM is “on schedule” to meet this...
Commercial and market outlook
A by-product of how market boundaries are defined, loop flows are phenomena in electricity markets that manifest as flows going in one direction across parts of a network loop and goes the opposite way in other parts of the same network loop. Regardless of whether the market design is nodal...
Commercial and market outlook
Building on the last two Charts of the week, the rise in the frequency of negative wholesale energy prices in the NEM has impacts beyond the price of electricity. In this Chart of the week, we take a closer look at the impact of negative pricing on Inter-Regional Settlement Residue...
