Ann: Cooper Basin Project Update , page-48

firstly, the load out must equal the load in.

There is an aggregate amount on energy going in, and it must equal the instantaneous aggregate of energy going out.

Normally the useful load going out will vary (people turning on and off lights, automatic control systems at the aforementioned pub cool room, motors etc) the load going IN can also be varied

- thermal and or mechanical chokes on the steam line
- throttling and flywheels on diesel genset augmentation

mosty of the response is electronic

- as the load goes up instantaneously, the voltage is kept constant (by the overall distribution control system) and so the frequency tries to go down. That is resisted by the mechanical intertia of the generation system while the throttles etc catch up, keeping freq close to target

- the distribution control system will also have some capacitance built in which does the same thing electrically.

There may also be passive load (OK, like a large radiator) that switches in and out to balance the system.

The geo-turbine can take a little more inertia variation than a gas turbine and not so much as a hydro turbine. But, because it the most expensive bit, you try to take up the slack elsewhere to minimise cost. U will probably in a practical installation see a diesel (lovely lumps of heavy spinning metal - inertia) running partly loaded.

So, announcement will be

- max load all lights on, all cool rooms working on manual, all motors running
- geo-turbine running at close to max (for the cameras) while the press are watching
- the diesel turned down to accomodate the mathematics of the energy put out by geo-tubine

I suspect however if there is any fragility of this scenario mgt will be spruiking (correctly) "turbine turned down well below max as it is capable of much much more than this"

fellowes