The Australian Energy Market Operator has formally recognised that an innovative technology solution based around solar inverters has resolved one of the most vexing problems of the transition to a grid dominated by wind and solar – how to provide “system strength.”
The breakthrough has occurred in north Queensland, where the fine tuning of inverters at four solar farms and one wind farm has allowed AEMO to declare that a shortfall of “system strength” in the region has been resolved.
It is a significant development, because it points to the ability of inverter-based technologies to not just produce and store enough electricity to meet grid demand, but also to deliver the same key grid services that have traditionally been supplied by synchronous generators, such as coal and gas.
Over the last few years, AEMO had raised concerns about system strength issues across the grid, and these have often translated into heavy constraints on wind and solar farms in certain regions, or a requirement to install expensive spinning machines known as synchronous condensers.
One of these regions was at the Ross node in north Queensland, at the heart of the one of the biggest solar provinces in the country. The shortfall meant that under certain conditions, up to 10 solar and wind farms had to dial down their output to maintain grid security.
https://reneweconomy.com.au/groundbreaking-solar-inverter-solution-points-way-to-grid-free-of-fossil-fuels/
Coal has had its day and now is fading away.
Theres no need to shut down coal generation as owners of said power stations will shut them down as they become unprofitable..... and this won't be very long.
the replacement for coal is at hand and improving steadily.
