@antipodean said in Solar Power and Storage - a nerd's view:
In the words of the ACCC:
"The transition from large-scale synchronous generation to variable and intermittent renewable energy resources has had a more pronounced effect on retail prices and number of offers in South Australia than any other state in the NEM."
I saw that quote in the ABC article, but can't find it anywhere on the ACCC's website. It would be nice to have that quote in context of the wider report and what is was referencing - particularly gas. From the same article, and in part to answer your question on the coal closure:
The coal closure means power generated by a more expensive fuel source — gas — is more regularly setting the price.
"South Australia is now much more reliant on gas-fired generation … which is a higher cost of energy compared with what Northern used to be," Mr Evans said.
"The price of gas has nearly tripled in the past few years and that has meant that the fundamentals of where we get our energy from has increased substantially."
What I did find was this ACCC report:
https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Retail Electricity Pricing Inquiry—Final Report June 2018_Exec summary.pdf
Which refers to another reason why the number of gentailers in SA is a bad thing: less hedging, less competition, and therefore higher prices:
Wholesale hedging contracts
The ACCC has also undertaken a detailed review of the hedging contract market. Apart from contracts
traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), the contract market is generally opaque. In certain
regions of the NEM, particularly South Australia, the level of liquidity and the advantages enjoyed
by vertically integrated retailers make it difficult for new entrants and smaller retailers to compete
effectively in the retail market
Gentailers stopped offering good prices because they could, not because of renewables. Renewables didn't drive the higher market prices - gas did, and the gentailers who had both laughed all the way to the bank.
While Environmental costs derived from supporting solar subsidies do contribute to the increase in bills, at less than 10% it isn't as big a factor as the network costs across the NEM - which thanks to NSW, QLD, and TAS gold plating their privatised networks, kicked off a round of snouts in the trough.
