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Collapse? This country has so much solar energy that it puts the conventional power grid at RISK

Published 18/01/2025 ร s 00:56
Updated 19/01/2025 ร s 00:57

A country with record solar energy production faces an unexpected challenge: its electricity grid is at its limit and at risk of collapse due to excess generation.

Australia is often seen as a global powerhouse in renewable energy, particularly in the solar energy sector.

With the installation of solar panels in almost a third of homes, the country has achieved impressive figures for green energy generation.

But this advance has brought a curious paradox: solar energy production is becoming a problem for the grid electrical. A problem that few expected.

On October 3, the country faced a critical moment. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) recorded an extremely low demand for electricity, which is worrying for the electrical system.

But, contrary to what one might imagine, the drop in demand was not due to savings in consumption. The problem was the high production of residential solar energy.

The state of Victoria, one of Australia's most prosperous, had a clear, sunny day. The perfect combination for a record solar generation, but disaster soon followed.

Victoria's power grid, designed to handle demand ranging from 1.865 to 10.000 megawatts, has seen its numbers plummet to just 1.352 megawatts. A number so low that it put the stability of the network at risk.

Emergency solutions: turn off panels to maintain balance

To avoid a widespread outage, AEMO was forced to take emergency measures. One of them was to disconnect some solar panels, a drastic but necessary move to alleviate the excess power on the grid.

Other solutions included activating deactivated transmission lines and asking households with home battery systems to leave their equipment idle. This helped store excess energy generated.

These solutions, while functional in the short term, demonstrate the scale of the challenge of operating a renewables-based power grid. While solar power already accounts for more than 20 gigawatts of Australiaโ€™s power capacity, its unpredictable nature makes it difficult to balance production and consumption.

The energy storage bottleneck

The biggest obstacle to harnessing the full potential of solar energy is the lack of large-scale storage.

Solar production is intermittent, depending entirely on weather conditions. When there is excess production and no way to store it, the unused energy becomes a problem rather than a benefit.

The Australian situation is not unique. States such as California in the United States also face similar difficulties.

In times of high solar production, storage systems are insufficient to manage excess energy, compromising the stability of the electrical grid.

Risks of disorderly growth of solar energy

With the pace of new solar panel installations accelerating, Australia must prepare for even greater imbalances. On weekends, when energy consumption typically drops, the risk of overproduction increases significantly. With each solar panel installed, the pressure on the grid intensifies.

This scenario highlights the need for more strategic measures. Solutions such as increasing the use of high-capacity batteries, modernizing electrical infrastructure, and policies that encourage the rational use of solar energy are already seen as essential. Some countries, such as Germany and Japan, offer successful examples of how to mitigate these problems.

Progress with obvious obstacles

While Australiaโ€™s leadership in the renewable energy sector is unquestionable, the current situation highlights the complexities of this transition. Reliance on sources such as solar, while positive for the environment, requires a complete restructuring of the way energy is produced, stored and distributed.

The solar boom is a significant milestone, but without technological advances and stronger policies, Australia risks turning its progress into a chronic problem. With resilient, modern systems, the country can continue to lead the way in renewable energy, without falling into the trap of disorganised growth.

The challenge now is to ensure that green energy, rather than a complication, becomes an even more valuable asset to Australian society.

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Everardo
Everardo
19/01/2025 05:07

This and other reasons are why many countries do not accept this model of capitalism, where, for example, the entrepreneur wants to sell food but the customer is the one who pays for the gas, the pots, the employees and the rent of the point of sale... and the entrepreneur only comes in to manage the profits. What a scoundrel! With solar energy, it is the same modus operandi, that is, everything is paid for by the customer and the wiring is done with existing public money. Shame on you!

Fabio Lucas Carvalho

Journalist specializing in a wide range of topics, such as cars, technology, politics, shipbuilding, geopolitics, renewable energy and economics. I have been working since 2015 with prominent publications in major news portals. My degree in Information Technology Management from Faculdade de Petrolina (Facape) adds a unique technical perspective to my analyses and reports. With over 10 thousand articles published in renowned media outlets, I always seek to bring detailed information and relevant insights to the reader. For story suggestions or any questions, please contact me by email at flclucas@hotmail.com.

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