Energy Matters Forums

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We arrived at Norfolk Island, and was most impressed to see SOoooo many PV set-ups.
They were so proud of their Green-Power and boasted that they don't pay energy bills any more, just a meter-read fee. I gather that they are happy with "Spinners" that go backwards.
Well - Why not - You only pay for what you use.

They also boasted that because of PV Power, they were able to only run ONE generator ( Diesel ).

BUT - Perhaps they have gone TOO far.

It seems that last Friday arvo, they commissioned the biggest install yet, of 120 panels ( on "The Bakery" - I suspect ).
Saturday was described as "The BEST day for the entire year", and yet about midday - ZAP - Blackout

It's most interesting being handed LED torches for you to shop with

After a deal of time the power finally came back on and (I Guess) after 60 seconds - ZAP.. Gone Again..!
I think this happened a couple of times before we were dark for some time and then power restored.

You can obviously predict that it became a case of .... TOO MUCH PV POWER...

The generator shuts down and then you have NO Grid and NO PV Power.
I don't know how it was fixed, but suspect that the Bakery got a special visit.

I suspect that they will soon be issuing permits for Air-Conditioners, for folk with "Larger" PV Systems.
Air-Conds are apparently banned on the island, because of the previously limited power problems.

This could be a good case for a Fly-Wheel power storage system (in the very least)...
A problem with allowing Air-Cond's is that whilst it could absorb some of the excess power, a passing cloud could cause major problems.

How interesting that it was only a week ago -- AusGrid was predicting that PV Power would cause problems to their grid...
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PS -- You really MUST go there - What a great place for a holiday Lots to do or nothing to do
(Better than Lord Howe -- because of the interesting 'Convict Related' features of Norfolk)
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[Smurf1976]

Hydro Tasmania has already done a lot of engineering work relating to a similar situation on King Island (Bass Strait).

There are some differences, mostly in that on King Island it is primarily wind power being used (though they do have some solar) and that the wind / solar as well as the diesel power station and the grid itself is owned by Hydro rather than being on rooftops. But nonetheless, they are aiming to use a lot of renewables and it's worth a look at what they're doing for storage.

http://www.hydro.com.au/system/files/do ... K_2008.pdf

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mostly in that on King Island it is primarily wind power being used

Wataweih Smurf !
I suppose it makes little difference if the base-power is WIND or Deisel-Generator..
What does happen to a generator, when there is no effective current, or worse, current inflow..
The problem for PV is that the inverters are sensitive to many factors like Grid-Impedance and naturally, voltage, so if NO current, then what would the Grid-Impedance look like and what would the Gen-Voltage do and thus how would the PV-GCI's react..
I could imagine that within seconds, PV-GCI's would disconnect, and the generator demand could go from Negative to Overdrive.

I'll have a look at that reference.. Thaenks F'ucklun

I am hoping that someone from Norfolk picks up on this and gives us a hint as to the chicken/egg situation, that they experienced..

I gather that they are none too keen on Wind-Gens at NI.. I think that they appreciate their island beauty more than Green-Power.. In any case - I think there would be the self same issue, where PV power has the capacity to exceed demand. I understand that they will not be approving ANY more PV systems, and are likely hoping for a deal of rain, until they find a solution to excessive PV power..
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