The Hidden Costs of Wind Generation in a Thermal Power System: What Cost?
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Author(s)
Simshauser, Paul
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2011
Metadata
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New renewable energy generation in Australia is unambiguously more expensive than thermal plant, at least when comparing direct costs. The federal government claims the 20 per cent renewable energy target will increase electricity tariffs by 4 per cent. Apart from the direct costs, critics of renewables cite additional 'hidden costs' arising from the intermittency of wind and the subsequent causation of 'backup plant' for system security. South Australia, where wind's market share now exceeds 17 per cent, provides a valuable case study to analyse 'hidden costs'. The evidence is that hidden costs are trivial and ...
View more >New renewable energy generation in Australia is unambiguously more expensive than thermal plant, at least when comparing direct costs. The federal government claims the 20 per cent renewable energy target will increase electricity tariffs by 4 per cent. Apart from the direct costs, critics of renewables cite additional 'hidden costs' arising from the intermittency of wind and the subsequent causation of 'backup plant' for system security. South Australia, where wind's market share now exceeds 17 per cent, provides a valuable case study to analyse 'hidden costs'. The evidence is that hidden costs are trivial and the government's claim appears accurate.
View less >
View more >New renewable energy generation in Australia is unambiguously more expensive than thermal plant, at least when comparing direct costs. The federal government claims the 20 per cent renewable energy target will increase electricity tariffs by 4 per cent. Apart from the direct costs, critics of renewables cite additional 'hidden costs' arising from the intermittency of wind and the subsequent causation of 'backup plant' for system security. South Australia, where wind's market share now exceeds 17 per cent, provides a valuable case study to analyse 'hidden costs'. The evidence is that hidden costs are trivial and the government's claim appears accurate.
View less >
Journal Title
The Australian Economic Review
Volume
44
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
Author Posting. Copyright The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research 2011 This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Australian Economic Review, Volume 44, Issue 3, pages 269–292, September 2011, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8462.2011.00646.x
Subject
Economics