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If you're curious, you can actually see the real-time stats for what's going on in Alberta: http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Reports/CSDReportServlet http:/

If you're curious, you can actually see the real-time stats for what's going on in Alberta: http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Reports/CSDReportServlet http://ets.aeso.ca/ets_web/ip/Market/Reports/CSDReportServle.... There's lots of solar and wind installed but wind right now isn't producing much at all. Solar's doing decent though!

toomuchtodo 2y ago
Thanks for sharing that resource! ElectricityMaps parses it [1] for showing real time data as well as creating a data source for carbon intensity estimation models. Alberta has the most favorable wind and solar resources in Canada (citation in my root comment), so solving for the remaining fossil gas generation should occur in due time simply out of economics [2]. [1] https://github.com/electricitymaps/electricitymaps-contrib/blob/master/parsers/CA_AB.py https://github.com/electricitymaps/electricitymaps-contrib/b... [2] https://archive.is/2024.06.24-223854/https://www.economist.com/interactive/essay/2024/06/20/solar-power-is-going-to-be-huge https://archive.is/2024.06.24-223854/https://www.economist.c...
generic92034 2y ago
Honest question: Is it clear that wind really could not produce more electricity right now? Depending on the way producers are chosen and the net is "congested" the wind farms might just not be allowed to contribute.
- DowagerDave 2y ago
  >> the wind farms might just not be allowed to contribute. Alberta uses a bid system where everyone who bids under the price that (based on demand) ends up getting set, gets to participate and get paid. Because renewable is tough to store, they almost always bid zero to make sure it gets included. The same thing happens for the renewable portion of integrated providers; they bid low on the renewable to make sure they're included, and high on the variable fossil fuels (i.e. gas can be turned off or brought on line) to drive up the price. It's a complicated system with lots of opportunities for manipulation, but renewable tends to be prioritized for participation because it's hard to store for later.
  - generic92034 2y ago
    In the EU the merit order principle is used ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_order https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_order ). So, sometimes that might mean a large energy company finds that their wind farm suddenly needs a break for maintenance work, so a much more expensive source can raise the price for everyone. ;)
- tonyarkles 2y ago
  https://imgur.com/a/CD8Q5zJ https://imgur.com/a/CD8Q5zJ The area west of Edmonton and Red Deer where it’s more like 5-6kt (still not particularly windy) is in the Rocky Mountains and would be pretty challenging to build wind turbines in.

toomuchtodo 2y ago

Thanks for sharing that resource! ElectricityMaps parses it [1] for showing real time data as well as creating a data source for carbon intensity estimation models. Alberta has the most favorable wind and solar resources in Canada (citation in my root comment), so solving for the remaining fossil gas generation should occur in due time simply out of economics [2]. [1] https://github.com/electricitymaps/electricitymaps-contrib/blob/master/parsers/CA_AB.py https://github.com/electricitymaps/electricitymaps-contrib/b... [2] https://archive.is/2024.06.24-223854/https://www.economist.com/interactive/essay/2024/06/20/solar-power-is-going-to-be-huge https://archive.is/2024.06.24-223854/https://www.economist.c...

generic92034 2y ago

Honest question: Is it clear that wind really could not produce more electricity right now? Depending on the way producers are chosen and the net is "congested" the wind farms might just not be allowed to contribute.

DowagerDave 2y ago
>> the wind farms might just not be allowed to contribute. Alberta uses a bid system where everyone who bids under the price that (based on demand) ends up getting set, gets to participate and get paid. Because renewable is tough to store, they almost always bid zero to make sure it gets included. The same thing happens for the renewable portion of integrated providers; they bid low on the renewable to make sure they're included, and high on the variable fossil fuels (i.e. gas can be turned off or brought on line) to drive up the price. It's a complicated system with lots of opportunities for manipulation, but renewable tends to be prioritized for participation because it's hard to store for later.
- generic92034 2y ago
  In the EU the merit order principle is used ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_order https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merit_order ). So, sometimes that might mean a large energy company finds that their wind farm suddenly needs a break for maintenance work, so a much more expensive source can raise the price for everyone. ;)
tonyarkles 2y ago
https://imgur.com/a/CD8Q5zJ https://imgur.com/a/CD8Q5zJ The area west of Edmonton and Red Deer where it’s more like 5-6kt (still not particularly windy) is in the Rocky Mountains and would be pretty challenging to build wind turbines in.