News Brief: Renewable Energy Curtailment and Solutions
Summary
Renewable energy generators in Australia are sometimes forced to reduce their electricity output, a process known as curtailment, due to oversupply and grid constraints. This occurs for economic reasons, like negative wholesale prices, and non-economic reasons, like transmission limits. To manage this and incentivize usage, the government has introduced schemes like free electricity periods and battery subsidies. This situation impacts the energy system and consumer bills, with battery storage emerging as a key solution to store excess energy and reduce grid strain.
Key Points
- Curtailment Defined: Energy generators produce less power than they can, either for economic reasons (oversupply makes generation unprofitable) or capacity constraints (strained transmission networks).
- Economic Necessity: Negative or zero wholesale electricity prices are increasingly common, making generation uneconomic during peak renewable output times. In Q2 2025, 10.6% of price intervals had zero or negative prices.
- Scale of Curtailment: In 2024-25, utility-scale wind and solar generators curtailed about 10% and 7% of their potential generation, respectively.
- Impact on Bills: Curtailment itself doesn’t directly raise bills, but the broader system costs of managing renewable intermittency can. Network costs are a major component (39%) of an average electricity bill.
- Government Schemes: The Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) provides a revenue safety net for generators, and the Cheaper Home Batteries Program (CHBP) helps lower battery installation costs.
- Battery Solutions: Batteries, especially “behind-the-meter” systems in homes, can store excess solar energy and release it during peak demand, reducing the need for more transmission infrastructure and supporting the grid via Virtual Power Plants (VPPs).
- Battery Uptake: Battery sales saw a 191% increase in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, with 85,000 units sold. Rooftop solar is also widespread, with 4.2 million installations across Australia.
新闻简报：可再生能源限电与解决方案
总结
澳大利亚的可再生能源发电机有时被迫减少电力输出，这一过程被称为”限电”，其原因包括供应过剩和电网限制。这既出于经济原因（如批发电价为负），也出于非经济原因（如输电线路达到极限）。为了管理这种情况并激励用电，政府推出了诸如免费供电时段和电池补贴等计划。这种情况影响着能源系统和消费者账单，而电池储能正成为储存多余能源和减轻电网压力的关键解决方案。
关键点
- 限电定义：能源发电商生产的电力低于其能力所及，原因可能是经济性的（供应过剩导致发电不经济）或容量限制（输电网络不堪重负）。
- 经济必要性：负电价或零批发电价日益普遍，使得在可再生能源发电高峰时段发电变得不经济。2025年第二季度，10.6%的电价时段录得零或负价格。
- 限电规模：在2024-25年度，公用事业规模的风力和太阳能发电机分别削减了约10%和7%的潜在发电量。
- 对账单的影响：限电本身不直接导致账单上涨，但管理可再生能源间歇性的更广泛系统成本可能会。网络成本是平均电费账单的主要组成部分（39%）。
- 政府计划：容量投资计划（CIS）为发电商提供收入安全保障，而更便宜的家庭电池计划（CHBP）有助于降低电池安装成本。
- 电池解决方案：电池，特别是家庭”电表后端”系统，可以储存多余的太阳能，并在需求高峰时释放，从而减少对额外输电基础设施的需求，并通过虚拟电厂（VPP）支持电网。
- 电池采用情况：与2024年同期相比，2025年上半年电池销量增长了191%，售出85,000套。屋顶太阳能也广泛普及，全澳大利亚有420万处安装。
Original Article Link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-18/why-renewable-generators-need-to-cut-production-when-sun-is-up/105981004