Aidan,

What I suggest you do is google "network stability and renewable generation".

What you will find is endless articles including those such as ABB (one of the largest supplier of wind turbines) talking about methods to compensate for network instability from connecting renewable generation. The greatly increased brownouts and Blackouts in Germany corresponds to their increasing proportion of wind and solar, and is a text book case study for network /protection engineers.

Secondly the ongoing maintenance of wind (imagine working 30 stories up) and solar plants and their diverse networks is far more expensive than you realise, and can easily equal the maintenance and fuel costs of fossil fuel plants. Especially those sited on coal mines that just dig up and burn the fuel.

Thirdly SA is not a country, and if all its generation failed, it would simply draw off the Aus network.

The 40% comes from the roughly 10% renewable generation that is hydro and biomass and not wind or solar, and the current practical limit of 30% wind and solar.

Finally, load shedding is the most common and effective form of demand management and the most expensive. Most customers have no means of regulating load and shutting plant generally costs orders of magnitude more that the electricity. Load following is yet to be successfully implemented on any large scale.

Shadow
I can find numerous sites that support any opinion on any subject you care to name.Here for example is one claiming that fuel subsidies in Germany for coal (black and brown) cost some €418 billion, for and nuclear €213 billion whereas renewables have only been subsidized by €67 billion.

http://energytransition.de/2015/02/what-electricity-really-costs/

Here are several that argue coal is too costly because of the hidden costs and other stuff ups.

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/wa-grid-may-become-first-big-victim-of-death-spiral-41428

http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/the-true-cost-of-electricity-wind-is-half-the-price-of-coal-73416

http://www.skepticalscience.com/true-cost-of-coal-power.html

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/energy/eu-investigates-government-subsidies-power-stations-314201

http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/climate/renewable-energy-myths1/

If your industry is paying 6 cents KWh for power then somebody somewhere is subsidizing your energy, that price only just covers the wholesale price of power from coal, never mind paying for grid, and when we consider that a number of the NSW coal fired stations are running at 50% of capacity. I can only assume that it is the ordinary householder that is picking up the tab, when they are paying as much as 32 cents a KWh.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/coalfired-power-stations-face-existential-crisis-20150611-ghlokl.html

It is not the question of "Is the Green dream crashing in Europe?', it is really completely past tense.

The dream has become a nightmare for all but the most obtuse of gravy train riders. Even many of them are starting to worry about the future, or lack there of, they are bequeathing to their kids.

Tell us warmair, where did you get your ticket, or are you one of the ratbag greenies, who want to damage human civilisation in any way possible? No one with an education, could really believe the garbage you push.

Shadow
I did as you suggested and Googled "network stability and renewable generation".

Here is an official Australian government study:-

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CDoQFjAEahUKEwjK47HluKDHAhUD2qYKHcq8AKM&url=http%3A%2F%2Farena.gov.au%2Ffiles%2F2015%2F03%2F150302-Impact-of-Variability-Report-for-public-release.pdf&ei=vZvJVYqRL4O0mwXK-YKYCg&usg=AFQjCNG9BHgwyaq0FYvhty3Dmb7ZBnqsgg&bvm=bv.99804247,d.dGY&cad=rja

Quote
"The results demonstrate empirically that it is possible to install large amounts of PV, potentially exceeding 60% of demand, into existing networks without disrupting the underlying variance that normally exists in grids, as long as there is adequate spatial distribution of the PV input."

The German grid is one of the most reliable in Europe, or the world for that matter and is 4 times better than Britain.

http://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/images/dossier/saidi-international.jpg?itok=ST5hhpIA

Hmmm, the German grid has 60% renewables, hmmm what do they do when
the sun goes down on a winter mid afternoon ?

I think I know, they buy electricity from France !
60% of 60% is 40% approx, so they need 60% of their total electricity
supply from France or their own coal.

It gets dark around 4pm and the kids are going to school in the dark
of a morning so solar would not contribute much in winter especially
with the sun being so low in the sky at mid day the cells would be loafing.
Yes the excuse for the big blackout was, wait for it;
The wind does stop everywhere sometimes !

Ask any sailor what happens to the wind around sunset, just when mum
is putting the dinner on !

Shadow,

In early November Central Europe goes under a thick blanket of very cold cloud and it is very still. For something like two weeks renewable energy works at something like 7% of it's 80 GW capacity. Give or take 10% (ie) 7.7 - 6.3%!
Germany needs the nuclear power from Poland, Chech republic and France depriving those countries of power (Germans pay more). You just have to face facts. Google "Germany's Green Energy Bust a completely factual paper without emotive arguments. Australia just has to go Nuclear if we are to replace coal fired generators. All economic arguments say so.

As for the Green Movement depriving India of Coal you just have to hang your head in shame. Reliable energy changes peoples lives for the good. Less babies, more commerce and increased life style. If Australia does not produce the coal someone else will. The net CO2 production will be the same. Again until India builds enough Nuclear Reactors (which they are doing) coal is an essential element in their energy requirements.

Regards,