Energy Management Systems

New digital modelling technology has made visible 10 GW of untapped capacity in Australia’s existing electricity networks. “That 10 GW number is probably achievable without any meaningful incremental cost investment,” Neara cofounder Jack Curtis tells pv magazine Australia. “This is something that’s really only come into awareness of policy makers, and even the private sector, in past six months.”

Australian thermal storage company, Graphite Energy, has received development approval for a $29 million (USD 18.6 million) sustainable energy precinct in Lake Cargelligo, in the mid-west of New South Wales.

A short report explaining upcoming challenges and solutions to electricity security has been published by the Australian Academy of Technology Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). The report calls for more investment to meet government targets and to keep consumer prices down.

Australian residential power prices have surged up to 25% this year. With solar rooftops booming as a result, Nikhil Jayaraj, managing director of Regen Power, looks at whether home batteries will keep pace.

Victorian company Proa says it has found a software-driven solution to the grid connection rules which have crippled solar projects in the Northern Territory. Requiring only a fractional amount of battery storage, the solution “replaces lithium with smarts” and effectively enables solar to be “scheduled,” Managing Director Victor Depoorter tells pv magazine Australia.

Jason and Kara are Canadian overlanders from the “Everlanders” channel on YouTube. Overlanding is self-reliant travel on the road, driving to remote places across international borders. pv magazine caught up with Jason between legs of their latest road trip.

Smart meter reform recommendations have been handed down by the Australian Energy Market Commission, which advised accelerating the national rollout and introducing a mandate for customers to have free access to their real-time data. Reaching 100% penetration by 2030 would provide $507 million (USD 328 million) net benefit value to the NEM, the Commission’s review found.

Australia’s federal government has allocated $3 billion (USD 1.93 billion) from its Rewiring the Nation program to upgrade Western Australia’s two islanded grids, which lag the eastern states in their renewable energy share.

Queensland iron flow battery company Energy Storage Industries is delivering 1 MW/10 MWh of flow battery energy storage to Queensland’s Stanwell Power Station just outside of Rockhampton. The flow batteries are part of a new government-run clean energy testing ‘hub’ at Rockhampton, which will also include hydrogen and workforce training programs.

Just days after a federal government-funded research body warned of potential cyber risks for Australia’s energy grids due to foreign-made solar technology, Sydney-headquartered wholesale energy software supplier Energy One has suffered a data breach.