Grids & Integration

With a glut of solar capacity having come online this year, cheaper financing would help keep some of that momentum but policymakers cannot be persuaded of the economic benefits of clean energy unless state-owned utility EVN opens up.

Increased storage and strategic transmission development will be needed to ensure the lowest cost and risk transition of Australia’s energy system, the Australian Energy Market Operator states in its latest study. In 20 years time, the need for storage will be at a scale not seen before in the NEM, and both pumped hydro storage and distributed storage are set to play major roles in lowering wholesale electricity prices and building a reliable and resilient power system.

As one of the most energy-intensive industries, the resource sector is getting serious about integrating cheap wind and solar energy into its mix to boost bottom lines. Although still predominantly underpinned by gas or diesel, mine operations are increasingly deploying hybrid solutions pointing to the potential of the sector transitioning to 100% renewables – particularly as momentum builds for green hydrogen to play a role in future microgrids.

The first phase of a 6 MW solar array planned to power a former car manufacturing site at Tonsley in Adelaide will be delivered by ZEN Energy. The solar installation will ultimately work in conjunction with on-site battery storage and smart technologies as part of Enwave Australia’s Tonsley District Energy Scheme.

Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy has placed Australian and Vietnamese solar markets side by side and found the Southeast Asian country has left Australia behind in terms of commissioned utility-scale PV capacity. A staggering 4,460 MW of connected PV capacity in Vietnam at the end of June came as a surprise to many.

One of Australia’s largest utility-scale solar arrays and the biggest energy storage facilities was given a tick of approval.

Applications for ARENA’s A-Lab Incubate 2019, a three-day innovation lab where teams are invited to develop high-impact projects looking to forward Australia’s transition to renewable energies, officially opened this month. Participants receive intensive expert assistance and access to potential investors including ARENA, CEFC and private investment funds.

With no new measures to the reduce emissions in the electricity sector and no renewable energy target beyond 2020, federal government leaves little room for hope for policy driven renewables expansion. At a state level, ambitious renewable energy targets could help fill the policy void to a certain extent, but some states are falling short of their self-imposed targets for either renewable energy or emissions reductions.

Nine issues papers have been developed following national and international consultation as Australia seeks to tap the global transition to lower emissions sources of energy.

Using a VPP to regulate thousands of data points according to price signals can enable generation asset owners to take care of their systems within seconds and with very high granularity.