Grids & Integration

Scientists from Australia’s national science agency and the electricity research and development arm of global tech giant Google have developed a new ‘smart’ inverter they claim is almost twice as fast and about 50% more efficient than existing commercial inverters.

The Northern Territory government has detailed plans to convert one of the gas-fired turbines at the Channel Island power station to operate as a synchronous condenser as a new report reveals the Territory’s electricity system is in a “prime but precarious” position.

Chinese manufacturer Sigenergy has launched a new modular energy storage solution that combines a hybrid inverter and battery pack with a built-in energy management system. The inverter series offers a range of power options from 50 kW to 110 kW.

The Australian government has beefed up its commitment to community batteries to support the integration of renewable energy in the grid with more than 420 battery energy storage systems to be installed in neighbourhoods across the country as part of its Community Batteries for Household Solar program.

The Maryvale solar and battery hybrid project being developed in central western New South Wales in one of two renewables projects with a combined generation capacity of 312 MW that have secured long-term energy service agreements through the state government’s latest tender round.

The Australian Energy Market Commission has published a final rule to speed up grid connections for new renewable energy generation and storage in light of the pace and scale of projects being built to achieve the national target of 82% of renewables by 2030.

The Central-West Orana renewable energy zone transmission project, with a projected network capacity by 2029 of 6 GW, has planning approval to begin building trasmission infrastructure, including lines and energy hubs.

The first of three planned 150 kW battery energy storage systems that are to form a combined 450 kW / 1 MWh capacity coordinated battery network across inner Melbourne has been switched on.

The Australian Energy Market Operator’s latest Integrated System Plan has stamped the role rooftop solar will play in the nation’s energy transition, revealing that the total capacity of rooftop PV and other distributed solar in the nation’s main grid is forecast to rise from 21 GW to 86 GW by 2050.

New South Wales power grid owner Transgrid is looking at rolling out up to 14 synchronous condensers and 4.8 GW of batteries with ‘grid forming’ capability to protect and strengthen the security and stability of the electricity grid as coal-fired power plants retire and more renewables come online.