Grids & Integration

University of Sydney researchers Sophie Webber and Gareth Bryant highlight the key challenges of land, labour and finance in achieving a renewable energy transition in Australia.

The Queensland government will acquire the $5 billion (USD 3.37 billion) CopperString transmission line project which is set to unlock 6 GW of renewable energy resources and connect Queensland’s North West Minerals Province to Australia’s national grid. The shovel-ready project, many years in the making, is hailed as the biggest expansion to Australia’s energy grid in decades.

In recent years, global renewables developer BayWa re has been turning its attention to the Asia Pacific, expanding into Southeast Asia. Junrhey Castro, the company’s director of solar distribution in Southeast Asia, sat down with pv magazine Australia to discuss its experiences in the emerging markets of the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Victoria will offer private landowners $200,000 (USD 134,400) for every kilometre of land over which they allow transmission lines to be installed as the state government looks to accelerate the development of new transmission infrastructure deemed critical to the future security of the energy grid.

Australian energy management software company Simble Solutions is partnering with energy heavyweight Origin Energy in a move which it said will help its commercial and industrial customers make the transition to net zero emissions.

Olivier Corradi, the CEO of Electricity Maps, speaks to pv magazine about why 24/7 granular accounting of electricity is key to decarbonisation and how the company tracks the carbon intensity of otherwise elusive electrons.

Grid operator Transgrid has partnered with German machine manufacturer Zeck for the use of its innovative steel separation technology. Zeck’s machine can process electricity transmission lines into a recycle-ready state onsite. Previously, Transgrid sent old transmission lines offshore for this process at a much higher cost to both the grid operator’s revenue and the environment.

The Victorian government has provided its seal of approval to accelerate the development of a new high-capacity transmission line that will facilitate the increased flow of electricity between the Victorian and New South Wales grids, helping to maintain power supply reliability as coal-fired generation declines and retires.

German industrial giant Siemens has partnered with Swinburne University of Technology to develop a future grid mapping “energy transition hub.” The project seeks to accelerate the transition to renewable energies by bringing research and industry together while also serving as a learning tool for Swinburne students.

Western Australia-based Hybrid Systems Australia has commissioned 42 MW of interconnected battery storage for two Fortescue mine sites in the Pilbara region, noting the installation is one of the largest for a mining application.