Grids & Integration

January normally sees a spike in the average wholesale electricity price. This year, however, increased solar PV and wind generation have seen this traditional trend bucked.

South Australia is leading the nation in terms of renewable energy penetration, with rooftop solar a major contributor. But the state’s hard-won ability to deactivate thousands of rooftop solar systems in response to grid voltage disturbances has caused significant disruptions to solar installers. With a deeper look inside the changes, it appears to be a good thing for solar in the state, as well as other markets in which distributed PV is growing rapidly.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency is funding Jemena to the tune of $1.6 million toward a new trial in which various electricity networks in Victoria, ACT, and Tasmania will manage residential EV charging to better prepare the grid for a time when mass charging will take place at peak periods.

Australia’s record-breaking uptake of small-scale rooftop solar and growing interest in home battery systems almost guarantee virtual power plants (VPP) will play a key role in the nation’s energy system into the future and Energy Networks Australia (ENA) has identified the “blueprint” for their successful integration into the grid.

Like a flight simulator for power system designers, the Hitachi ABB facility is now in the hands of the Northern Territory’s Charles Darwin University where it will help build knowledge and capability on the Territory’s road to 50% renewable electricity by 2030.

CEP.Energy has joined the race that stores the nation, the race, that is, for big battery supremacy. Joining giants like AGL, Origin Energy and Neoen, CEP.Energy has announced plans for a 1.2 GW megabattery in the Hunter region of New South Wales. The battery is one of four in a 2 GW battery storage portfolio planned throughout Australia.

Wood Mackenzie has called on policymakers to revise the Renewable Energy Target with more ambitious goals and, concordantly, large-scale investment in grid flexibility to ensure new renewables can join the grid. If we don’t act in this pivotal moment, WoodMac believes we will be left holding stranded assets.

Dutch transmission system operator Tennet, which also serves Germany, is planning to create flexible electricity demand and reduce grid congestion by promoting the use of smarter heating systems and heat pumps that can also be powered by solar and wind energy. According to its experts, intelligent control of heat pumps may result in the creation of between 0.5 and 1 GW of temporary grid flexibility by 2030.

Western Australia’s government-owned utility Horizon Power and electrical engineering company Ampcontrol have today announced their joint venture Boundary Power, supercharging the state’s standalone power system rollout and broader industry. To mark the occasion, Boundary Power has also unveiled its new, modular SPS Gen 2 and announced a $10 million deployment of another 45 off-grid systems across the state.

Australia’s largest Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is set to be energised with the New South Wales Government announcing it will soon seek registrations of interest from solar, wind and energy storage project proponents keen to be part of the massive 8 GW New England REZ.