Grids & Integration

Both Victoria’s and Queensland’s state governments are moving on their renewable energy zones (REZs) with tight deadlines looming for hopeful projects in Victoria, while further north the government is eager to hear from local communities.

Australian giant AGL Energy will soon own the world’s largest ‘grid forming’ battery, with construction on its 250 MW/250 MWh big battery to begin later this year at Torrens Island, just north of Adelaide in South Australia. The battery will be delivered by Finnish technology company Wärtsilä with inverters supplied by German company SMA Solar Technology.

South Australia is a global hero for its demonstration of a rapid transition to renewable generation. But as renewables supplied more than 60% of the state’s electricity, and pushed out coal and even gas-fired generation, cracks appeared in the system strength and inertia required to keep the grid reliably running. ElectraNet has deployed old, clean-running technology — synchronous condensers — to smooth the gaps.

The Australian Energy Market Operator is looking to fast-track the deployment of advanced inverter capabilities to support Australia’s “once-in-a-lifetime transition” to a power system featuring reduced synchronous generation, such as coal-fired generation.

Patrick Matweew, CEO of Australian startup Luceo Energy, is fully aware grid digitalisation stirs fervour in the hearts of few. It is, nonetheless, perhaps the single most important step in realising our clean energy future. “It’s not spoken about enough because it sits in that little niche. There might be other things that are a little bit more sexy, but this is really where the fundamentals get put in place to enable [everything else],” he told pv magazine Australia. 


The Victorian government has commissioned the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to seek tenders for six new grid upgrade projects to prepare for the influx of clean energy associated with the state’s western Renewable Energy Zones (REZs).

South Korean company LG Energy Solution has partnered with Australian fintech financier Humm Group and renewable energy retailer Diamond Energy to provide customers with Virtual Power Plant platform. Virtual power plants (VPPs) are gaining momentum in Australia as a way to decrease buyback time on home batteries and potentially add stabilisation services to the grid.

Solar PV is an important contributor to all energy scenarios presented in AEMO’s latest “Input, Assumptions and Scenarios Report,” but what’s the best possible outcome it can enable?

Speculation will be rife as to the cause of the fire which destroyed one Tesla Megapack and damaged another in Moorabool on Friday. Investigators are waiting until the site is deemed safe to begin their forensic examination.

The time is now for the energy consumer, says Anna Bruce, as energy “prosumers” produce, consume, and provide electricity and grid services in previously unimagined ways. Bruce, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales’ School of Solar Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering (SPREE), leads work on the role of distributed energy resources in the energy transition, analysing firsthand the dizzying level of complexity it brings.