By Phil Kreveld
The penumbral conference theatre of the Melbourne Convention Centre is likely to induce somnolence in other than the most alert but attentiveness was nevertheless required for some annual presentations in the electrical energy space. Rather than reporting on their sequence, significant statements are mentioned here. Many were, to put it kindly, to be expected—and probable not materially different in many respects from last year’s meeting.
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In the CEO panel chaired by Tandeep Singh Abuja of McKinsey & Company, Mark Collette, MD of EnergyAustralia, a major gentailer, worried aloud about the expansion of transmission and its bearing on energy costs, and emphasised that more needed be done in distribution networks for a more cost-efficient electricity system. Collette also questioned the cost of offshore wind parks, and this is unsurprising given the delays in implementation of licensed projects, due in part to investor reluctance to proceed in the face of uncertain aspects of the energy market. It clearly also referred to the cost overruns of transmission projects as such, although not directly questioning Transgrid’s part in regard to EnergyConnect.
Brett Redman, CEO of Transgrid, referring to the recent completion of 700km of EnergyConnect, said that in spite of the increase in construction costs for the project, South Australian mums and dads would find annual electricity bills reduced from the originally projected benefit of $35/pa to $75/pa. Those savings are not exactly earth shattering, and in the context of a highly variable power flow link between South Australia and New South Wales, they might well be questionable. The role of synchronous condensers was also an important theme. There is little doubt that they are considered as being essential in the provision of grid strength as well as grid forming inverters.
The part played by mums and dads in the energy transition was accented by Daniel Westerman, CEO of the Australian Energy Market Operator, who launched yet another acronym, the DSOO, the distribution statement of opportunities. In short, as understood from his rather sketchy description, increased visibility in distribution networks would help realise the Australian Energy Market Operator’s projection that by 2050 a third of generated capacity would come from ‘prosumers’, with the bulk being generated by ‘edge of network’ rooftop solar and batteries.
Brett Redman also mentioned his concern that the renewable transition was loading additional costs onto those least able to afford the capital expenditure of solar packages. In regard to the DSOO, there is, as intimated by Westerman, serious work to be done, given the rather uneven rollout of smart meters, essential in providing distribution network visibility.
Westerman also addressed the big influence of data centres, whose aggregated power demand is currently 580MW but this is expected to grow strongly. The data centre topic was also a point of discussion in the CEO Panel referred to above, and that ideally, data centres should be situated in major power centres such as the Latrobe Valley and the Hunter.
Sabooh Whitelaw of AVP Energy & Utility, spoke about the necessity of data centres in matching line capacity and power demand of plant. High load factors provided by data centres are seen as an advantage for transmission. However, this also raises the importance of load ride-through, seen as essential in steadying transmission power flow. The role of standby power systems was also discussed, given that they can cut in during voltage drops, thus causing extremely large power swings.
‘Unlocking capacity’ was a panel discussion moderated by Andrew Dillon of EDF power solutions. Jacque Bridge, executive general manager, network investment of Powerlink, Queensland, made a reference to the need to upgrade protective gear (it is assumed, in order to decrease the unserved energy statistics) and the use of battery energy systems to provide virtual additional power links.
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Although not a complete report of proceedings, it is fair to conclude with a general impression. There can be little doubt that AEMO, as stressed by Daniel Westerman, is the critical ‘glue’ presiding over the renewable transition path and that it views its task of harnessing the energy generated by four million prosumers (and expanding) as a major challenge to be addressed in the next iteration of the integrated systems plan. As Westerman put it, by 2050 a third of energy requirements will be derived from home and business generating resources.
