Martin
Harris
Welcome to the March 2023 issue of Energy Magazine. As we settle into 2023, we’re excited to bring you the latest news, insights and analysis from the world of energy for another year.
In this issue, we focus on the exciting developments in Queensland, where the State Government is leading the charge in building a SuperGrid that promises to revolutionise the way energy is generated, stored, and distributed.
The Queensland SuperGrid is a bold and ambitious project that aims to harness the state's vast renewable energy resources and bring power to even the most remote regions. This project is a great example of how the energy industry is becoming more innovative, sustainable, and forward-thinking, and we are proud to bring you an interview with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has been a driving force behind this once in a generation project.
Radhika Sud
Ta Bella Predika
Rhys Dawes
Bland
At Energy Magazine, we are also dedicated to highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the energy industry. This issue, we celebrate the women who are leading the way and making a positive impact in the field, from engineers to policy makers, women are playing a vital role in shaping the future of energy and it is time we give them the recognition they deserve. We are proud to feature a series of interviews with some of the most inspiring women in the industry, who share their experiences, insights, and aspirations.
After a tumultuous 2022, we are pleased to report that the energy industry is showing positive signs of growth and recovery. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, followed by the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the industry has adapted and continues to innovate, creating new opportunities and solutions for a more sustainable future. Our outlook for the year ahead is optimistic, and we believe that the industry is poised for a period of exciting growth and development.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Energy Magazine and look forward to bringing you more engaging and informative content in the future. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Laura Harvey Editor
SOLAR
36 Reforms address integrity of Australian rooftop solar industry
38 Australia’s most ambitious renewable export project: can it be done?
SOLAR
40 Be a part of powering progress in the smart energy sector
42 Powering up the first of New England’s 1.5 million solar panels
44 Examining the growth of renewable natural gas
HYDROGEN AND FUTURE FUELS
46 Get the lowdown on hydrogen with HyFAQ
48 Backing the regions: Townsville’s huge hydrogen opportunity
52 Consumer confidence in a successful energy transition
54 Powerhouse: how Australia can help the northern hemisphere meet its winter energy needs
56 More R&D now: AEMC’s call to industry
projects, representing more than 4.3GW of generation and long duration storage, have been shortlisted by AEMO Services to proceed to the next stage in the inaugural competitive tender of the New South Wales Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
This capacity is enough to power almost 1.6 million homes and will accelerate New South Wales’s energy transition.
As Consumer Trustee, AEMO Services is responsible for conducting the decade long schedule of competitive tenders that will bring forward investment in renewable energy generation and storage capacity.
AEMO Services Chair, Dr Paul Moy, said that the selected projects have been identified as those currently best placed to support the New South Wales electricity transition and will now proceed to a financial value assessment. This assessment will identify the projects that meet the criteria of being in the long-term financial interests of New South Wales electricity consumers.
“A key part of our task as Consumer Trustee is ensuring that the most promising projects, in terms of quality and efficiency, receive support to bring new energy infrastructure to market sooner than would otherwise have been the case," Dr Moy said.
“AEMO Services has rigorously and independently assessed each of these projects against a set of criteria covering a wide range of factors including technical capability, deliverability and social licence. We are pleased with the selected shortlist and encouraged by the pipeline of projects that will compete in future tenders.”
Dr Moy said that the robust interest in this first competitive tender for generation and long duration storage demonstrated the value of the investment opportunities available under the Roadmap.
“We expect competition to intensify over time as the Renewable Energy Zones are developed, and as the market continues to deliver new solutions to the energy transition," Dr Moy said.
AEMO Services Executive General Manager, Paul Verschuer, said that shortlisted projects would now have to demonstrate long-term financial value.
“We know that most energy incentive schemes around the world achieve their energy goals, but sometimes at a significant cost to consumers and government. We take a different approach and will only recommend projects that are in the long-term financial interests of New South Wales electricity consumers,” Mr Verschuer said.
“Those projects which clear this financial value assessment will be recommended for Long Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESAs) to support market entry.
“We expect proponents to bid aggressively, recognising the value of the investment opportunities presented by the Roadmap and the unique features of our LTESA contract.”
Mr Verschuer said that unsuccessful projects from the current tender round would have the opportunity to participate in future rounds.
“We’ve designed the process to facilitate repeated applications at minimum cost to project proponents, and those projects now have the chance to update and improve their bids for the next tender round, scheduled to take place in around six months’ time,” Mr Verschuer said.
The Western Australian Government has announced that it will introduce climate change legislation in 2023, providing a framework for the State’s climate change response and giving industry, business and investors certainty and stability.
Western Australia will establish a framework for responsible emissions reductions to meet the state’s goal of net zero by 2050. It will also formalise the aim to reduce Western Australia’s government emissions by 80 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030.
The legislation will create statutory requirements for the State Government to set interim emission reduction targets and develop strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
It means Western Australia will have clear and necessary policies to reduce emissions, helping to mobilise private sector capital for the net zero transition and enhance climate resilience.
The legislation will ensure accountability and transparency, requiring the Western Australia Minister for Climate Action to report annually to Parliament on the state’s net emissions and progress towards reduction targets.
Western Australia Climate Action Minister, Reece Whitby, said the legislation will help accelerate the state’s transition to net zero emissions in a responsible and achievable way.
“Legislation sends a strong signal about the priorities and leadership of our Government. This includes our commitment to achieving an 80 per cent reduction in State Government emissions by 2030,” Mr Whitby said.
“This will help unlock critical investment in clean energy infrastructure and technologies, ultimately reducing costs for businesses.”
Mr Whitby said a new adaptation strategy will be released in 2023 to help enhance the state’s climate resilience and ensure adaptation is reflected in Government decision-making.
Australian Gas Networks (AGN)’s $14.5 million Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA) is now open and operating, blending renewable hydrogen into part of its Adelaide-based natural gas distribution network.
The facility is owned by Australian Gas Networks (AGN) – part of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) – and located south of Adelaide at the Tonsley Innovation District.
At HyP SA, a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser uses renewable electricity (solar and wind) to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
AGN will blend approximately five per cent renewable hydrogen into its existing natural gas distribution network to deliver a blended gas to more than 700 homes in parts of the Adelaide suburb of Mitchell Park.
AGN received a $4.9 million grant from the South Australian Government’s Renewable Technology Fund to build and operate the project.
South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, said, “With our abundant renewable energy resources, South Australia is well placed to become a world-class producer, supplier and exporter of green hydrogen, and projects such as HyP SA are key to demonstrating our leadership in this exciting industry.
“The installation of Australia’s largest hydrogen electrolyser further advances the Marshall Government’s plans to deliver cleaner, more affordable energy to South Australian households and businesses.
“Hydrogen is a fuel with tremendous potential and the Marshall Government is getting in on the ground floor to ensure we can service local, national and international demand for zerocarbon hydrogen.”
AGIG Chief Executive Officer, Ben Wilson, said the successful completion of HyP SA is an important milestone in South Australia’s renewable gas journey and reflected widening community recognition of hydrogen’s significant benefits.
“HyP SA is an Australian first and one of only a few projects in the world to deliver a renewable gas blend to homes connected to an existing gas network,” Mr Wilson said.
“The hydrogen produced at HyP SA shows how we can use the state’s abundant solar and wind resources to deliver carbon-free gas to homes and businesses.
“HyP SA demonstrates the low-carbon future of the gas industry and illustrates the important role the nation’s gas networks will play in meeting the decarbonisation challenge.
“At AGIG, we are investing in the long-term interests of our customers and the environment, with HyP SA providing the template for the conversion of our entire gas network to safely and efficiently distribute renewable hydrogen to our customers.
“We are now focused on developing plans to deliver a complete carbon-free gas supply for our customers.”
The HyP SA facility includes tube trailer refilling infrastructure to supply renewable hydrogen to industry across South Australia via road transport with project partner BOC, a subsidiary of Linde plc.
HyP SA is capable of producing approximately 175 tonnes of hydrogen per annum, equal to the total gas use of around 1,500 South Australian homes, or tens of thousands of homes on a blended gas basis.
HyP SA is also the first of several renewable hydrogen projects AGIG is developing around Australia.
AGIG has announced plans for a similar plant in Gladstone, Queensland; developing detailed plans to blend between ten per cent and 100 per cent renewable hydrogen into gas networks in both South Australia and Victoria through the Australian Hydrogen Centre; and is assessing how hydrogen can be introduced into the Dampier to Bunbury natural gas transmission pipeline in Western Australia.
Additionally, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency recently awarded two AGIG projects funding as part of the Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round.
Hydrogen Park Murray Valley – partnering with ENGIE – in Wodonga, Victoria, and the Clean Energy Innovation Park –partnering with ATCO Australia – in Warradarge, Western Australia, are both 10MW projects that will look to blend into gas distribution networks as well as supply industry and transport.
The AGL Energy (AGL) Board has appointed a new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, following a comprehensive domestic and global search process.
AGL’s Chair, Patricia McKenzie, said the Board had unanimously determined that Damien Nicks, who had been acting in the role of CEO and Managing Director, was the best person to lead AGL as it undertakes one of the most significant decarbonisation initiatives in Australia.
“The board has been particularly impressed by Damien’s leadership of the business, including his role in championing AGL’s new strategy and his commitment, vision and fresh approach to accelerate the energy transition and to deliver value for AGL’s customers and position AGL for future growth,” Ms McKenzie said.
“Damien’s leadership, deep energy expertise and project delivery experience in complex and large organisations is well established and he has the strong support of AGL’s employees, as well as other key stakeholders.”
Mr Nicks joined AGL in March 2013 and was Chief Financial Officer from August 2018, prior to becoming interim Chief Executive Officer on 1 October 2022. He has 27 years’ experience with significant energy, customer and multinational experience across a number of sectors including logistics, industrial and professional services.
Mr Nicks said, “It is an honour for me to be appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AGL at this important time in AGL’s history as we accelerate the transition of both our customer and generation portfolios to an integrated low carbon energy leader.
“I’m excited to lead this great organisation and I’m looking forward to getting on with the job of implementing our new strategy for a sustainable future in line with shareholder and community expectations.”
Gary Brown has been appointed to take over Damien Nicks’s previous role, Chief Financial Officer, on a permanent basis, effective immediately.
Mr Brown joined AGL in January 2022 as CFO-elect for Accel Energy from ENGIE and held ASX-listed CFO positions prior to joining AGL. Mr Brown led the review of the strategic direction process and has acted as interim Chief Financial Officer since 1 October 2022.
Ms McKenzie said, “These appointments complete the Board and Management renewal process that the Board commenced in May 2022. AGL now has nine experienced Non-Executive Directors and a strong management team that are aligned and focused on accelerating AGL’s decarbonisation and delivering value for shareholders”.
The Victorian and New South Wales Governments have announced they will connect New South Wales’ Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) and plug Victoria’s Snowy 2.0 hydropower project into the grid, in a new deal.
The deal aims to create thousands of new jobs in the energy industry, and deliver energy that’s more reliable, secure and affordable across the east coast.
The joint $7.8 billion deal will back eight critical transmission and REZ projects, supporting more than 3,900 jobs in the regions.
Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said, “The Commonwealth has worked hand in glove with the states and territories to shield Australian households and businesses from the worst impacts of the energy crisis caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
The Federal Government’s Rewiring the Nation plan will enable $4.7 billion from the Commonwealth to join with $3.1 billion from the NSW Transmission Acceleration Facility, to help NSW realise its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and increase reliability across the east coast grid. This agreement will unlock multiple
critical transmission and REZ projects, including Sydney Ring – Hunter Transmission Project (HTP), Central-West Orana (CWO) Renewable Energy Zones (REZ), New England (NE) REZ, HumeLink, VNI West, Hunter-Central Coast (HCC) REZ, including potential offshore wind opportunities, Sydney Ring – Southern Sydney Ring, and South-West REZ.
New South Wales Premier, Dominic Perrottet, said, “This joint $7.8 billion funding deal will support the projected $32 billion in private investment for regional energy infrastructure by 2030.
“This is our opportunity to invest in our future industries that will drive jobs and wealth creation in our state.”
Australia’s electricity grid needs to be strengthened and reconfigured to meet the demands of the rapidly changing electricity market it serves.
The agreement marks the next step in an urgent upgrade to ensure reliability and affordability across the network.
Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, said, “The best way to lower energy prices for Australian households and businesses is by increasing firmed renewables across our grid, it is the cheapest and most abundant form of energy across our vast continent.
Gas prices for Victorian residential and business customers on Variable Market Contracts increased by an average of 27.3 per cent on 1 February 2023, following significant increases in the wholesale cost of gas.
EnergyAustralia confirmed prices for gas customers in Victoria on Variable Market Contracts will rise by an average of 26.7 per cent (around $480 per year, including GST) for around 245,000 residential customers and will increase by an average of 35.7 per cent for about 4,000 business customers.
EnergyAustralia sources its gas from wholesale markets under contracts, including contracts established in 2022 when wholesale costs increased by up to
three times the prior year’s average.
Other cost increases contributing to the Variable Market Contract increase include the cost of gas distribution networks, government green schemes and inflation of retail costs.
EnergyAustralia Chief Customer Officer, Mark Brownfield, said, “We know the news of higher prices will not be easy for our customers however a perfect storm of factors in 2022, including the war in Ukraine and extreme weather events, pushed up wholesale gas prices.
“Recent government actions are focused on the wholesale gas price for future contracts. We supply customers from our existing wholesale gas contracts, some of which were contracted during 2022.
“This announcement helps make that a reality by supporting the projects to plug Snowy 2.0 into the grid and linking REZs to ensure the energy can be supplied from wherever the wind is blowing and the sun is shining, to where it’s used by households and industry.
“Together, the Sydney Ring, VNI West and the HumeLink projects will increase network resilience and energy reliability for consumers and help put downward pressure on electricity bills in years to come.”
New South Wales Treasurer and Energy Minister, Matt Kean, said, “This is a huge win for NSW that will create new energy jobs across the state and unlock cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy. This investment will support the delivery of our Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap through fast-tracking the development of REZs and transmission infrastructure.”
This latest Rewiring the Nation backing follows the landmark deal between the Commonwealth, Tasmanian and Victorian governments for two undersea cables to link Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation projects to the mainland; the Victorian leg of VNI West (Kerang Link); and a range of REZ projects, including offshore wind.
“EnergyAustralia recognises that some customers may be struggling. Our message is that we’re here to offer support. If any of our customers believe they will be unable to meet their energy costs because of this increase, we can help through payment plans, extensions, a staying-connected guarantee and access to cashflow assistance for small businesses. If you are an EnergyAustralia customer facing difficulty paying your next bill, please get in touch with us as early as possible so we can help.”
Recent government intervention may lead to lower gas prices for future contracts to help reduce the impact of higher prices.
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Field workers across the utility sector remain integral for critical maintenance, inspections, and metering activities. While the adoption of digital inspections and smart metering is well underway, the safety and wellbeing of workers when deployed to the field remains a critical priority for utility networks.
commencing work. GPS polling via the AIMS Zero Application Programming Interface (API) means that field users are not tracked. Instead they are alerted of nearby hazards based on user configurable distances. Business sensitive data is encrypted in transit and further secured through Single Sign On, easily integrating with a network’s identity provider.
Recently adopted by AusNet Services and their field contractors, AIMS Zero delivered critical back to base alerts for two lone worker fall incidents, ensuring the field workers were attended to quickly and efficiently. The application also provides AusNet field workers an average of 125 advanced warning notifications of proximity field hazards each week, enabling workers to stay alert and prepared. Hazard visualisation in the app enables users to proactively evaluate the level of risk around them with visual context of the hazard to their current location.
Focused on innovative digital solutions to address the challenges of the utility sector, the Altavec team developed AIMS Zero, a wearable application designed to improve the safety of field workers operating across the utility sector.
AIMS Zero application, available on the IOS platform phones and wearables, provides workers with rapid, accurate and targeted access to - and notification of - surrounding field hazards. Underpinned by geospatial data, the application delivers accurate asset location, critical site information, and back to base alert functionality for critical incidents.
Utilising existing network hazard information and the current location of field workers, AIMS Zero makes real-time alerts available, allowing critical risks to be assessed by field resources prior to
More than 3,000 hours of manual end users’ updates have already been saved at AusNet, as the AIMS Zero app enables field workers to input instant feedback and updates on hazard severity, location, and relevance. Reliance on post field reports and spreadsheeting is redundant, as site information, GIS locations, and hazard accuracy updates are automated.
With a user adoption rate of 98 per cent, AusNet’s field workers value the ease of use, ready access, and flexibility of the application.
Feedback from an AusNet meter reader stated, “I love how the defaults are set up and how I can change my settings at any time.”
With 50 users across AusNet now benefiting from the application, proximity safety for field workers is being realised at scale.
The AIMS Zero application won the Workplace Health and Safety Solution of the Year 2021. The WorkSafe Awards recognises excellence in workplace health, safety and return to work, an encouraging validation of Altavec’s focus on innovation is helping utilities realise their digital potential.
The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan was one of the biggest stories of the energy industry last year, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk unveiling plans to build a $62 billion clean energy future for the state in September last year. We caught up with Premier Palaszczuk to discuss the development of the Plan, details of how it will unfold, and the steps that will be taken this year to bring the Plan to life.
The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan has been a major undertaking and all the new announcements as part of the plan are at a scale never seen before in Australia. It is set to evolve not only Queensland, but Australia’s energy sector. Can you run us through what the initial meetings and discussions for the plan were like? How did the ideas build and evolve into what it has now become?
Since forming Government in 2015, Queensland’s energy future has been a key focus for our government and over the last eight years we’ve been busy tapping into this incredible opportunity to transform our energy future. We initially committed to a 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030 and have invested billions of dollars in setting us up to capitalise on the jobs, industries, and exports of the future.
But this was just the start. In June 2021, I commissioned the transformational Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, and I made it clear that our plan should take action that was unprecedented, innovative and world leading. Most importantly though, it should put people first.
What culminated in the $62 billion Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is one of the most significant policy initiatives by government to date. It sets a bold vision which is all about a future of cheaper, cleaner and secure energy for Queenslanders, powering 100,000 jobs and creating new regional industries.
Our plan builds on an existing commitment of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, with two new renewable energy targets of 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035. These targets will drive continued renewable energy investment while taking real action on climate change, protecting the reef, and responding to worsening natural disasters.
We made sure we collaborated closely with many stakeholders, groups, and experts across industry and small business, regional communities, employee advocates, scientific and environmental groups, and across our publicly owned energy network.
Through this consultation, and in drafting our plan, it became clear that this was the greatest jobs opportunity in a generation. We could become a global renewable energy superpower and create thousands of new jobs in Queensland’s energy, mining, and manufacturing industries.
Because our energy system is majority publicly-owned it also meant that we had unprecedented control over ensuring that Queensland workers and communities weren’t left behind in the global energy transformation.
That’s why my Government worked closely with energy unions and publicly owned businesses to develop a Queensland Energy Workers’ Charter. The Charter will ensure our existing workforce is supported and has choices, opportunities and certainty. It also sets an enduring framework to deliver investment and new jobs in regional communities. Our $150 million Job Security Guarantee will ensure no worker is left behind – supported into new energy jobs or other career pathways through training and skills development.
It’s important to note too that during the drafting process there were several significant events that took place. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 sent global fossil fuel energy prices to record highs, we saw climate change contribute to unprecedented rainfall in Queensland which resulted in widespread flooding across many parts of the state, and Labor ended a decade of delay, denial and dysfunction on energy policy from the Liberal and Nationals in Canberra.
All these factors made it even more critical that our plan made sure Queensland could stand on its own two feet, take real action on climate change, and deliver more affordable power for generations to come.
My government also engaged independent experts at EY to provide modelling and analysis that could quantify the outcomes of the Energy and Jobs Plan and ensure we were headed in the right direction. Their report compared market and investment opportunities against an uncoordinated outlook.
There have been discussions of how certain aspects of the Plan will be implemented into the National Electricity Market (NEM), such as the North West Minerals Province (NWMP). Can you update us on how these discussions with the Federal Government have gone to ensure proper and efficient implementation of the NWMP on the NEM?
For over a century Queenslanders have been making the most of our abundant natural resources. Now, as we look to benefit from the global clean energy revolution, there is a whole new generation of mining, manufacturing and exports that can come from North Queensland.
The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan will deliver new transmission infrastructure from Townsville to Hughenden and onto Mount Isa.
By connecting the North West power system to the national energy grid it will spur new investment in critical energy minerals mining.
These critical energy minerals will help fuel the clean energy transformation and are the building blocks of batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicles, and are in high demand right across the world.
We are continuing to engage with the Federal Government for support for the project, and are working closely with the proponents on a government-led model.
The 2032 Olympic Games have also been a big part of the Plan, to stage a climate positive event. Can you describe the biggest changes the Plan will implement across the Games compared to previous hosts?
There is no other place in the world as well positioned as Queensland to lead the clean energy revolution.
The ambitions set out in the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan will mean that in ten years’ time we’ll be proudly hosting the most sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games in the modern era, showcasing our clean energy credentials to the world.
I have committed to ensuring the Olympics and Paralympics are “climate-positive”. That means minimising emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, and offsetting more than 100 per cent of remaining emissions. To reduce these emissions, a carbon budget will be developed for the Games, and managed in the same way as a financial budget.
The Olympics and Paralympics will put Queensland on the global stage, and I expect that they will also trigger a wave of interest and investment across Queensland’s energy sector.
Early in 2023, the Brisbane Olympic Organising Committee (OCOG) will form a sustainability committee that will build a sustainability framework that will have a net positive impact on emissions.
With less than a decade to go, this is an exciting step forward in the planning for Queensland’s largest-ever event.
The delivery of major transmission work in a specific time frame is a key consideration within the Plan. Plans to support this include early engagement across partners, the Federal Government and communities. How have these early plans been progressing?
Transmission work is critical to the efficient and effective delivery of renewable energy across Queensland. Put simply, we can’t solve the big challenges of tomorrow or realise the state’s full potential without the Queensland SuperGrid.
By 2035, Queensland will need four new high-voltage backbone transmission lines. They will be the arteries connecting our pumped hydro assets and areas of high renewable energy. We will also need new transmission to unlock our Queensland Renewable Energy Zones. We will need around 25GW of renewable generation – of which, around 22GW is new. We’re currently developing a QREZ Framework, which will be legislated to support timely, efficient and consultative development of these areas.
Partnering with communities and all levels of government will be critical to a smooth, successful transformation, and work is well underway to support this. We are also working with states, territories and the Australian Government on transmission reform,
and with national bodies on the development of the Queensland SuperGrid and QREZ delivery framework.
The Federal Government has committed $160 million to connect one of the world’s largest wind farm hubs to the national electricity market. The MacIntyre Wind Precinct in the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone will generate over 2,000MW of renewable energy – enough power for 1.4 million households. In the Far North, power is already running through Queensland’s first Renewable Energy Zone, with the Kaban Green Power Hub’s $373 million wind farm officially connected to our new Queensland SuperGrid. Right now, we’re building a new SuperGrid link between Cairns and Townsville to unlock more renewable energy, deliver more reliability in severe storms and cyclones, and creating good local jobs in North Queensland.
We are also creating domestic manufacturing supply chains for the renewable energy components needed to build the
Queensland SuperGrid. We want to build as much of this renewable energy equipment as possible right here in Queensland –supporting local businesses and creating even more local jobs.
As we refine transmission routes and specify individual QREZ areas, Queenslanders can expect that there will be continuous engagement with communities, landholders and businesses. For the training and job portion of the plan, it’s been estimated that 70 per cent of these jobs could be in regional Queensland as investment flows to the regions. Was offering training and jobs in regional areas an important factor in the Plan and what is the long-term impact visualised for the regions?
Queensland’s clean energy revolution will be a revolution led by – and directly benefiting – our regions. Under our plan, regional Queensland will be the beating heart of our renewable energy transformation – housing pumped hydro assets, world-leading hydrogen precincts, large-scale wind and solar farms and operating
our Clean Energy Hubs. In fact, 95 per cent of investment in Queensland’s SuperGrid will be in our regions.
Our Clean Energy Hubs will contribute to the growth and development of regional economies and we want to ensure energy workers can train, live and work in their local communities.
Under our plan, we will develop a Future Energy Workforce Roadmap, outlining steps to build workforce capability, and ensure the right training is available in the right locations. We’ve also committed $90 million for two new transmission and training hubs in Townsville and Gladstone, which will support 570 workers each year.
We are directly investing in the regions, including establishing a $200 million Regional Economic Futures Fund to support economic and community development initiatives where existing coal plants are located. We will work with these communities and their local Governments, supporting a strong and sustainable future.
My government has also released a draft Regional Energy Transformation Partnerships Framework for consultation. It details ways to empower local voices and local choices, and position communities to benefit from increased economic development. I’d encourage Queenslanders to have their say on the new framework at qld.gov.au/energyandjobsplan.
It must feel exciting to be a pivotal part of the work for Queensland to reach its 50 per cent renewable energy target and be able to share such a significant energy Plan with the State and the rest of Australia. How does it feel to be creating and being a significant part of Queensland’s new energy legacy?
Last year, I visited the Torres Strait, where 15 islands are vulnerable to rising sea levels. On Thursday Island, traditional owners and elders showed me photos of ancestral graves that are now being washed away. Nowhere in our state is immune to the
impact of climate change. Since 2011, Queensland has experienced 98 natural disasters – from floods and cyclones, to bushfires. We must do better, for our people and our environment.
Over the last eight years, there’s been an enormous amount of progress in our State – particularly when it comes to investing in, and transitioning to, renewable energy. To-date, my government has facilitated around $11 billion in renewable energy investment, supporting 50 large-scale renewable projects, more than 7,900 construction jobs, and helping Queensland avoid 13.8 million tonnes of emissions annually.
Cutting emissions – including through our revised renewable energy targets of 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035 –is all about responding to the immediate threat of climate change. The threat imposed by climate change is very real for Queensland.
So, I’m very proud to lead a Government which is taking real action. We’re not just responding to climate change, but helping to create new, sustainable industries, and securing reliable and affordable energy for Queenslanders.
The Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan is one of the most significant energy plans of any Government in Australia. As Premier, it’s my great privilege to help deliver our plan – turning our greatest challenges into opportunities, setting our regions up for long-term prosperity and success, and preserving the great Queensland lifestyle for generations to come.
We’re already well on our way with the most valuable natural resources, world’s-best infrastructure, and some of the most highly skilled workforce anywhere in the world.
Over the next century we’re going to decarbonise and power the world’s economy with Queensland-made clean energy, mining, and manufacturing. Now, it really is Queensland’s time to shine.
We are acutely aware of the cost-of-living pressures, including the rising cost of energy, affecting our customers and all Australian households and businesses.
Geopolitical events including the Russian invasion of Ukraine are having a material impact on the price of resources which continues to flow through to gas and coal prices globally and in turn impact our customers. Our role in Australian homes as an essential service provider means we have a responsibility to take a multi-faceted approach – addressing not just the ‘now’ in terms of prices and hardship assistance, but also by taking a longer-term leadership approach around issues like future supply, innovation and how we lead the increasing electrification of our economy.
We expect the trend of consumers seeking alternative and sustainable solutions to managing energy costs in their homes and businesses will likely accelerate in 2023. Behind-the-meter products such as solar, batteries, and electric vehicles (EVs) are no longer emerging concepts appealing only to innovators and early adopters. While adoption of solar is high - more than 30 per cent of Australian households have a rooftop solar system - interest in EVs and batteries is certainly growing as consumers from all walks of life look for ways to lower their energy costs and reduce their emissions.
People are key to the energy transition. In 2022, the AGL Customer Council wrote an open letter urging governments, energy ministers, regulators, department heads, policymakers and market bodies to work together to ensure all Australians have an opportunity to participate in – and reap the benefits of – the energy transition. For this, 2023 will be a pivotal year.
Australians have already embraced solar in their homes and businesses. Solar on its own, however, is a passive energy source which can only be used when the sun is shining. Batteries provide consumers with flexibility in how and when to use the energy they generate. They also enable the decentralisation of the energy grid, meaning that customers produce energy for themselves and can sell their excess energy back to the grid as well as purchasing energy from the grid when they need to.
AGL’s industry-leading virtual power plant (VPP) rewards customers for providing access to their stored energy to support wider system reliability. As the market matures, consumers will be provided with more services that unlock value for their stored energy.
The Federal Government’s $200 million Community Batteries for Household Solar Program grant will provide funding for 400 community batteries to be rolled out across communities. This will drive more decentralised, flexible energy that can provide wider systems and market benefits.
AGL’s Peak Energy Rewards program is another example; consumers can be rewarded for reducing their energy consumption during peak periods (up to two hours per event), helping take stress off the system. As energy costs rise and consumers become more aware of managing their energy use, we anticipate consumers will play an increasing role in the operation of the electric grid by reducing or shifting their electricity usage during peak periods.
Over the past couple of years, there’s been a decisive shift in community attitudes towards climate change which has resulted in rising expectation of faster action and greater accountability from government and the largest carbon emitters.
Energy consumers expect their retailer to be sustainable - 65 per cent of energy consumers globally say sustainability is important for an energy provider which is the highest of any utility or service sector.
Customers also want to be part of the solution. There is a growing demand for products and services that can help customers reduce their carbon footprint which means improved efficiency and sustainability.
We have seen strong growth in the past year for our carbon neutral options across both residential and business customers. This is a simple way for customers to be more sustainable and we expect the strong uptake of carbon neutral products to continue in 2023 and beyond.
As the new year gets underway, the pace of energy transition continues to accelerate. AGL Chief Customer Officer, Jo Egan, shares her views on some of the key developments and big trends shaping the energy market in 2023.
Customer Officer, AGL
Large energy users are increasingly seeking tailored electrification solutions to meet their net zero commitments and drive down energy costs. We’re responding to these needs by rapidly expanding our decarbonisation and energy management solutions.
We partner with our Commercial and Industrial customers to understand their specific needs, how we can help them reduce their emissions and lower their energy costs by installing tailored solar and storage solutions. In many cases this is not only lowering carbon emissions but also costs, an ideal outcome for our large customers.
We expect that demand for customised partnerships to continue to grow this year as industry works with retailers on specialised sustainable energy solutions.
Consumers are also looking for products that have lower energy running costs and there is a growing trend towards choosing electricity for transport, cooking and heating as electricity provides a more efficient and sustainable way to consume energy. Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) predicts a 23 per cent increase in electricity consumption from 2020 to 2030.
Residential consumers are turning to more efficient reverse-cycle heating and cooling and upgrading to more efficient hot water systems and electrical cooking. Spurred on by rising gas costs and government schemes encouraging people to switch from gas to electrical appliances, we expect this trend to continue as people gradually replace gas appliances and hot water systems with electrical appliances.
The push towards faster electrification is also being supported by changes to government policy in some states. The National Construction Code amendments due in the second half of 2022 require new houses and apartments to meet a 7-star efficiency rating.
The Federal Government’s more ambitious EV plans, supporting the aspirations of state governments, are starting to have an impact. We expect EV purchases to increase in 2023 as a greater variety of EVs come on to the market and more consumers recognise the benefits of investing in an EV.
As well as being cheaper to run than a petrol-fuelled vehicle, EVs also have the potential to unlock opportunities for consumers to utilise their EV as a giant battery to power their home or to support the energy system at times of peak demand. AGL is currently undertaking an ARENA-funded trial to manage 200 residential customers’ EV smart charging stations, using technology to ensure customers cars are charged at the most optimal time for the grid, while also meeting their driving needs.
AGL’s EV subscription model provides access to an EV without the upfront costs. Customers can swap, upgrade or cancel at any time, while trying out different EV models in an all-inclusive charge.
Critical to the success of the energy transition is data and digitisation. Digitisation is driving simplicity and improving access for consumers. Consumers across all age groups now prefer to engage digitally for 9 out of 10 of their energy interactions. If there’s a problem, however, some consumers want to be able to resolve it quickly by talking to someone. Companies that invest in the digital experience and do it well will be rewarded with greater consumer trust, loyalty, and retention.
The introduction of Consumer Data Right will give consumers more control over their data by allowing them to choose who they want to share it with and how it should be used, empowering them to make faster and more informed decisions. This will drive retailers to better analyse the data available and develop products and services more in line with consumer behaviour and needs.
The increase in cybercriminal activity observed in Australia and abroad is a growing concern. It is imperative the industry remains vigilant and builds robust cybersecurity measures to protect consumers’ personal information. This is the foundation on which consumer trust is built.
Whatever 2023 brings, one thing’s for sure: the energy transition is accelerating, and developments in the energy market are unlikely to disappear from the front pages of our newspapers anytime soon. This whole-of-economy change requires industry to innovate and partner, working hand-in-hand with governments and communities to ensure a smooth and orderly transition for all.
By Dennis R Van Puyvelde, Head of Renewable Gas, ENA
Australia’s renewable electricity target has underpinned most of Australia’s renewable electricity policy, resulting in robust settings guiding the transition to net zero. Similar policies applied to gas could create new opportunities to help the nation reach its emission reduction goals.
Anew industry report, 2030 Emission Reduction Opportunities for Gas Networks, offers a range of pathway options to achieve net zero. At the top of the list is introducing a renewable gas target.
Australia has a long history of renewable electricity policy mainly driven by the renewable electricity target. This has resulted in continued growth in renewable generation, which reached almost 35 per cent in the National Electricity Market (NEM) last year, as well as emission reductions from electricity. Similar policies, applied to gas, would create new abatement opportunities to help Australia reach its emission reduction goals.
Natural gas is a major energy source for Australia providing residential, commercial and industrial customers with a reliable and convenient way to heat their homes and businesses and to drive industrial processes. Gas is also an essential contributor to power generation and is becoming more important to support growing levels of variable renewable electricity in the grid.
While governments around the country (and the world) have supported renewable electricity in many forms for many years (e.g. feed in tariffs, renewable targets, appliance subsidies), they have
only in the past few years introduced policy settings for renewable gases such as hydrogen. Most of the current policies are grants to help demonstrate renewable gas technology, but these have so far had limited impact on market development, which was identified as a policy gap in Gas Vision 2050: 2022 Outlook.
The new 2030 Emission Reduction Opportunities for Gas Networks report has identified a range of policy options to help Australia meet its 2030 emission reduction targets.
Domestic use of gas contributes 61.5Mt CO2 to Australia’s carbon emission, or about 12 per cent of the total emissions in 2022. In comparison, the emissions from electricity generation were 158Mt and from transport were 91Mt.
The emissions from gas are dominated by the end use (Scope 3) of the gas by customers. This end use includes using gas to heat homes or in an industrial furnace to produce heat. The use of gas by customers represents 96 per cent of the emissions from gas. These emissions are outside the control and scope of gas distribution businesses. Gas Vision 2050 highlighted opportunities to decarbonise gas using hydrogen and/or biomethane; but additional opportunities also exist through improved efficiency of gas appliances that reduces the amount of gas consumed, and hence reduces emissions.
The remaining emissions (Scope 1 and 2) occur from the use of gas to transport it via pipelines and distribution networks, and losses from accidents or maintenance. Reducing these emissions can be difficult as they relate to capital investments needed that cannot be recovered under current regulatory settings or emissions arising from accidental strikes by third parties onto gas network assets.
Supportive policies would result in emission reductions from domestic gas use. Moderate supportive policies including a renewable gas target of 20 per cent could achieve a 16 to 30 per cent reduction in emissions from domestic natural gas use by 2030 while stronger settings, such as a 50 per cent renewable gas target, may achieve up to a 50 per cent reduction.
Good progress is being made in developing enabling policies, such as the hydrogen Guarantee of Origin certification scheme, but additional market development policies are needed. There are a broad range of policies that can be introduced at moderate or stronger settings including:
» Renewable Gas Target: A renewable gas target of 20 per cent to 50 per cent covering hydrogen, biomethane and renewable synthetic methane could support emissions reduction from the use of gas. Note that this could also reduce operational emissions as the natural gas in the pipeline is replaced by a proportion of renewable gas.
» Increased Appliance Efficiency Mechanism: Combining a minimum 6-star hydrogen ready appliance mandate with
financial support for households to increase appliance replacement rates by 50 to 200 per cent could deliver reduced gas use and reduce emissions for the same amenity, while providing residential hydrogen readiness.
» Allowing Infrastructure Emissions Reduction Cost Recovery : Changes to gas infrastructure regulation could allow regulated gas infrastructure to recover the cost of operational and fugitive emissions reduction. Under current regulation, infrastructure businesses must demonstrate to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) a zero or negative cost to customers in order to recover the cost of emission reduction including fugitive emission reduction.
Australia’s latest emission projection shows a gap between the 2030 target and the projected level of emissions, even after taking into account new policies such as the proposed reforms for the Safeguard Mechanism and the 80 per cent renewable electricity target. Supportive policies to reduce emissions from gas could contribute an additional 10 to 31Mt CO2 of abatement by 2030, and allow Australia to meet its 2030 target, as shown in Figure 3.
The projected gap between 2030 emissions and the government target will require new policies to be developed. Urgent government and industry action is required to scope, design and implement a range of renewable gas policies for them to be able to contribute to the 2030 emissions reduction goal. The first and most critical of these policies is the establishment of a national renewable gas target.
www.energynetworks.com.au/miscellaneous/2030-emission-reduction-opportunities-for-gas-networks-by-enea-consulting-2022/
By Holly Tancredi, Assistant Editor, Energy Magazine
Lisa moved into her role in January 2022 after returning to Australia from seven years in the UK with a clear priority – to develop a compelling refreshed strategy for Momentum Energy, which is owned by Hydro Tasmania, Australia’s largest generator of renewable energy. This included time spent understanding both businesses and working out exactly how Momentum wanted to set up for the future. A month after finalising this strategy, the energy crisis hit.
“Immediately, the world changed, and my team and I were thrown into – as every other retailer and energy company was – a whole new world,” Lisa said.
While the changing energy landscape tested the company, Lisa is confident in the decision to use the new strategy to guide the business and its customers through the difficult period.
“There is no denying that at the operational level we had to pivot and do things differently,” Lisa said.
“But the fundamentals of the strategy stayed true and we remain committed to them. It's more critical than ever that we stick to the path.”
Lisa and her team are enormously proud to be part of the Hydro Tasmania family and recognise its history and experience as a renewable energy generator for more than 100 years. However, as the mainland retailer of Hydro Tasmania, Momentum also needs to establish and grow its own unique brand and position in the market.
“Through Hydro Tasmania, we have a wealth of renewable energy expertise, experience, and capability that we want to share for the benefit of our customers,” Lisa said.
“But as a retailer, we also want to focus on innovation, digitisation and simplification, delivering products that are affordable and useful for our customers, large and small.”
Lisa said the core pillar of the strategy is to help support customers of all types on their decarbonisation journey, utilising in part Hydro Tasmania’s strong history, experience and credentials in the green energy space.
“Residential customers remain very important to us, but the strategy calls for an increased focus on business – small, mid-size enterprises and commercial, industrial – customers as well,” Lisa said.
“We’re confident that business customers will increasingly see the many benefits of purchasing their electricity from a reputable, Australian-owned green energy company.”
Simplifying and improving digital experiences is another key strategic pillar.
The final pillar is focused on Momentum’s employee base –the people.
“We’re powered by our people and I’m passionate about building the skills, capabilities, motivation, engagement and ultimately success of our people,” Lisa said.
“These strategic pillars have helped us navigate through this very difficult period, and give us a clear north star and aspiration to continue to work towards.
“The great opportunity for us is to continue enhancing our green credentials. When people think of green electricity companies, we want Momentum Energy to be foremost in their minds.
“We’ve received external recognition for that, including a 4.5 star rating in Greenpeace’s 2022 Green Electricity Guide, which rated us as one of Australia’s top three green electricity companies.
“Now we want to accelerate the shift to renewables by becoming a trusted green partner to businesses and households looking to decarbonise.”
One example of this is a preferred supplier partnership with Australia’s leading not-for-profit housing provider, Nightingale Housing, to power its Victorian operations from energy sourced 100 per cent from renewables. Momentum is currently contracted to provide electricity to ten Nightingale developments across Melbourne.
Upcoming Nightingale projects will use 100 per cent GreenPower purchased from Momentum Energy during the construction phase of the projects. After construction, power to residents is supplied via a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement linked to renewable energy from the Granville Harbour Wind Farm in Tasmania.
Nearly twelve months on from the beginning of Australia's energy crisis, and the necessary fast-tracking of the energy transition, Lisa said there are continually evolving questions and challenges to work through.
“As an energy retailer, what can we offer our customers beyond price?” Lisa said.
“How do we make sure that our customers – particularly the most vulnerable – are given the opportunity to participate in the benefits of the new energy future? These questions and more are top of mind for me and my leadership team.
“If we remain in an environment of high prices, how do we help you reduce your consumption? How do we help you to consume at the optimal times of day?”
Solutions might involve helping a very large business customer with a virtual power plant solution, or helping residential customers understand their usage patterns to help reduce their power bills.
Lisa said the energy transition urgently needs a rebrand because describing it as merely a “transition” doesn’t capture the enormity of the task.
“This is a major overhaul of the entire system and requires profound, transformational change,” Lisa said.
“To be successful, it requires active and informed engagement from all participants, including consumers.
“We know that the challenges are huge, but we also know that the public overwhelmingly wants action on climate change, so we need to make sure we don’t lose that public mandate for a shift to renewables.
“The journey to net zero is not just essential if we are to tackle climate change, but also – as was highlighted in the 2022 Health of the NEM report – the best way to ensure affordable energy in the long term.
Momentum Energy has created a name for itself as one of the country’s greenest electricity companies. Managing Director, Lisa Chiba, spoke with Energy Magazine about how Momentum is adapting to the energy transition, and its plan to help customers on their decarbonisation journey, alongside reflections on her leadership and passion for a positive workplace culture.
“If we delay action now because of the current price volatility then there’s a risk that future generations will experience even greater energy poverty and greater climate change impact.”
Lisa firmly believes the energy transition must be supported by better education and support. To achieve this, retailers need to invest in their own capabilities and solutions so they can effectively support their customers and the broader public. They need to make it easy and affordable for customers to access renewable energy and green tech solutions.
Lisa said retailers have a huge role to play in helping consumers understand and navigate their options.
“How do we help customers understand how renewable energy; electrification and other products and services can benefit them?” Lisa said.
“Investing in our people is critical to our success,” Lisa said.
“We've developed compassion fatigue training for our frontline staff, in particular the teams that look after our vulnerable customers, family violence, and hardship customers.
“As cost of living challenges continue to evolve, initiatives like this are more important than ever. We want to support our people who in turn do amazing work day in and day out supporting our customers.”
This support will remain pivotal as Australia’s economy continues shifting, with Lisa predicting 2023 will be a difficult year.
“Cost of living continues to rise; as do interest rates, and we know a lot of people will be rolling off fixed-rate mortgages,” Lisa said.
”Energy prices look set to continue to increase despite some government intervention: at this point we don’t see a viable alternative scenario in the next year or two.”
Lisa said the many and varied challenges of the energy transformation and the inherent need to be able to evolve and innovate to keep up with the pace of change meant it is essential for the energy sector to hire people based on their skills and capabilities, not necessarily just on their experience and education. Hiring outside the industry box and investing in on-the-job learning will be continually explored by Momentum.
“I think the retail sector naturally attracts a range of great people who are often highly engaged, purpose led, connected to the customer, innovative and passionate,” Lisa said.
“I want to make sure that continues and that the sector can remain really vibrant.”
Diversity, equity and inclusion are a key priority and top of mind for Lisa. She is conscious of her position as a relatively young female leading a large business in a traditionally male dominated industry. Lisa wants to ensure she is visible and can help others see themselves in similar positions. Lisa is proud of her AustralianJapanese heritage; and with a two year old at home she knows her background and family life is not necessarily typical of a retail energy executive. Attending industry events, she has noticed that there are not that many others like her.
“I suddenly realised that I am a bit of an outlier and it's become quite important to me to be a visible role model,” Lisa said.
“Representation does matter, and I would be incredibly proud if my being in this position can give others more confidence and courage to chase their career ambitions.”
“How do we make it tangible, demonstrating that every Australian household and business can play a genuine part in the shift to renewables? There are green products and solutions out there that can help customers reduce both emissions and costs, but navigating these can be quite difficult.”
Momentum Energy has recently begun a project involving quantitative research, consumer experimentation, co-creation and prototyping of products to trial.
“Our approach is deeply rooted in respect for customers and the principles of service design – we are talking to customers, asking them what they want and need, then testing, prototyping and co-creating solutions with them,” Lisa said.
Throughout our discussion, Lisa’s focus and passion for people continually comes through. She is clear that Momentum is powered by its people and one of its greatest assets. Accordingly, there is a huge focus on the employee value proposition; diversity, equity and inclusion; and investing in career development and staff engagement.
Both Momentum and Hydro Tasmania are making great progress on their DEI agendas, with both leadership teams currently having more women than men. An enhanced gender neutral parental scheme launched in 2022 to complement a range of other benefits and support offerings, with more planned in 2023.
“Diversity just breeds different ways of thinking,” Lisa said.
“With different cultures and different opportunities, you learn more and you're challenged more.
“I’m not your typical executive but I think my differences are just as important as my typical leadership traits. Resilience and confidence in particular have been hard-earned over my career and I think it’s really important to be honest about that.
“It's something that I try and talk to people early on in their career about because I find particularly women often say ‘I couldn't do what you do’. Well, twenty years ago, I couldn't either.
"I've had some incredible leaders, both male and female, but a number of female leaders who have really been role models and have mentored me and believed in me more than anything.
“This is a fascinating and challenging time to be in the retail industry and all of us will be facing unprecedented risks, opportunities and changes in the coming years – but I’m incredibly excited and optimistic to be a part of it.”
22-23 MARCH 2023
22-23 MARCH 2023
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia
Ms Williams has expert knowledge of the energy sector, developed from her experience as an engineer of power systems and from working across a range of portfolios in technical, commercial, policy and regulatory settings. Specialising in innovation and with extensive experience in emerging technologies, Ms Williams has worked on distributed energy and storage projects with fuel cells, small-scale wind turbines, and more.
Within her roles, Ms Williams is well aware of the critical role consumers will play within the energy transition, and she is at the forefront of supporting and developing technical solutions to ease the way.
Ms Williams said the complex nature of the industry means there’s no easy answer or silver bullet to “solve” the energy crisis.
“We're in uncharted territory. This energy system, the technology we're using – ARENA are at the forefront in Australia. There isn't a road map for us to follow; we're defining our own map,” Ms Williams said.
“Realistically, change is going to be our only constant.”
ARENA hosts the Distributed Energy Integration Program (DEIP), a collaborative effort to help solve the issues and barriers slowing customer’s devices being fully integrated with the system.
Ms Williams, the DEIP Chair, said the program’s foundational work includes a plethora of stakeholders coming together to find, explain, and solve problems to ease the transition, but it’s not always smooth sailing.
“From the largest consumer down to small business, energy touches all of society, so there's a lot of different stakeholders with strong views,” Ms Williams said.
“Getting across the issues, getting stakeholders to trust each other, have those really great discussions, and get to a consensus decision, takes some time,” Ms Williams said.
“The work gives policymakers the ability to take those next steps and be really successful in making some changes in an area that can be really contentious, fraught, complex and challenging,” Ms Williams said.
Ms Williams said understanding that technical solutions and changes are complex and nuanced and represent a major shift is important, as the industry must consider the market, regulation, and conceptually, how consumers use distributed energy resource (DER) devices.”
Ms Williams said changing the narrative of renewable energy technologies will be a major factor in the transition of Australia to net zero, and a large adjustment began during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns across 2020-21.
“During the lockdowns, the amount of distributed resources such as rooftop solar in the system was just phenomenal. It exceeded anyone's expectations or forecasts. That's both an enormous benefit but does present some challenges for managing the system,” Ms Williams said.
Ms Williams said this aspect of the transition is intriguing, and she said that moving forward, it is important to acknowledge not only what consumers want, but how ARENA can facilitate that in a safe and effective way.
It is not only rooftop solar that is changing the way ARENA looks at DERs, EVs will also present a unique opportunity within the transition due to its impact on consumers and storage.
“We're thinking about DERs in a way that we've never thought about them before,” Ms Williams said.
“Our philosophy around EVs is going to be confronted by the reality of how consumers think about them and how they want to use them.
“From a consumer perspective, you haven't necessarily bought an energy device that drives you around occasionally – you've actually bought a car. It's not first and foremost an energy device, it's first and foremost a transportation device that needs to be charged.
“The way that we facilitate a really strong uptake of EVs and then how we're able to safely and effectively integrate them into the system will be the next frontier.
“ARENA is opening up that opportunity and creating a network of chargers so you can get to wherever you need to be with your electric vehicle.”
In a series of trials, ARENA is working on building out the infrastructure in order to facilitate that uptake for people who might not own their own home and might not be able to build charging infrastructure at their own residence. These trials provide a fuller scope on a project's viability, invaluable data on how people are using charging infrastructure, as well as informing both industry and policymakers with concrete evidence.
As the energy sector continues to integrate renewables into the system, a large piece of the puzzle will be storage and supporting the more difficult-to-transition sectors.
ARENA's investigation into the transitioning of the heavy industry has been a new project and priority for the organisation. Ms Williams said ARENA has been investigating the hard-to-approach sector with the aim of integrating renewables and reducing emissions through low emission metals.
In October 2022, ARENA announced AGL would receive $1.1 million to investigate if South Australian Torrens Island Power Station B could be retrofitted with thermal energy storage (TES).
Ms Williams said it was exciting that ARENA is working beyond lithium-ion storage and analysing thermal storage to unlock greater usage potential, reduce costs and emissions, as well as create opportunities for synchronous generation outside of coal.
TES has greater storage duration potential, and has the possibility of utilising technology to integrate renewables into industrial heat applications – which currently represents over 40 per cent of Australia’s total energy end use and half of which is used to process heat.
According to ARENA1 , TES has the potential to open up:
» Heat grade flexibility provisions e.g. the ability to upgrade heat sources or discharge at various temperatures
» The ability to serve multiple end uses across sector applications
» Diversify energy resources to include heat
Ms Williams said that greater innovation, stronger solutions and lasting change isn’t developed within people by chance but developed through people’s support systems.
Ms Williams reflected on the support she received early in her career, and said she thinks about her career in two halves –before and after her position at Transgrid.
“The ex-CEO of Transgrid, Paul Italiano, had a role called the CEO Associate, and I was lucky enough to get chosen for that role. It was an incredible inflection point in my career,” Ms Williams said.
“If you look at my resume, you can see the before and after. That position changed my life, and it definitely changed my career. It exposed me to commercial decision-making at a really senior level.”
For Ms Williams, this opportunity fostered not only huge personal and professional growth, but also a change in her leadership style, furthering her understanding that success looks different to different people.
“We all know that there's a skill shortage, but being able to have everyone contributing at their full potential is where we need to be to solve these problems,” Ms Williams said.
Despite this, Ms Williams is well aware of the systemic challenge of diversity in the energy industry and the concern for future generations.
“I was in a session on women in renewables recently where they said it's about year nine when girls start opting out of STEM courses. When that happens, it means then we don't have the
In Australia, girls' interest in STEM courses, especially in engineering, declines as they age.
Boys are twice as likely to aspire to STEM careers, regardless of a diverse cultural background and metropolitan location.
There is a 20 per cent difference in girls and boys choosing elective STEM subjects between years six to eight. This divide continues as they age.
feed into universities, which means the output isn't balanced and we don't have a broad range of talent from different levels,” Ms Williams said.
“The wealth of research says the more diverse a group of decision makers you have, the better decisions you make."
Improving diversity will encourage success, and ensure that progress is made – both within ARENA’s technical projects, and professionally within her team.
The 18-25 age segment reported 53 per cent of men not interested in STEM, compared to 70 per cent of women.2 FOOTNOTES
“I don't believe that merit is allocated on gender or race or sexuality or socioeconomic background. Merit is evenly distributed across society, so it’s important to bring everyone up to their full potential. We have so many diamonds in the rough that are overlooked, and if we just put the energy into bringing everyone up to their full potential, we would be able to achieve a lot more.”
Ms Williams said that thinking about people as individuals, recognising their strengths, and encouraging those to be developed, is how we're going to solve problems in this society.
“Both the diversity and energy transition problems – they're huge, they're meaty, but they're the kind of problems I really get excited to try and help solve and try to make the world a little bit better.”
2023 has begun with a tonal change in the Victorian Government, with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning being rebranded to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). Anh Mai, who was recently appointed as the Executive Director of Offshore Wind Energy Victoria (OWEV), spoke to Energy Magazine regarding the huge potential of offshore wind to secure a future for the generations to come and begin energy’s golden era.
Ms Mai has an extensive background with the Victorian Government’s renewable energy priorities. With a strong history in economics, policy, business and capital management, including establishing VicGrid in 2021, and most recently working as the Acting Deputy Secretary for Energy in 2022, Ms Mai said she was looking forward to the new challenge that offshore wind presents.
Ms Mai shared several foundation goals for the OWEV across 2023 including:
» Developing a procurement process, including timelines, tranche size and support mechanism
» Exploring and attracting investment to the state
» Confirming legislative and regulatory approach to support offshore wind development
» Releasing implementation statements that will articulate the Victorian Government’s plans for offshore wind
Work for the development of offshore wind in Victoria prior to 2023 included completing substantial technical studies, modelling and new strategies.
“With a myriad of stakeholders to work with, we're excited to partner with VicGrid and the Department of Transport and Planning, and the relevant Victorian ports, to develop the necessary infrastructure to enable offshore wind development,” Ms Mai said.
The value of Victoria’s offshore future
Ms Mai said that offshore wind will play a major role in replacing existing capacity and transitioning Victoria, and the country, to a net zero future. Offshore wind will work alongside the Victorian Government’s Renewable Energy Target (VRET) to reach 95 per cent renewables by 2035.
“Offshore wind gives us valuable diversity in our renewable energy supply, in that it has a different supply profile to onshore energy,” Ms Mai said.
“It gives us a better portfolio of generation across the state and it brings economic opportunities as well as we develop the new skills and jobs for this new industry.
“We know that in the medium term, energy and the electricity sector need to do much of the heavy lifting in reducing emissions to hit our targets. We know that coal powered plants will exit over the next decade or so.”
Ms Mai wasn’t surprised that Gippsland was declared as the first location for the Australian Government’s Offshore Wind Zone due to that region having some of the world’s best offshore wind resources, with consistently high commercially viable wind speeds.
Compared to onshore wind farms, ocean wind is more powerful and more consistent across the afternoons, creating a longer period of power generation. Additionally, Gippsland has a large area of shallow ocean, and therefore suited for fixed-platform turbines to be installed, alongside the location having accessibility to a strong, established transmission grid.
“Maximising Victoria’s potential is not just going to accelerate our clean energy transition, but it's going to support thousands of jobs, many in locations where we've already got coal fired power stations,” Ms Mai said.
As the unofficial motto of the energy transition, Ms Mai reiterated that there can be no transition without transmission. Discussing how her previous VicGrid REZ work is tightly linked to the Offshore Wind Program, Ms Mai explained that a key discussion within DEECA is how transmission can be more effectively planned for communities.
“People are very sensitive to how transmission is planned and placed in their community and how it affects their environment, so I'm really proud of that becoming something that this government is really focused on and cares about,” Ms Mai said.
Ms Mai said the Victorian Government’s Energy Innovation Fund 2021 first round winners demonstrated the opportunity offshore wind has for regional development, with $38 million going towards feasibility and development studies in Gippsland.
“These projects that we have supported have the potential to deliver more than 5,500 jobs. They also allow us to invest in those regions,” Ms Mai said.
The Innovation Fund awarded $38 million across three projects in Gippsland:
» Seadragon Wind Farm
1.5GW, Bass Strait
» Great Southern Wind Farm
1.5GW, Bass Coast, estimated to avoid 4,124/kt CO2 emissions per year
» Star of the South Wind Project
2.2GW, 200 turbines and estimated to supply 20 per cent of the state’s electricity needs
These three projects are estimated to generate $18 billion in investment and provide a significant 40 per cent of the state’s electricity consumption.
The energy capacity is estimated to be around 13GW, with first power by 2028 and a target to have at least 2GW online by 2032.
Ms Mai said the regions being considered for offshore wind include regional communities which welcome the economic opportunities.
“We will need to think about how [the projects] impact local communities. We're very cognizant that local communities who are experiencing the energy transition need to be part of how the new developments and infrastructure are designed and planned,” Ms Mai said.
Ms Mai spoke with compassion and empathy regarding community concerns to the challenges the transition could present.
“We understand impacts like noise and agricultural use are major factors on community support for the renewable energy industry and development of that infrastructure,” Ms Mai said.
“We're looking at how to get our policy settings and frameworks right, to make it easier for traditional owner groups and local communities to engage in land planning, transmission planning processes and development processes to better inform how our REZs are developed.”
As the Victorian offshore wind zones are connected to two REZs, DEECA are approaching the development of both offshore wind and REZs with a holistic lens. Ms Mai said there have already been active discussions about how to minimise negative impacts and
ensure benefits to the community wherever they can. Ms Mai said examples of these benefits could be local jobs, energy projects or services, or community programs.
The Offshore Wind program will also be consistent with Pupangarli Marnmarnepu, the Department’s Aboriginal SelfDetermination Reform Strategy 2020–2025, ensuring there is collaboration with Traditional Owners to develop a new engagement model and maintain alignment between DEECA and the Traditional Owners’ aspirations for self-determination and economic independence.
Ms Mai said the significant changes within Victoria’s energy sector has created a unique value proposition, full of purpose and positive impacts, but that can only be actualised if people grow alongside the transition.
“We are not just building the energy landscape of the future, we're securing and preserving a future for the generations ahead by doing this well and just attacking the climate change challenge in front of us,” Ms Mai said.
“We're heading into the golden era of energy. We are reforming the energy landscape. We are building things that are going to be
servicing our customers and our communities for decades.”
Ms Mai also said there is a clear opportunity for the industry to invest in the future workforce for offshore wind, and ensure that training partners and organisations promote interest in this new sector.
Ms Mai said the development of transmission and ports infrastructure will set up Victoria for the construction of offshore wind farms, but securing the critical supply chain and workforce capabilities and to actually deliver them will be equally important. She said the department will be working with industry and governments on how best to do so. This has led the Offshore Wind Policy Directions paper to signify workforce training as a necessary pathway to its success.
The potential for the industry’s skill shortage to halt significant renewable energy projects is also a well-known concern. The Clean Energy Regulator’s 2022 report Skilling the Energy Transition provided six key recommendations to support the training and skills growth needed to bring AEMO’s Integrated System Plan ninefold increase in renewable energy’s grid-scale generation to fruition. But with two recommendations discussing the need for greater vocational training and higher education, it’s not as straightforward as simply hiring more people.
“We're heading into the golden era of energy. We are reforming the energy landscape. We are building things that are going to be servicing our customers and our communities for decades.”
Anh Mai, Executive Director of Offshore Wind Energy Victoria
The evolution of the country’s energy cannot happen from technology alone, with Ms Mai stating the industry needs top talent. Companies are competing for this talent, and any organisation without an inclusive culture is likely to suffer the consequences of not being an employer of choice.
Ms Mai said DEECA has an “elevated understanding of what equal opportunity is” and greater diversity than she’s previously experienced.
As a leader and woman of colour, Ms Mai knows how pivotal it is to change the narrative away from a singular example of leadership. Reflecting on a conversation early in her career, when she asked management for advice on presentations, she was suggested to show more traits typical of an “older, traditional, male”, with Ms Mai rejecting that notion. She also stated that she doesn’t believe in managers always needing to present as solemn or emotionally muted.
“We've got to ask ourselves if people see leadership as looking a certain way, and why that is. If it is because historically, that’s what we’ve experienced, then we need more leaders who look different to that,” Ms Mai said.
“There's a lot to be said about the expression ‘You can't be it if you don't see it’”.
For her own team in DEECA, Ms Mai said she openly celebrates success and connects emotionally with her team, and this forms part of her leadership which is people and purpose driven.
“I really try to invest in my people because we do increasingly, especially in energy, ask a lot of our people,” Ms Mai said.
“The real question for leaders is – what's your value proposition to your team? What are they wanting from you and how are you helping to deliver that? Not just the organisational business plan should be set as the priority – people want to know that you’re also there for them.”
Ms Mai sees an incredible opportunity for the energy industry, with people, technology and necessity unlocking previously untapped possibilities.
“Offshore wind is the next major opportunity for Victoria,” Ms Mai said.
“I want to continue to be part of the solutions and the projects that help capture those opportunities.”
PPowerlink’s purpose is to connect Queenslanders to a world-class energy future. This includes delivering a significant program of work annually to ensure existing assets are operating safely and securely, and new assets are added to the network as needed to cater to new customers in emerging markets.
the SPA, has been involved in a number of substation works and upgrades in recent years.
Communication the key to success
Zinfra and Powerlink have partnered on several projects together in recent years. This includes partnering on projects to upgrade or install new equipment at the Baralaba, Ingham, Swanbank and Mudgeeraba substations.
Currently, the Zinfra team is delivering a 275/132kV T2 transformer at Strathmore substation in Northern Queensland. Three separable portions of works have been completed in 2022 with decommissioning works to take place in 2023.
Works for this project began in October 2021 after Zinfra were awarded the project. The scope of works included extension of the 132kV switchyard bench, secondary systems upgrade in the 132 and 275kV switchyards, oversee the delivery and assembly of the 275/132kV 300 MVA transformer and installing a new 132kV transmission line between the 275kV switchyard and the 132kV switchyard.
For Zinfra Project Manager, Edward Olivier, communication is a core to the working relationship between Zinfra and Powerlink, from the first project undertaken under the SPA to the current project at Strathmore.
“Communication is key and it's probably the biggest task of a project manager,” Mr Olivier said.
“There are a lot of parties involved in these projects, so it’s important that everyone talks to each other.
“We also formalise the channels of communication with a communication matrix that determines the different roles in the two organisations, and the roles of individuals within each organisation, so we know exactly who is responsible for what.”
But for the works on the ground, the most important communication has been day-to-day catch ups with members from all levels of both organisations.
“In terms of communication, it's regular conversations, weekly catch ups, monthly reports – open and honest communication with a lot of trust and early advice.”
Clear and regular communication has improved how Zinfra and Powerlink approach risk management during these works, particularly at Strathmore.
After Powerlink awarded Zinfra the contract, Zinfra had to submit a health and safety management plan and environment management plan, which needed general and project-specific details regarding potential risks, constraints and appropriate actions. This was all compiled in a risk register.
To ensure the risk register covered everything before mobilisation, Zinfra conducted a Construction Risk Assessment Workshop (CRAW) with Powerlink, then after that the register is reviewed and updated every month to check for any changes.
Creating plans to tackle risks involved Zinfra and Powerlink turning to personnel from all levels to ensure that everything in the risk register and protocols on-site were up-to-date.
“Anyone can stop a task to assess the risks appropriately and make sure that controls are in place,” Mr Olivier said.
“The risk register is part of the process and protocols we’re expected to follow, but there’s also background management plans and then down on the site level is the daily pre-starts, swims and toolbox meetings.”
This meant as issues arose during the process, consultation and planning helped to resolve issues before they could impact on work delivery or team member safety.
Zinfra’s preparation and openness proved useful when a heatwave that wasn’t typical for Far North Queensland occurred during the works at Strathmore.
As a result, site managers had to be prepared to tackle exhaustion, heatstroke and potential equipment failures. There were periods when a decision was made to stop works, reassess the situation and devise a plan.
While Zinfra utilised the already prepared risk register, the team also needed to draw expertise from other professionals as the risk management process did not factor in an unprecedented and unexpected heatwave.
Zinfra proactively engaged an external subject matter expert to undertake a real-time body core temperature study involving field personnel. This study resulted in the implementation of additional controls and protocols to effectively manage the risk of heat stress on its workforce. These controls and protocols have now been implemented into our management plans across all projects.
Even in challenging conditions, Zinfra kept everyone informed and collaborated to find the best solution, rather than impact on work quality or safety on site.
“Our approach is to manage the risk, plan the work and consult with each other on what is the best way to avoid any issues or safety concerns around carrying out the activities,” Mr Olivier said.
“For Zinfra, we do it once and we do it properly the first time.”
As demand for rooftop solar continues to grow in Australia, the small-scale solar industry has new regulations designed to improve integrity for a more accountable solar market.
The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) has spent 2022 implementing the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) reforms. The reforms address recommendations made in the 2021 Integrity Review of the Rooftop Solar photovoltaic (PV) sector (the review). Thirteen recommendations from the review, to improve the integrity of the SRES, were presented to the Australian Government.
Twelve of the recommendations were accepted, with one noted by the Australian Government. The recommendations became law on 17 December 2021 through the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and Other Measures) Regulations 2021 Clean Energy Regulator General Manager for the Renewable Energy Target branch, Matt Power, said the review was called to address consumer concerns about the solar industry.
“At the time, there was a lot of talk about how the industry wasn’t performing to consumer expectations,” Mr Power said.
“There were concerns about faulty installations and installers that were not on-site, but signing off on jobs.”
Throughout 2022, the CER has been implementing regulations which address these concerns. From 1 April 2022 new legal requirements apply to all solar PV installers, designers, retailers, agents, manufacturers and importers as part of phase 1 of the SRES reforms.
Solar retailers are now required to provide written statements for any solar PV unit they acquire, install, or sell that will be used to claim small-scale technology certificates (STCs). This statement requires retailers to provide information on feed-in tariffs, grid connection and expected performance of the system, which will improve consumer outcomes. STCs provide a Commonwealth financial incentive that applies when an Australian consumer
installs an eligible solar PV system. STCs cover approximately one third of a system’s upfront cost. Accredited installers and designers are also now required to make new and updated written statements, including installers evidencing that they have been on-site for the installation.
Further, agents are required to collect and retain the updated installer written statement and the new written statements from designers and retailers. Agents are also required to collect inverter serial number data, complementing the introduction of the CER's inverter serial number ledger, where Australian manufacturers and importers are required to supply serial numbers for all approved inverters that enter the Australian market.
Mr Power has overseen the implementation of Phase 1 of the SRES reforms and says industry has been supportive of the reforms.
“Solar industry participants have seen it as a way to improve integrity in the solar sector, and that's not just for STC claims, but for improved installation of approved solar products and consumers getting what they've paid for," Mr Power said.
“We've put a significant amount of investment into educating the sector that installers are required to be on-site and to collect and retain that evidence.
“I’ve also been working with our compliance branch that has new compliance powers. We can now remove participants from the SRES.
“If we find installers that are not on-site, and not meeting on-site requirements, we now have the ability under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001 (REE Regulations) to remove these players if they've signed false and misleading written statements to the CER.
“The good news though, is that to date the sector has been very compliant and we are seeing good signs through our own in-depth assessment of these areas that installers have been on-site.
“We have been taking action against some installers and failing STC applications where the agent and the installer have not been able to provide the required on-site evidence for the start, middle and finish of the job.
“We will fail STC applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria for that on-site attendance, and if we do find retailers misleading consumers, we will take swift action against them.”
As part of the Phase 2 implementation of the SRES reforms, the CER is implementing changes to the installer and designer accreditation scheme and product listing.
Between 7 November and 6 December 2022, the CER consulted with industry and other stakeholders on whether the CER should nominate a body to publish a list of SRES eligible solar panels and inverters. The CER will decide, based on the outcome of the public consultation, whether to open a nomination process for a body to publish approved solar panels and inverters.
On 16 December 2022, the CER invited organisations to apply to become an approved designer and installer accreditation scheme operator under the SRES. Applications close 15 March 2023.
Mr Power said the application round is an opportunity for bodies with the right capability to operate an accreditation scheme and play an important role in the integrity of the SRES.
“This is the next important step we are required to perform under the REE Regulations to strengthen scheme integrity," Mr Power said.
The Clean Energy Council (CEC) will continue to publish the approved solar panel and inverter lists, and to accredit installers and designers while these processes are undertaken.
Mr Power said the CER continues to work with the solar industry.
“There are 19 gigawatts of rooftop solar installed in Australia that generated approximately 24,500 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity," Mr Power said.
“A record-high 3.2 gigawatts of rooftop solar was installed in 2021, this was partly linked to the increase in home improvement expenditure during the pandemic. We expect 2.7 gigawatts of installed capacity in 2022 and a further 2.9 gigawatts installed capacity in 2023.
“With electricity prices rising as they have been in the past six months, this will lead to solar PV installations being an excellent investment opportunity for consumers and businesses to manage their own electricity bills into the future.”
Find out more about the Phase 1 changes to the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and Phase 2 changes to the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme or Installation requirements for designers and installers of small-scale systems at the links below.
https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/RET/About-the-Renewable-Energy-Target/rooftop-solar-sector-review/phase-1changes-to-the-small-scale-renewable-energy-scheme
https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/RET/About-the-Renewable-Energy-Target/rooftop-solar-sector-review/phase-2changes-to-the-small-scale-renewable-energy-scheme
https://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/RET/Scheme-participants-and-industry/Agents-and-installers/Installationrequirements-for-small-scale-systems
When it was first launched in 2018, Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia Power Link project was touted as the world’s first intercontinental power grid, connecting Australia and Singapore to supply 24/7 renewable power. But in January 2023 the project came to a grinding halt, with Sun Cable announcing it had entered voluntary administration. A public spat between investors Andrew Forrest and Mike CannonBrookes ensued; and at the time of going to print, the future of the company and its ambitious project remain unclear. Here, we take a closer look at recent events, and consider whether the dream of connecting continents for the supply of electricity remains alive.
It’s the project many believed to be too audacious to come to fruition. But since first being floated in 2018, the Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project has made solid strides towards construction. In 2019, the project was awarded Major Project Status from the Northern Territory Government, which was followed in 2020 with the same designation from the Federal Government.
In 2021, the project was placed on the National Infrastructure Priority List and deemed ‘Investment Ready’ by Infrastructure Australia, and in September of the same year, Indonesia announced preliminary route approval for the subsea cable. By 2022 the Solar Project (Australia-Asia PowerLink) (Special Provisions) Act 2022 was enacted, providing strong regulatory guidance and facilitation for the project in the Northern Territory.
In October 2022, it was announced that Sun Cable was 50 per cent over-subscribed for offtake interest in Singapore, having received Letters of Intent for approximately 2.5GW of solar power, versus the planned supply of approximately 1.75GW. In November 2022, Northern Territory off takers were announced, with around 30GW of renewable electricity demand, resulting in scope for further projects to be developed to serve the demand.
With things seemingly all heading in the right direction mere months before Sun Cable entered into voluntary administration, where did it all go so wrong?
Sun Cable’s stated aim from the outset was to develop the world's largest solar energy infrastructure network, making it possible to power whole cities with renewable energy.
Its website claimed that Sun Cable’s energy projects would position Australia, Singapore and other Asian markets as world leaders in the intercontinental transmission of renewable electricity. The plan was to develop infrastructure that would facilitate the electrification of new and existing industries, supporting large-scale economic development, whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Underpinning these aims was the flagship AAPowerLink project, which was designed to harness and store solar energy from one of the most reliably sunny places on the planet in the Northern Territory, for 24/7 transmission to Darwin and Singapore via a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.
The project was scheduled to generate 3.2GW of renewable energy, connected to Singapore by a 4,200km cable capable of supplying up to 15 per cent of Singapore’s total electricity needs.
On January 11, Sun Cable announced that it had made the decision to enter voluntary administration. The company advised that it hoped the voluntary administration process would unlock a path forward to access additional capital for continued development of the AAPowerLink project.
Christopher Hill, David McGrath and John Park of FTI Consulting were appointed as voluntary administrators of the company. According to Sun Cable, the move into administration followed “the absence of alignment with the objectives of all shareholders”.
While future funding proposals for the business had been provided to shareholders, consensus on the future direction and funding structure of the company could not be achieved.
Soon after this announcement, it was revealed that the shareholders who were misaligned in the future direction of Sun Cable and AAPowerLink were investor Andrew Forrest, and Sun Cable Chair Mike Cannon-Brookes, who each had a respective $40 million and $50 million invested in the company.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Forrest and Mr Cannon-Brookes were unable to agree on new funding terms to prop up the business – which had reportedly been suffering heavy losses for a number of months.
Shortly after the administration announcement, Mr CannonBrookes advised that he remained committed to Sun Cable and AAPowerLink, on the proviso that he work with “constructive” partners on the project.
“Sun Cable has achieved so much since it was founded in 2018. I’m confident it will play a huge role in delivering green energy for the world, right here from Australia. I fully back this ambition and the team, and look forward to supporting the company’s next chapter,” Mr Cannon-Brookes said.
Dr Forrest fired back, saying that while Squadron Energy, his energy investment arm, believed in the vision of the project, “the manner in which the project is delivered needs urgent change”.
The saga took another turn less than two weeks later, when it was announced that Grok Ventures, the private investment arm of Mr Cannon-Brookes, would provide a $65 million interest-free loan to keep the Sun Cable going while administrators seek a buyer.
FTI Consulting accepted the Grok Ventures offer over other funding proposals, signifying a win for Mr Cannon-Brookes over Dr Forrest in their dispute over the future of Sun Cable.
By February 1, Sun Cable’s administrators commenced the sale process for the company, with MA Moelis Australia and Moelis & Company LLC (Moelis) appointed as sale advisor.
Moelis has now invited offers for sale or recapitalisation of the Sun Cable. Any parties wishing to express an interest in the process have been advised to contact Moelis.
In making this announcement, FTI Consulting advised that should the right funding partner be found, Sun Cable is on track to achieve a Final Investment Decision for AAPowerLink Stage 1 in 2024.
With the $65 million cash injection from Mr Cannon-Brookes, Sun Cable can continue operating and developing projects, including AAPowerLink, while the sale process is undertaken.
The administrators are seeking binding proposals for the sale of Sun Cable by the end of April 2023, with targeted completion no later than the end of May 2023.
How the sale process plays out over the next two months will be interesting to observe. Having two billionaires, both with an impassioned focus on Australia’s clean energy future, with a focus on the project is a promising start. Money may make the world go round, but it’s clear this project requires a more unified meeting of the minds to ensure this renewable energy project doesn’t flicker out.
2022 was a year of massive change; but at last we are in an era of hope and optimism for renewable energy and positive climate policy. 2023 is the year we do the heavy lifting to implement at every scale to make up for a lost decade of inaction and delay. We must do much more to achieve a lower carbon footprint, through low emissions vehicles, smart choices in energy efficient appliances, the electrification of homes and workplaces and programs to support solar, wind and storage technologies. Governments (state, territory and federal) are finally working together to plan and implement the zero-carbon energy future Australia deserves, through coordinated smart energy policies, planned and funded renewable energy build outs, and a vision for a zero carbon energy export industry.
We are absolutely committed to this wonderful industry, and the Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition will once again provide our community with a chance to connect, learn and share information (as well as see the latest products) over a fantastic two-day event.
Australia's premier solar, storage and smart energy event is back in early May 2023 bigger and better than ever. The Smart Energy Conference and Exhibition welcomes everyone with a stake in the renewable energy industry to join in these free two-day events happening on the 3rd & 4th May at the ICC, Sydney.
The Smart Energy council believes sharing knowledge is key to our successful transition to a greener, cleaner future. Smart Energy 2023 will proudly present a top line-up of expert speakers: industrial and technical specialists, project developers, financiers and key policy makers, market analysts and advisors, across three conference streams. CPD points will also be available.
The event will provide many opportunities for networking –a chance to mix with new and old colleagues during and after conference sessions in a convivial setting.
We invite you to be a part of powering progress in the smart energy sector, and we believe that only if we work all together, Australia will succeed in transitioning into a renewable energy superpower.
For more information and to register for free, please go to smartenergyexpo.org.au
JOIN US FOR AUSTRALIA’S PREMIER SOLAR, STORAGE AND SMART ENERGY EVENT
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By Holly Tancredi, Assistant Editor, Energy Magazine
The Australian Market Energy Operator (AEMO) recently celebrated one of the best quarters of renewable energy output to the National Electricity Market (NEM). During the October-December 2022 quarter renewable energy contributed 20 per cent of total generation. One of the latest renewable energy projects sending its first energy generation to the grid is the New England Solar farm – the country’s largest hybrid solar and battery energy storage (BESS) facility. Located in one of New South Wales Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), the New England Solar farm is continuing to decrease the NEM’s reliance on coal-fired power, whilst helping preserve its culturallysignificant sites.
In January 2022, the New South Wales Government declared the New England REZ a part of its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, to support the State’s net zero by 2050 aims. The REZ is preparing for an 8GW capacity, to deliver $10.7 billion in private sector investment, and support 830 operational and 1,250 construction jobs. In January 2023, the Federal Government announced the REZ would share in a $7.8 billion funding deal to fast-track upgrades to renewable energy projects for integration into the NEM.
The New England Solar project, developed by AC Energy Australia (ACEN) is set to have a generation capacity of 720MW and provide 1.8 million MWh of electricity, whilst supporting the reduction of 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 each year. Across the project’s two separate construction stages, over 1.5 million solar panels will be installed.
With project approval from the Federal Government received in 2020, and the first construction stage beginning in March 2021, ACEN has now celebrated its first major operational milestone.
The project formally registered to send its first 5MW of renewable energy to the NEM and was approved by the AEMO.
Anton Rohner, CEO, ACEN Australia, said the achievement represented Australia’s ongoing energy transformation.
“When both stages of the solar project are complete it will produce enough clean, renewable electricity to power more than 250,000 homes in New South Wales,” Mr Rohner said.
“It is an exciting time for our construction team and our contracting partners, who have worked very hard over the past two years to install, build, and connect the solar project.”
Mr Rohner acknowledged and thanked the project landholders, First Nations partners, neighbours and the local community for their support over the planning, assessment and construction phase of the project.
Discussing the project with the Clean Energy Regular (CER), Project Manager New England Solar, Sarah Donnan, said that the location of the farm is ideal due, to its proximity to the already established transmission lines operated by Transgrid. The transmission is also linked to Transgrid’s switching yard which is connected to the Queensland-New South Wales interconnector. This will allow for the AEMO to have greater flexibility for where the renewable energy generation will be sent.
Alongside the solar farm, a 200MW/2hr BESS is planned to support the solar project, with work beginning 2023.
The BESS will be the first in New South Wales to feature advanced grid forming inverters which will act as a Virtual Synchronous Generator (VSG). A VSG mimics the operation of a traditional synchronous generator, but can support and stabilise grid frequency. A VSG can support low inertia problems and underdamping problems of grid-connected inverters and is becoming a more common technology in renewable energy projects.
Since late 2022, ACEN has applied to modify and expand the BESS project from its originally approved capacity limit of 200MW to 1400MW. The modification would increase the BESS to supply 700MW/4hr – equivalent to supplying around 250,000 homes with on-demand energy.
ACEN has ensured a strong, respectful connection between the development and the Traditional Owners, the local Anaiwan people, since the project’s conception in 2018.
The location of the solar farm project in Uralla is referred to as Ooralla by the Anaiwan people.
In a short documentary film, Ooralla: A Collection of Cultural Stories from First Nations, ACEN captured the stories from Aboriginal representatives, sharing knowledge of, and raising awareness of, the Aboriginal cultural values in the region. The film was provided to the Armidale and Region Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place and is available on the solar project’s website.
During the project’s archaeological surveys in 2018, and shared in the short-film, a culturally-significant Grinding Groove site was found. The Grinding Groove site is believed to be where Aboriginal people met to trade, celebrate events, and learn from each other. ACEN is undergoing work to create access tracks to the site, ensuring Aboriginal groups can access during the project’s operation. This is less common by developers, who often fence off the sites leaving them inaccessible during project’s operation. The Grinding Groove site is also undergoing further study by the University of New England.
Further surveys found artefacts in situ, including axes and stones which were able to be protected and preserved in the Keeping Place, Mount Blue Hole, Cathedral Rock; a significant initiation site, as well as the traditional track walked by Aboriginal people from Dangar’s Fall to the McClay Valley.
The historical land of Ooralla is well respected and protected, ensuring the traditional history can be shared, remembered and preserved.
AEMO’s Quarterly Energy Dynamics report for October –December 2022 highlighted the increasing value that renewable energy penetration into the grid has fostered, reducing reliance on coal power, and decreasing electricity prices. The quarter also experienced the lowest output from coal-fired generation since the start of the NEM.
Grid-scale wind and solar produced a fifth of total NEM generation across the quarter. Whilst AEMO reported a slight increase of total energy generation across Q4, it noted the large increases in renewable energy output were offset by the decrease of fossil-fuel generation. 200MW of total renewable energy generation was from new grid-scale solar that had begun production post Q4 2021.
The renewable energy penetration across Q4 reached a new record – 68.7 per cent on 28 October, exceeding the previous record of 64.1 per cent earlier in 2022.
The report results were well-received by the Climate Council, who called renewable energy the NEM’s Most Valuable Player.
Dr Jennifer Rayner, Head of Advocacy, Climate Council, said the cheaper wholesale electricity, generated by the record high levels of wind and solar, were supporting the country during a cost of living and climate crisis.
“State and Federal governments are making positive steps to increase investment in renewables and storage, but we must keep ramping up the effort so we can reach 100% renewables by 2030,” Dr Rayner said.
“A fully renewables-powered grid will help tackle the cost of living and climate crises together in the best two-for-one deal Australians will ever see.”
The consistent records hit by grid-scale renewable energy represents the speed at which the NEM is transitioning. Not only are coal-fired power stations reducing energy outputs, but gridscale renewables are necessary to support and stabilise the grid.
The New England Solar Farm will continue to progress this transition and support more affordable and climate-friendly energy to its region and represents how Australia can transition to renewable energy, and support the preservation of land and history.
Ahead of the annual Australian Domestic Gas Outlook Conference in Melbourne, Kirstin Crothers interviewed some of the conference’s speakers to gain their insights on the challenges and opportunities presented by renewable natural gas (RNG), including the short and long-term dominating gas types, whether natural and RNG gas can co-exist, the time to invest in RNG production and more.
Speaking to Linda Cardillo, General Manager –Renewable Gas, Jemena; Andrew Tan, President & Chief Executive Officer, Chiyoda Oceania; Emma Roberts, Executive General Manager Future Energy, CS Energy; Jim Snow, Adjunct Professor, Energy Initiative, University of Queensland and Executive Director, Oakley Greenwood; and Peter Kristensen, Chief Strategy Officer, Evida (Denmark), Kirstin shares some of their expertise below.
Why is everyone talking about renewable/alternative gases now? What has stimulated this interest?
The growing awareness of renewable gas in Australia is linked to an international mandate to reduce carbon emissions, and domestic price and supply pressures.
The need to reduce carbon emissions from energy generation (the energy transition) is driving change across the world. Australia’s export markets are considering alternatives to fossil fuels. Andrew Tan nominates Japan’s initiatives “to reduce their carbon footprint via the use of renewables and cleaner fuel sources” as especially forward-thinking.
Evida runs Denmark’s gas distribution grid, which was 25 per cent biogas at the end of 2021. Peter Kristensen says that the growth of renewable gases was stimulated by a decision to move towards a low emission society. He says that by 2012 to 2014 it became clear that “the future of gas was dependent on having a carbon-neutral gas”.
“We needed to find ways of making the gas system green,” Peter says.
Internally, Australia has had to come to terms with the consequences of not having a viable alternative to natural gas. Linda Cardillo says the events of 2022 highlighted how vital gas is to Australia’s energy system in stabilising the grid and shoring up reliability.
Emma Roberts sees alternative gases providing dispatchable power to provide reliable energy to the grid at times when other sources (such as wind and solar) are not available. Emma suggests that blending hydrogen with natural gas will provide lower emissions gas in the long term, but says the objective is to “shift towards renewable hydrogen to provide dispatchable power”.
“This will be an important insurance policy to meet peak electricity demand,” Emma says.
Both Linda Cardillo and Jim Snow see hydrogen as a long-term energy source, emphasising the need to explore biomethane and renewable methane as immediate replacements for natural gas. Jim is keen to point out that existing infrastructure and appliances can seamlessly switch to biomethane and renewable methane, while industrial gas users can swap without costly re-tooling of manufacturing processes.
Linda says, “Industries which rely on gas as a feedstock are looking seriously at renewable gas as a way they can reduce carbon emissions.”
Jim is especially enthusiastic about biomethane and renewable methane as practical low-cost ways of reducing carbon emissions without dismantling or rebuilding pipelines and storage facilities. He cites ARENA’s Bioenergy Roadmap, saying “cost estimates for biomethane are competitive with natural gas and the size of the available bioenergy feedstock resources is sufficient to replace all the natural gas used in the east coast domestic gas market.”
Linda notes that a number of new biomethane and green hydrogen projects have started to come online, demonstrating the viability of renewable gas.
“Our Western Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub is blending green hydrogen – that is hydrogen produced from electrolysis which is offset by renewable electricity certificates – into the Jemena Gas Network, and our biomethane project in partnership with Sydney Water and ARENA is getting very close to completion,” Linda says.
Can natural gas and alternative gases co-exist or does it have to be either/or? What are the issues and can they be overcome?
Cost of production and infrastructure (in)compatibility are two major hurdles that hydrogen needs to overcome. Andrew Tan says natural gas and renewable hydrogen “definitely can co-exist and need to co-exist until alternative gases reduce in price and until infrastructure to use the alternative gases mature”.
Linda Cardillo says we need to look overseas, where biomethane and synthetic are produced at scale.
“Renewable natural gases (RNGs) are indistinguishable from natural gas, as they are essentially the same energy molecule just produced from renewable non-fossil fuel sources,” Linda says.
“The other well-known renewable gas is green hydrogen, which can also be blended into natural gas distribution networks in blends of up to 20 per cent without impacting network performance.
“Jemena has identified potential sources of about 30PJ of biomethane – agricultural waste, waste water plants, landfill – in proximity to our network. That’s about the same as our residential customers use each year.”
For Peter Kristensen, this question almost answers itself: natural gas already co-exists with biomethane in the Evida network. He explains, “Biogas is upgraded to natural gas quality (reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in biogas). Apart from ensuring you have the right quality, the main challenge is that with decentralised production you turn the gas system upside-down, which means you need compressors to move the gas around.”
Jim Snow identifies the three key renewable gases as hydrogen, biomethane and renewable methane, and predicts that each will mature at different times. He believes that biomethane development can be very quick, whilst hydrogen needs to lower its costs. He is concerned that high energy prices and low reliability of supply will cause “great unrest in the short term and elicit huge and inefficient government subsidies to try and placate consumers”.
The solution he proposes is to quickly advance the production of biomethane through subsidies, to ensure sufficient gas capacity comes into the market.
“The thrust must be to reduce natural gas through alternative gas use wherever this is possible,” Peter says.
Emma Roberts sees more of a role for hydrogen in the short term. She wants energy producers to take advantage of declining technology costs to increase their production facilities. In the long term, especially as hydrogen export grows, producers can develop a natural sink for hydrogen that they have produced or are ramping up to produce.
“It is likely that natural gas and renewable hydrogen will co-exist for some time as technology and industry develops,” Emma says.
Andrew Tan describes the shift to renewable gases as inevitable, and suggests that current operators need to plan for this transition or struggle to survive in the future. He is convinced by investing in renewable gases now, they will be setting themselves up to remain viable. As a first step, he nominates blending their gas mix to combust cleaner non-carbon emitting gases, noting that this is not as easy as it sounds due to compatibility issues.
Andrew Tan encourages energy users to build their own renewable plants to produce RNGs and thus control supply and pricing for their own needs, instead of relying on others. Jim Snow is equally bullish, saying this is the right time to invest. He notes that some heat energy users are already quietly producing biogas/
biomethane at scale. He nominates one-step renewable methane reactors (water + renewable power + zero emission CO2) as a particularly promising technology for behind-the-meter users. He is not so enthusiastic about hydrogen exposure until the development of breakthrough technologies substantially reduces costs.
As a traditional gas retailer, Linda Cardillo says Jemena is wellplaced to support the development of a renewable gas sector.
“We have the people, capabilities and skills in operating a complex gas distribution business to understand how to get gas to customers safely and efficiently,” Linda says.
“We also have strong relationships with those customers, understanding the drivers for them as they look to reduce their carbon footprint.”
In Denmark, biogas is upgraded to “natural gas quality” so all the existing assets including industry machinery continue to be used, but now with a carbon-neutral energy source. Peter says with allows for flexibility, “You can actually shift back and forth between using biomethane and/or natural gas, depending on the market requirement for carbon neutrality.”
Which specific types of renewable gases are likely to dominate the future energy system and for what purposes (domestic/consumer, industrial heat energy, transportation)?
Emma Roberts says CS Energy has been focussing on renewable hydrogen because of its potential use in power generation and transport (both here and offshore). She notes that hydrogen has other emerging markets which may provide nearterm opportunities, such as a sustainable aviation fuel.
Andrew Tan agrees that hydrogen is likely to dominate the future energy system.
“Ultimately in the future, all businesses that need a leaner energy source will use hydrogen in some way in their processes,” says Andrew.
Jim Snow envisages biogas/biomethane and then renewable methane for use in power generation (for grid stability), as renewable energy storage and as backup for hard-to-abate industries and for many commercial uses. He believes hydrogen will play a role in the transport sector (and for some specific industrial uses), saying, “In my view as it displaces liquid fuels in various ways, but this will likely take more time to occur.”
Linda Cardillo says Jemena can see an immediate role for RNGs such as biomethane in our networks.
“It’s 100 per cent compatible with our infrastructure and our customers’ ordinary household gas appliances,” Linda says.
“The production of biomethane - is also both technically and economically viable today, making it an attractive investment that can help fast-track the reduction in carbon emissions of Australian domestic energy consumption this decade.”
Peter Kristensen says that the Danish experience is that methane (natural gas and biomethane) is predominately used for heavy industries. It is also useful as a peak load/spare capacity for electricity generation.
“After the war in Ukraine and rising energy prices, it has become clear that even with a high amount of electricity coming from renewable energy (wind and solar), there is a need for industry to have alternative energy sources,” Peter says.
Whether it is hydrogen, biogas, biomethane or renewable methane, it is clear that the future for RNGs is bright. The gas industry and users need to explore all the options and invest now or risk being left behind.
It’s safe to say there’s a buzz around hydrogen. The element is potentially a revolutionary new energy source and could be one of the possible solutions to reach net zero emissions. Recognising this, the Australian Hydrogen Council, together with CSIRO and state and territory governments, have developed HyFAQ – an industry resource that will aim to answer all the burning questions about hydrogen.
Hydrogen has been used for decades across a wide range of industries. But there’s still a degree of uncertainty around its origins, applications and handling.
That’s why the Australian Hydrogen Council has led collaborations with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW), state and territory governments, and CSIRO’s Hydrogen Industry Mission, to compile a list of frequently asked hydrogen questions.
From these, the parties have developed a hydrogen FAQ tool called HyFAQ.
HyFAQ is an interactive collection of information on hydrogen. It includes details about its properties, uses and applications, safety and regulations and economic and environmental impacts.
The tool is designed for researchers, industry, government stakeholders and anyone interested in hydrogen. It will increase understanding of how hydrogen can play a crucial part in Australia’s current and future energy mix.
HyFAQ will be ever-evolving given how quickly the hydrogen industry – and technology underpinning it – is developing. It’s a great start for anybody wanting to learn more about this versatile energy source.
Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. It is everywhere from the air we breathe to the water we drink. It’s also versatile – a range of sources produce hydrogen and physically convert it between its gaseous and liquid states. It can also be chemically converted into other forms, such as ammonia. When renewable or zero-carbon sources produce hydrogen, it becomes a zero-emission energy source. Once produced, it can be stored for later use at any time and in any place. It can power public transportation such as buses, private transportation such as cars and trucks, and in heating and cooling buildings. It also has industrial uses such as producing fertiliser and synthetic fuels, and for manufacturing steel and aluminium.
Some hydrogen gas exists in underground reservoirs. However, our understanding of this is still very recent so we do not know the volume available. We understand hydrogen is everywhere, but not in its pure form. The amount of hydrogen that exists is sufficient to satisfy global demands for clean energy, however, it needs to be
separated from other elements. This is how the hydrogen industry produces hydrogen.
Hydrogen has been safely produced, stored, and moved around the world since the 1950s. Hydrogen does require controls to facilitate its safe use, but this is no different than needing to establish safety protocols for other fuels.
One of the properties that makes hydrogen relatively safe when compared to other fuels is that it is the lightest element. When hydrogen is released (because of a leak or spill) it disperses rapidly and therefore is unlikely to ignite. If it does ignite, a hydrogen flame burns out quickly and is non-toxic.
There is ongoing work to ensure safety through the development of hydrogen codes and standards, and in developing and delivering training for people who may come into contact with hydrogen.
Green hydrogen generally refers to the production of hydrogen from water via electrolysis using renewable electricity (like wind, solar or hydro). An alternative name, understood as equivalent, is renewable hydrogen. Green hydrogen production emits no greenhouse gases.
We refer to hydrogen made from natural gas or coal as grey (or brown/black hydrogen).
Natural gas produces most of the hydrogen the world uses today using a process called steam methane reformation. In this process, water enters a furnace, producing steam at a very high temperature. This steam reacts with natural gas, producing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. A further process then reacts with the carbon monoxide with more water to make additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide.
We can also make hydrogen from coal using a process called coal gasification. To do so, coal is put into a high-pressure ‘gasifier’ to release carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
Blue hydrogen
Similar to grey hydrogen, this involves making with natural gas or coal. However, the carbon dioxide produced in the process is captured and stored (CCS, or CCUS for carbon capture utilisation and storage).
Hydrogen production, like all industrial processes, will require access to a reliable water supply. The amount of water required can depend on the hydrogen production process used. For example, stoichiometrically, one kilo of hydrogen can be produced using nine litres of treated water using electrolysis or five litres of treated water using steam methane reforming. However, raw water requirements will be more than this, and figures also vary depending on technology and locational choices.
It will be important for both planners and developers of large hydrogen production facilities to consider how their water choices and use can best align with local cultural and environmental considerations and existing water planning to meet the needs of other users of water resources.
We can export hydrogen in many ways. The current industry and government discussions about hydrogen consider two main ways to export it in high volumes.
This requires cooling gaseous hydrogen down to minus 273 degrees Celsius and transporting the liquid hydrogen at this cryogenic temperature between countries.
This method uses another chemical, most likely ammonia, which might need to be converted back to hydrogen at the receiving end. There are other options as well, and pros and cons to different approaches. However, all options require hydrogen to be initially produced economically at a significant scale.
Hydrogen is already an important feedstock for producing chemicals like ammonia and methanol. Additionally, it is used in oil refining. The question is when existing fossil fuel-derived hydrogen might be replaced with clean or renewable hydrogen. There is work occurring to understand and plan for this shift. But it will be a long-term prospect while the industry is still emerging and prices are high.
The clean and renewable hydrogen industry is developing, with more than 100 projects announced (at late 2022) and more than $1.5 billion in government funding. The industry and governments are working together to create the foundation for a hydrogen market. However, the task ahead is significant and there is much for industry to do. For example, meeting Australia’s more optimistic hydrogen production scenarios would mean having several electrolysers (the machine to make renewable hydrogen) at 1GW capacity each. In 2022, the largest electrolyser in Australia is 1.25MW, which means we need to see 800 times the size of this electrolyser in 7.5 years.
When battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles run on renewable electricity – either stored in the battery or as hydrogen – there are no carbon emissions or other pollution produced. Hydrogen represents an opportunity for us to decarbonise hard to reach transport modes that we cannot address with battery electric vehicles. In particular this includes aviation, marine, rail and heavy road vehicles. To learn more, visit HyFAQ at research.csiro.au/hylearning/hyfaq/
By Tess Macallan, Journalist, Energy Magazine
With the urgent need to transition to green energy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the Federal Government designed the Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program. In 2023, the threat of climate change is compounded with a global energy crisis, creating an even greater demand for diverse sources of clean energy. Now, the Federal Government is taking further action by investing $70 million into the development of a hydrogen hub in Townsville.
The Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program – Townsville Region Grant opportunity intends to direct funding towards projects that will help develop a hydrogen industry in North Queensland.
With matched funding, the region will see a $140 million investment in renewable hydrogen for Australia’s own use or to export overseas as energy generation and storage, or as a chemical feedstock.
The Federal Government’s Climate Change Bill 2022 took effect on 14 September 2022, outlining Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of a 43 per cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Alongside this legislation, in November 2022 Australia joined over ten global partners to establish the world’s first Net Zero Government Initiative at COP27.
For the Federal Government to meet its obligations within Australia and to lead the way internationally, it is imperative that industries transition to renewable energy.
Through the National Hydrogen Strategy, developed in 2019, the Federal Government made it clear that it was determined to foster Australia’s position as a clean hydrogen superpower.
Increasing extreme weather events, economies rebounding following COVID-19 lockdowns, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in higher energy prices around the world. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2022 outlines the issues of a global energy market that is dependent on oil and gas.
It is critical that Australia continues to develop a diverse supply of renewable energy sources to secure Australia’s economic future.
The hubs so far
Australia is on track to become a leading producer and exporter of hydrogen. Since 2020, successive Federal Governments have announced planned investments of up to $526 million to support the development of regional hydrogen hubs across Australia.
The Regional Hydrogen Program intends to help build eight hydrogen hubs, one of which is in the Western Australian region
of Pilbara. The Federal Government has committed $70 million to the Pilbara Hydrogen Hub under the hub’s implementation grants scheme.
In the Pilbara, French energy company ENGIE is building the Yuri Renewable Hydrogen to Ammonia Project – one of the first industrial-scale renewable hydrogen projects in the region. The company has partnered with Mitsui & Co to operate the project, with Mitsui & Co acquiring a 28 per cent stake in the Yuri subsidiary.
In September 2022, the Federal Government announced a $47.5 million investment toward the development of a new 10MW hydrogen electrolyser for the proposed Yuri hydrogen plant in Karratha, Western Australia.
It will be one of the biggest electrolysers in the world, with the capacity to produce up to 640 tonnes of renewable energy per year, overtaking Australia’s largest current electrolyser – South Australia’s 1.25MW hydrogen plant in Tonsley Park, Adelaide.
South Australia currently leads the way when it comes to Australia’s renewable outputs, with a significant combination of wind, solar and hydrogen production. The state is on track to become a net 100 per cent renewable energy generator in the 2030s. In 2022 the Federal Government committed up to $70 million towards the Port Bonython Hydrogen Hub Activation project under the Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program. The funding has been allocated towards delivering a common user infrastructure at Port Bonython.
The Townsville Region Grant opportunity is designed to increase the supply of green hydrogen available for domestic and export use. The program intends to support existing industries in reducing their emissions while fostering new industries around green hydrogen in the region.
The Federal Government hopes the development of the hub will create job opportunities, increase capacity of local workforce, encourage Australia to accept green hydrogen and to reduce the cost of its production.
Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said it is important to support sectors such as heavy industry and transport to reduce their emissions and achieve net zero by 2050.
“Green hydrogen will play a crucial role in Australia’s
clean energy transformation and create jobs for technicians, tradespeople and engineers, as well as significant opportunities in related businesses and service industries,” Mr Bowen said.
The Federal Government predicts that by 2050, Australia’s hydrogen industry could generate $50 billion in additional GDP and create over 16,000 jobs – not including the 13,000 jobs created through the construction of renewable energy infrastructure that will power green hydrogen production.
Local hydrogen production can also bring new design and manufacturing opportunities in fuel cell technologies for the automotive, aviation and marine industries.
“These regional hubs will give our green hydrogen industry an early-stage springboard to scale, which will help to promote further growth and investment in clean technology,” Mr Bowen said.
The Regional Hydrogen Program aims to support Australia’s industries to move beyond barriers associated with the hydrogen industry, including hydrogen delivery costs and achieving low-cost hydrogen production at scale.
Similarly to previous regions where grants have been awarded, Townsville has the resources and infrastructure to become a key player in hydrogen production.
In announcing the grant opportunity, Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said, “This is an important development for Australia and North Queensland. Australia is already one of the largest exporters of energy in the world; a thriving hydrogen industry here in North Queensland will be critical for us to become a renewable energy superpower as well.”
With Townsville port facilities, labour capacity, and proximity to Asian trading partners, the region is an optimal location for a hydrogen hub.
“The hub will help secure jobs and economic growth in Queensland, delivering on one of our key commitments, and could also pave the way for exports to our valued trading partners in Japan, South Korea and across Asia,” Mr Albanese said.
The Australian Hydrogen Council has welcomed the grant, stating that the program will help develop Australia’s hydrogen industry and support Australia in fulfilling its emission reduction targets.
Producers, consumers, and potential exporters of hydrogen across industrial, transport, export and energy markets are eligible to apply for the Townsville Region Hydrogen Hub program. Guidelines are available on the Federal Government’s Business website.
Grants from $30 million to $70 million will be available under an open and competitive application process when applications open in March 2023.
Applicants will be assessed in two stages, with an initial open competitive process. This will be followed by a formal application process for shortlisted applicants.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will provide an information session for potential applicants in the coming months. You can register your interest at
Ahead of the National Electricity Market’s (NEM) 25th anniversary, Ron Ben-David, previous chair of the Essential Service Commission (VIC) from 2008-2019, and current Professorial Fellow with the Monash Business School, discusses the increasing need to ensure Australian consumers are not only protected, but they also have confidence in the paramount decisions that they are being asked to make.
For many years, the NEM was the poster child of the 1990s microeconomic reform era in Australia. Frequent reviews by the market’s regulators lauded the NEM’s success. But there was only one hitch. Consumers weren’t very good at being consumers.
A second energy revolution, the so-called ‘energy transition’, is now underway. These days, regulators are more anxious to emphasise their fealty to consumers through their commitments to consumer empowerment and consumer-centred market design. In this environment, regulatory placations come easily. As the chair of the Australian Energy Regulator said, “Consumers need to feel confident that Australia's transitioning energy market is working for them.”1
These are certainly noble sentiments but they cannot compete with regulatory enthusiasm for flexible demand, price signals, tariff reform, value stacking, virtual power plants, two-sided markets, vehicle-to-grid services, and so on. Enthusiasm for these innovations is almost always framed in terms of the system benefits they offer. Consumers’ acceptance, adoption and efficient use of these technologies is just assumed to happen.
For most of the past 25 years, consumers have had to negotiate a retail electricity market constructed around a single decision variable, namely, the price of purchased electricity. The emerging consumer-facing electricity market is looking very different. Future contracts could, or will, involve multiple decision variables, such as:
» The prices of grid supplied electricity and electricity exported to the grid
» Consumption and export thresholds, and penalties for breaching thresholds
» Control of onsite electricity production, storage, consumption and export
» Price, access, ownership and control of electricity stored offsite
» Payments for ancillary system services
Contracts may be further complicated by:
» Dynamic decision variables which change in real time rather than having set values specifiable in a contract
» Indistinguishable financing arrangements and payments for energy services
» Customers relying on multiple suppliers providing interacting services
It is now well-established that customers have not been particularly effective in navigating a retail energy market involving just one decision variable, namely, price. This invites the obvious question: how can consumers be expected to navigate a labyrinthine market consisting of all the decision variables noted above?
Not a single report from the regulatory community has explored how things might go wrong for consumers in this new electricity market. Yet at the same time, nary a report fails to emphasise the importance of consumer trust, confidence, social licence, fairness or consumer-centred regulation. The disconnect is glaring.
It has been claimed that innovative service providers will create simple-to-understand products for consumers. Unfortunately, 20 years of experience with retail competition suggests otherwise. It has also been suggested machines or algorithms will do the work for consumers by optimising across multiple decision variables in real time. But this misses the point. How will consumers compare the value of all the different machines on offer? How will they monitor whether an algorithm is delivering the value it promised? All but the most knowledgeable consumers will be overwhelmed.
And let’s not forget a sobering statistic regularly cited by the AER, which states that 44 per cent of Australians lack sufficient literacy skills to understand even the most basic contracts, let alone the complicated contracts described above.2
Exposing consumers to risks they are not well-equipped to identify, evaluate and manage will undermine their confidence in the energy transition. Regulators who simply talk about ‘putting consumers at the centre’, while facilitating a complex and incomprehensible consumer experience, will see their social (and political) licence eroded. They will no longer be trusted to oversee the energy transition. Rightly so.
If a loss of consumer confidence puts a successful energy transition at risk, and if it is perfectly foreseeable that consumer harm will result in this loss of confidence, then minimising the risk of harm must surely become the central objective of energy market regulation.
In this context, ‘harm’ is not limited to concerns about affordability, financial vulnerability, bill shock or rising prices. Harm includes any process, treatment or outcome that undermines a consumer’s confidence in the electricity market and how it is governed.
If managing the risk of harm is a necessary condition for a successful energy transition, then the cornerstone of a new approach to regulation must be a theory of harm. This ‘theory’ would openly identify and transparently assess the financial and other detriments consumers could incur from entering misjudged contracts for the supply, sale, storage or management of their electricity. The theory would identify and evaluate the sources, forms and impacts of harm, as well as consumers’ susceptibility to
those harms. As energy markets are not an instrument of social or redistributive policy, the theory’s assessment of harm cannot be contingent on income or wealth.
This theory of harm would inform a new harm minimisation objective which would make clear that consumers should not be exposed to risks they are not ready to manage. This objective would govern how regulators design and administer the rules, processes and methodologies governing the NEM during the energy transition. It would prohibit regulators from allowing consumers to be exposed to risks they cannot reasonably be expected to identify, evaluate and manage properly. The harm minimisation objective would precede, but not replace, the current national electricity objective with its exclusive focus on efficiency.
Service providers would remain free to offer consumers alternative (risky) contracts subject to strict risk disclosure obligations. Consumers would be free to enter an alternative contract if they conclude it is in their interests to assume the risks associated with doing so.
Most importantly, relevant service providers must be subject to a positive duty of care requiring them to act in the best interests of the customer. The duty would:
» Apply to any service provider who has (or is seeking) a contractual capacity to control, constrain or prevent the flow of electricity to, around, or from a customer’s premises or assets
» Make service providers responsible for working with their customers (or prospective customers) to confirm the provider’s offering is compatible with the customer’s interests 3
The above approach will seem counterintuitive, and probably unholy, to many practitioners of the current regulatory regime. But new problems need new solutions. Applying old ways of thinking to new consumer risks will just produce the same tired solutions that regulators have been touting for the past 25 years – more choice, more disclosure, more switching. Yeah, nah. Those solutions have not worked well for consumers in the past. They certainly won’t work in the future.
It does not need to be this way. Energy market regulation can be re-invented.
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is reforming how it regulates the entire British financial system. Our energy regulators should draw inspiration from the FCA’s willingness to be bold, imaginative and unapologetic as it pursues a modernised approach to regulation.
If the energy market evolves as rapidly and dynamically as the pundits expect, then now is the time for new ways of thinking about how to regulate our consumer-facing energy market. Now is the time for bold energy market regulators. After all, if not now, when?
Ben-David, Ron, May 2022, Energy market uncertainty, consumer protection, and a new duty of care. Available online via AER. Ben-David, Ron, November 2022, Minimising consumer harm for a successful energy transition. Available online via LinkedIn. Ben-David, Ron, December 2022, Submission to the Australian Energy Regulator’s review of consumer protections for future energy services. Options Paper.
As the world decarbonises, the dynamics of energy trading will change dramatically.
One part of the problem is the seasonality of energy demand and the potential for generating power in different parts of the world. For example, the northern hemisphere experiences an increased demand for energy in winter (December-February), which is the same time solar energy production in the southern hemisphere is at its maximum – our summer.
And yet now some of the biggest companies in the world are racing to invest in large multi-gigawatt-scale renewable energy and renewable hydrogen projects in Australia, and are actively exploring the potential for international trade in hydrogen, green fuels, and ammonia.
The world needs to at least halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to keep global warming as close as possible to the Paris target of a 1.5°C increase.
Although many scientists say that this is impossible to achieve given the carbon lock-in so far, it gives us an idea of the scope of the transformation that must be undertaken urgently.
At the same time, the IEA notes that power prices in many European markets in the first half of 2022 reached three to four times as high as they were in the first half of 2016 to 2022.
The cost of fossil gas and coal prices have skyrocketed around the world, including in Australia. These rising fossil fuel costs are flowing onto major commodities, including ammonia.
A few years ago, the idea of running an HVDC cable from Darwin to Singapore to supply renewable electricity was deemed “insane” but made sense by Sun Cable chairman, Mike Cannon-Brookes. Likewise, the idea of shipping renewable ammonia from the Pilbara to Germany to meet its energy needs was considered something for the distant future.
Ammonia, a vital commodity for the world’s supply of fertiliser, topped US$1600 a tonne (about A$2240 a tonne, an all-time high) in May 2022. This follows an 80 per cent surge the previous year, making ammonia made from renewable energy increasingly competitive.
Our modelling shows a levelised cost of renewable ammonia of A$756/tonne and A$659/tonne in 2025 and 2030, respectively, at Australian hydrogen hubs.
Based on these results, by 2030 green ammonia made from renewables would be cost-competitive with fossil fuel-based ammonia when gas prices exceed A$14/GJ. (For comparison, the current east coast wholesale gas price in Australia varies between A$15–20/GJ).
These findings would be further improved at some locations when the seasonal demand patterns of trading partners in the northern hemisphere are taken into account.
Global energy demands vary through the year, driven largely by the change in seasons in the northern hemisphere. This has profound implications for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia.
A critical aspect of meeting the world's energy needs in a decarbonised future is the end-use of renewable hydrogen and its temporal value, particularly for potential importers such as Germany.
The figure at left shows the seasonal value to Germany of renewable ammonia produced in an area with comparable solar resources – Gippsland, Australia.
There’s a significant demand-supply mismatch in the northern hemisphere in winter, when local energy demand surges and renewable supply plunges. This large gap could be filled by Australian solar-powered ammonia, which peaks during that time.
We’ve compared the domestic use of coal and fossil gas reserves by a potential hydrogen importer along with their seasonal energy consumption patterns throughout the year.
The solar generation shortfall in winter implies a substantial hydrogen supply deficit using regional resources; however, this is when energy demand reaches its highest.
The demand side would need to compete for the limited resources in boreal winter, which would likely drive up energy commodity prices, including renewable hydrogen. Prioritising limited resources for social welfare will adversely affect the industrial sector.
To meet the enlarged demand-supply gap in winter, domestic producers in the northern hemisphere need to oversize their systems to produce additional hydrogen or ammonia in summer to be stored for winter use, which will significantly drive up overall production costs.
The temporal gap between domestic supply and consumption highlights the economic value of international imports at that time.
Rather than investing in additional production capacity and storage, it could be more economical to seasonally boost Australia’s solar-made ammonia supply by directly shipping it to the trading partners while their demand peaks and local supply plummets in boreal winter.
In other words, Australia can take advantage of our seasonal competitiveness to export hydrogen to Europe when their demand is high and our generation capacity is also high. Seasonal complementarity will be mutually beneficial to energy and ammonia trading partners on opposite sides of the globe.
This article was first published on Monash Lens and was coauthored with Scott Hamilton from the Smart Energy Council.
In a keynote speech delivered to the ERICA – the State of Energy Research Conference at the University of Technology Sydney, the AEMC’s Chief Executive, Benn Barr, outlined specific areas of research his team has identified as being critical to the evolution of the energy sector over the coming decades to 2050.
According to Mr Barr, the AEMC has a complex, interrelated and interdependent work program, so priorities need to be organised into themes that keep the organisation focused on the bigger picture. Currently, those themes are transformation, resilience, and innovation.
Mr Barr went on to outline the research required within the three key themes the AEMC is working towards.
In the context of Transformation, the research AEMC most needs is around consumer behaviour. In particular, the AEMC is looking for research to help better understand consumers’ future interactions with energy and technology.
According to Mr Barr, “We have to always keep in sight: the transformation won’t happen unless it works for the users of energy. The users of energy are real – we are real – and many of our decisions at the AEMC rely on understanding human responses to energy market changes.”
Mr Barr noted that AEMO’s roadmap, the Integrated System Plan from 2022, relies on an active demand-side market and consumer
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) is calling on Australia’s brightest academics to collaborate with the rule-maker to develop more ‘pilot-to-policy’ approaches to ensure their research contributes quickly and effectively to the energy transformation.
resources that can be orchestrated across the network. However, so much is still based on ‘best guesses’ of how human behaviour can help transform the power system.
For instance, electric vehicles (EVs). While the energy industry may want EVs to behave as battalions of mobile batteries, will consumers really behave that way once there are enough EVs in the market to make a difference? What would drive users to turn their car to the service of the grid while it’s idle?
Some areas the AEMC has been aiming to facilitate ongoing consumer engagement with the market include the work surrounding the Wholesale Demand Response mechanism, as well as upcoming work on Unlocking CER Benefits through flexible trading. These projects are providing the groundwork for more effective consumer interaction with the market.
The second theme the AEMC is working on is Resilience. In this realm, there’s no greater research need than helping the AEMC learn how to operate a power system with 95 to 100 per cent variable renewables and no big spinning machines.
Right now, the system is dominated by variable renewables. In Q4 of 2022, renewables provided more power to the NEM than black coal. But we’ve never operated a grid with a scarcity of big spinning machines, and the AEMC needs research that builds our confidence and capabilities. Essential system services (ESS) is a very large area, but as an example, recent trials of returning or ‘tweaking’ of inverters have been helpful to the AEMC’s work.
ARENA has supported a lot of research in this area and recently released power system CAD reports that have provided useful assessments of grid-forming batteries. The AEMC is also participating in ARENA’s dynamic operating envelopes workstream group, aiming to improve consumer energy resources integration into the grid.
Another resilience area the AEMC needs to know more about is the role of storage short and long-term in a fully renewable power system. The ISP says storage capacity must jump 30-fold, from 2GW now to 15GW in 2030 and over 60GW in 2050. As a result, the AEMC is very interested in the future role of domestic and community batteries in this space. A recent paper from AEMC economists suggests the affordability turning point for domestic batteries is a lot closer than most people – who equate batteries with Tesla – would think.
Under the third theme of Innovation, Mr Barr said the critical focus area here is on new concepts and tech that will lighten the massive construction schedule in front of the industry. Mr Barr called on researchers to share anything they can discover or devise to help more efficiently and effectively reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ the industry needs to build by 2050.
“What’s on the plan right now is like the moonshot plus the Manhattan Project,” Mr Barr said.
“Add WW2 reconstruction to the scope of the work, and you’re getting close to the magnitude of the energy transformation in Australia.
“So much to build in such a short time. Storage capacity needs to grow, and then there’s the goal of distributed solar PV doubling by 2030 and doubling again by 2050 to about 70GW. And of course, the massive poles and wires build: around $14 billion is estimated just for new transmission infrastructure.
“It’s a mammoth task. However, we’re starting to get a sense that the more confident we become in managing a high VRE system, the less we may have to build. For instance, if we can be certain that tweaking inverters will give us the system strength we need, we may then need fewer back-up options.
“Research into innovations that save us time, materials and dollars during this enormous construction phase will be welcomed by governments and the market, and will pay lasting dividends to consumers – that is, we humans who will, ultimately, be paying for it all.”
However, as pressing as the need for research in all of these three areas is, according to Mr Barr, the biggest opportunities for research in the next ten years are likely to be in what may seem the least exciting area – the institutional space.
While more technological innovation is expected and welcome today, and for the next few years, the industry does already have substantial apparatus in place to help achieve carbon-abatement goals and redefine the power systems of the past.
“But barriers exist when it comes to deploying this apparatus at scale and in a way that presents solutions that are sustainable, fit-for-purpose, and equitable,” Mr Barr said.
“So – the greatest gains the next decade of research can offer might not be in technology, but in the ‘missing link’ between trials and deployment.
“We need to work on ways to successfully deploy the technological and social change necessary to meet our goals in time. We need research into real-world implementation via public policy, regulatory frameworks, effective institutions, financing schemes, social licence, and equitable access to efficient energy.
“This means less emphasis on the questions around ‘What must be done?’ and more on ‘How quickly can we make it happen?’ and ‘How do we make sure it beds down and keeps working?’
“The energy sector has to move fast. Governments across Australia are largely aligned and keen to act. This means that the most successful research projects of any kind in the next decade will have their transition to policy ‘baked in’ from the start. A ‘pilot-to-policy’ approach will be one of the smartest ways to ensure your research contributes quickly and effectively to the energy transformation.”
As part of the call to arms for the research sector of the energy industry, Mr Barr asked its members to consider their relationship with the AEMC and other market bodies in their research plans.
“We’re calling for more work on pilot-to-policy approaches to increase likelihood of deployment; and we also urge that more research considers what structures are needed to plug the new learning from successful trials into the energy markets via rules, investment and consumer attitudes,” Mr Barr said.
“We’re also keen to see more focus on cross-pollination of motives and ideas between regulators and researchers for mutual benefit and efficiency.”
With the task ahead of the industry in the decades to come nothing short of mammoth, the AEMC’s guidance should provide a useful steer in getting the industry from research to market for the raft of technology required that little bit faster.
This is the only conference and exhibition on the energy network event calendar run by the industry, for the industry.
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