Australia’s Transgrid has put in place a $11.2 billion (AUD 16.5 billion) plan to shift the New South Wales state to 100 percent instantaneous renewable energy over the next decade, it said in its System Security Roadmap released Wednesday.
Instantaneous renewable energy means the grid can remain stable while being powered fully by renewables at any single moment in time, rather than all the time.
Transgrid plans to invest $9.5 billion (AUD 14 billion) to construct a 1553.4-mile (2,500-kilometer) energy superhighway of transmission lines and infrastructure to connect new large-scale renewable energy and storage to the grid, integrate five renewable energy zones, and expand transmission interconnection between regions and states, according to the report.
Transgrid CEO Brett Redman said in a statement, “Modernizing the energy grid to bring energy prices down requires us to build enormous amounts of new transmission to connect renewable generation in record time.”
Redman said the company is accelerating the delivery of a “new energy superhighway” with critical projects, including EnergyConnect, HumeLink, and VNI West, vital to facilitate Australia’s clean energy transformation. EnergyConnect includes a 559.23-mile (900-km) electricity transmission line that will connect power grids across three Australian states. HumeLink, one of the state’s largest energy infrastructure projects, is a transmission line that will connect three locations. The Victoria to NSW Interconnector West—known as VNI West—is a proposed double-circuit transmission line connecting the high-voltage electricity grids in New South Wales and Victoria.
Regarding system security, Transgrid aims to spend an estimated $1.5 billion (AUD 2.2 billion) on new system-strength technologies and services to maintain the secure operating envelope of the grid without using coal-generated power.
The energy company also plans to invest $203.4 million (AUD 300 million) in upgrading its technology tools, workforce, and training “to operate an increasingly complex power system”, according to the report. Of this amount, $94.9 million (AUD 140 million) will be allotted to tool improvement, while $10.85 million (AUD 16 million) per year in the next decade will be earmarked for people and training.
“There will be no transition without transmission. However, the enormity of the task and the challenges we face must not be understated. We must embrace innovation, invest in technology, develop a larger and more skilled workforce, and strengthen our capabilities, if we are to achieve a rapid transition to a low emissions energy system providing clean, affordable, and reliable electricity to Australians”, Redman said.
According to Redman, more than 80 percent of coal-fired capacity in New South Wales is expected to be retired, and 28 gigawatts of new renewable and storage capacity is expected to come online in the next 10 years.
“The only way to bring energy prices down is to deliver cheaper renewable energy as soon as possible. Transgrid must build and operate the backbone of this new grid while ensuring the safety, reliability, and security of our existing 13,000-kilometer [8,077.83-mile] transmission system which powers millions of homes and businesses”, Redman said.
Transgrid said, “It will be technically possible to operate the NSW power system at 100% instantaneous renewables, so long as the foundational prerequisites of energy reliability, system security, and operability are in place”.
According to the company website, Transgrid provides over 8077.8 miles (13,000 kilometers) of high voltage transmission wires and 121 substations in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, with connections to Victoria and Queensland.
To contact the author, email rteodoro.editor@outlook.com
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