The Victorian Government has given the go-ahead to a $662 million wind farm near Horsham in western Victoria. The 116-turbine wind farm at Murra Warra has the potential to remove more than one million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year from the Victorian electricity generation sector, and will supply enough clean electricity to power 250,000 homes. The project is […]
The latest project news, developments and opinion pieces from industry experts from Australia’s electricity industry.
EnergyAustralia is set to sign agreements to purchase 500MW of power from new renewable projects around eastern Australia, worth an aggregate $1.5 billion. EnergyAustralia Managing Director, Catherine Tanna, said the foundation contracts would underpin significant investment in new solar and wind energy developments. In the first commitment announced under the program, EnergyAustralia has agreed binding terms to buy all the […]
An investigation by international cable experts into the subsea cable fault leading to the December 2015 outage of the Basslink interconnector has determined the cause to be unknown. The independent investigation was completed by Cable Consulting International (CCI), a UK based firm regarded as one of the world’s leading submarine power cable experts. The investigation, which spanned more than […]
In an Australian first, South East Water is using solar technology to power a pressure sewer system on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Solar is now being used to power a pressure sewer system at the Truemans Road Recreation Reserve in Tootgarook, future-proofing sports club facilities for the local community, and opening up new possibilities for the provision of wastewater […]
For the automatic switching of capacitor banks to achieve target power factor, NHP has released the new RL8 and RG8 power factor controllers. With an intuitive easy-to-use interface, the new series offers plug-and-play accessory modules providing flexibility to meet any application requirement with options from master-slave configurations to contactor or dynamic switching of capacitor banks. Features provided as standard include […]
A new Energy Networks Australia (ENA) and CSIRO report outlines the specific measures that could be taken to transition to smart energy, saving electricity customer hundreds of dollars per year and allowing Australia to achieve zero net carbon emission by 2050. The two-year Electricity Network Transformation Roadmap study, which involved hundreds of stakeholders, found a national, integrated plan was needed to […]
Power and Water Corporation (NT) is seeking tenders for the design, supply and reconstruction of the existing Channel Island to Hudson Creek 132kV overhead transmission line to incorporate into the Archer to Palmerston 66kV overhead transmission line. A mandatory site inspection will be held on 14 December 2016 at 9:30am. Submissions to tender close 13 January 2017.
Mackay Regional Council (QLD) is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for renewable energy generation options. Council is requesting EOIs for two categories of renewable energy projects as follows: Small-scale renewable energy generation Generation facilities between 1kW and 200kW. These generators are able to elect to receive Small-scale Technology Certificates (STC). STCs are for residential and smaller commercial systems. These are […]
CitiPower and Powercor have established Beon Energy Solutions, a re-branding of previous Energy Solutions that provides energy solutions for utility, commercial and residential customers. In the 10 months since it launched as CitiPower and Powercor Energy Solutions in January 2016, the team has grown rapidly and achieved commercial success by focusing on facilitating customer choice in an open and competitive […]
The Northern Territory Government has announced changes to the Power and Water Corporation’s board. Northern Territory Treasurer, Nicole Manison, said the corporation was still facing significant challenges following the structural separation process. “We will be recruiting a new Chair for the Power and Water Corporation to meet the current financial challenges and emerging issues that this multi-faceted utility will face,” […]
Origin has made changes to its leadership team, with six new members and a reorganised structure. Origin Chief Executive Officer, Frank Calabria, said, “These changes remove a leadership layer from the Energy Markets business, simplify the structure and bring operational leadership roles up onto the leadership team. “The team reflects our need to deliver better operational performance today while preparing […]
Genex has secured the $110 million necessary to go ahead with the construction of its Kidston solar farm, located 270km northwest of Townsville in North Queensland. Queensland Energy Minister, Mark Bailey, said, “This is another renewable win for the North and for the regions. “Upon completion, the Kidston Solar Farm will provide 50MW of renewable energy capacity to Queensland’s North […]
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has begun a project which looks at potential changes to the management of electricity networks to accommodate the increasing adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as rooftop solar. The AEMC released an approach paper for its ‘Distribution Market Model’ project, which sets out the opportunities and challenges of DERs, as distribution networks move […]
An advanced metering infrastructure project (AMI) has won a national innovation award at the 2016 Australian Utility Week conference held in Sydney. Horizon Power’s AMI project, which was completed in October 2016, won the “Best Value AMI” award. Australian Utility Week, which is attended by the best minds in the energy industry each year, showcased the awards. There were eight […]
Queensland Government-owned electricity corporations are preparing their networks ahead of a hot summer with a predicted higher than average number of cyclones. Energy Queensland and Powerlink have completed pre-summer preparations to ensure the 220,500 circuit kilometre electricity network is ready. The state has already been given an early taste of the season with recent storm activity. Queensland Minister for Energy, […]
200,000 South Australian premises lost power in the early hours of 1 December 2016 when the state’s electricity grid disconnected from the National Electricity Market (NEM). The fault that caused the disconnection of the Heywood interconnector occurred on the Victorian side at around 1:03am. To protect the system, load shedding occurred to bring supply and demand into balance, which resulted […]
Ausgrid’s Board of Directors has appointed a new Chief Executive Officer, to take effect immediately. New CEO, Richard Gross, who was an advisor to AustralianSuper and IFM Investors on their Ausgrid investment, has extensive experience in the energy sector, its infrastructure and operations and the regulatory environment. The board will also be led by independent Chairman Peter Magarry following AustralianSuper […]
The Western Australian Government has announced it will sell 51 per cent of Western Power, with the proceeds to go towards state infrastructure. Western Australian Treasurer and Minister for Energy, Mike Nahan, said 51 per cent will be sold through public float but the government will remain the largest shareholder. “Under the 51 per cent public float proposal, the State […]
The Western Australian Government has committed up to $10 million to improve electricity reliability in Kalbarri, constructing what could become Australia’s largest renewable energy-powered microgrid. Western Australian Minister for Energy, Mike Nahan, said the microgrid would explore a 5MW peak capable system which would include a large-scale battery with a minimum capacity of 2MW hours, as well as renewable generation sources […]
A landmark agreement to roll out Australian designed solar heliostat technology in China will provide climate mitigation benefits for both countries. The deal between CSIRO, which invented the the specialist heliostat technology, and Chinese company Thermal Focus, will help China reach its renewable energy targets and produce 1.4GW of concentrated solar thermal (CST) by 2018, and up to 5GW by […]
The Victorian Government has announced a bipartisan review into the state’s electricity and gas markets to determine how energy markets are delivering competitive benefits to consumers. Victoria’s energy market is the most competitive in Australia with more than 25 electricity retailers and 10 gas retailers. However, research shows that consumers lack confidence when comparing and understanding pricing offers, and too […]
The Victorian Government has opened round two of the New Energy Jobs Fund (NEJF) with a total of $6 million available to help communities, industry and businesses develop projects that create jobs and support clean energy. Grants of between $20,000 and $1 million are available to support new energy technology projects that support the uptake of renewable energy, reduce emissions, […]
Open trenches, broken pits and displaced manhole covers are all potential dangerous trip and fall hazards. Regardless of whether they are situated in public places or around a construction site, these open holes and trenches can potentially be a dangerous hazard for pedestrians and workers. For instance, in public places including on the footpath or nature strip, there are many […]
Submissions are open for the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) draft rule that aims to increase competition in the construction of new transmission network infrastructure. According to the AEMC, the National Electricity Market is evolving as Australia transitions to a low carbon economy. An estimated 30 to 50 new large scale generators, including wind and solar, as well as major […]
The Western Australian Government has appointed two new members to the Horizon Power board. Western Australian Energy Minister, Mike Nahan, said Neil Thompson and Jeanette Hacket AM had started their respective two and one-year appointments on the board. Dr Nahan said Mr Thompson and Professor Hacket had both served on a number of corporate and community boards, bringing a wealth […]
ARENA is supporting a new trial will be conducted across more than 150 households in New South Wales and Victoria to test how smart inverters can be used with rooftop solar and home energy storage to cut costs, and improve the reliability of electricity supply. ARENA is providing $1.87 million in funding for the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at […]
The recently opened NHP Power Hub, is a training facility in Melbourne that showcases a full power distribution solution, and in particular, highlights NHP’s medium voltage capabilities. A full range of medium voltage equipment is displayed, including DF2 de-mountable switchgear with a variety of functional panels, withdrawable switchgear, ring main units, oil immersed and cast resin transformers, agile protection relays […]
The Victorian Government has awarded an engineering firm a grant to develop a new method of replacing bare-wire powerlines, to reduce the risk of bushfires. Groundline Australia was awarded the grant, with the project aiming to develop a conductor to replace bare-wire powerlines that will reduce the risk of bushfires and potentially enable a safer alternative technology for use across […]
Unitywater is developing a waste-to-energy feasibility study that will assess if waste could be turned into renewable energy, with funding support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The study will investigate if waste streams can be used to create renewable energy, including captured and treated sewage and other wastes such as fats, oils and greases from industry and businesses […]
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