Victoria stands to benefit even further from the import of cheaper, renewable electricity generated by South Australian wind farms, after the Australian Energy Regulator approved a $108 million transmission upgrade between the two states. The existing Heywood Interconnector – once mostly used to export coal-fired electricity from Victoria to its neighbouring state – has more recently seen power flow in the opposite direction, after a rapid expansion of wind farms in SA.
The transmission upgrade will see the installation of a third transformer at Heywood, in western Victoria, increasing capacity by 40 per cent to 650MW, and averting a potential constraint on future wind farms in SA. The AER says it expects the measures to generate $190 million in net market benefits, including higher use of lower-cost generators, such as wind in South Australia and baseload capacity in Victoria.
“South Australian households could import low-cost brown coal-fired electricity from Victoria, while Victoria could gain from using more of South Australia’s wind power, which has a very low wholesale electricity price,” said Clean Energy Council policy director Russell Marsh, in a statement about the upgrade.
Clean winners
The Melbourne City Council’s ambitious plan to cut the carbon emissions of its city office buildings has been recognised as one of the world’s best, winning an international climate change award in London on Wednesday. Fairfax reports that C40 and Siemens climate leadership award was awarded to the Council’s 1200 buildings program, which gives building owners access to finance for energy and water efficiency upgrades – with loans repaid through council rates. Currently, Melbourne’s commercial buildings generate 54 per cent of the city’s carbon emissions.
In WA, local company MPower Solar Systems has taken out first prize in the state government’s inaugural Renewable Energy Technology Challenge. MPower – a wholly owned subsidiary of ASX-listed Tag Pacific Limited – was awarded $50,000 for its low-cost energy generation management unit, which can be fitted to most renewable energy inverters. The company – whose entry beat out 13 other locally developed, cost-effective, market-ready energy management solutions, designed for use in regional areas –is planning to manufacture the unit at its Canning Vale facility.
MPower also recently won the Research, Development and Innovation Award from the Northern Territory’s Power and Water Corporation, for its grid stability system technology. The company’s grid stability system centres on the control of off-grid renewable energy storage systems used by three remote communities covered by the TKLN Project. The system compensates for solar power outages by storing or regenerating energy. The TKLN Project is expected to save more than 440,000 litres of diesel and 1200 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
One of the two runners up in the above-mentioned WA Renewable Energy Technology Challenge was Bibra Lake company Magellan Power, for its Solar Smoother. The technology uses latest generation, cost-effective, high-current lithium batteries, connected to the solar array using a bidirectional DC-DC converter to manage and smooth the PV power flow. It is suitable for retrofitting to the DC-side of a standard residential rooftop solar installation.
Going cold on coal
The leaders of four Scandinavian countries and Iceland on Wednesday joined the US in agreeing to largely halting public financing for the construction of overseas coal-fired power plants. The leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden and the US said they would end public finance for new coal-fired power, “except in rare circumstances,” and would other countries and multilateral development banks to adopt similar policies. The US has said it will not support financing of coal plants overseas unless there was no alternative, or could trap emissions. The World Bank and the European Investment Bank are also restricting its financing of coal plants, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is being urged to do the same.
New boss at Hydro Tas
Hydro Tasmania has announced the official appointment of Steve Davy as its new CEO, who will take up the reigns after acting in the role since 30 June. Davy, 51, was previously Hydro Tasmania’s Chief Commercial Officer and has been with the business since 2005. Hydro Tasmania Chairman David Crean said Davy had played a key role in the transition of the business into the National Electricity Market and was considered the best man for the job, considering the complex issues and regulatory risks presented by the current national market. Davy is also currently the representative for Generators on the National Electricity Market’s Reliability Panel.
Power outage? There’s an app for that
New Zealand infrastructure company Vector has launched what it is describing as a world first customer service outage app for smart phones. Designed and developed locally, the Vector Outage Manager app can be downloaded for free by Vector customers, and used to access information during outages, particularly those caused by extreme weather events. Using the company’s electricity, natural gas and fibre networks, customers can get updates as they happen in real time. (A 3G or wireless connection is required and normal data charges apply.)
