Room: MS 4279, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A8

Australia’s renewable energy sector has been growing rapidly in the last several years. After a brief introduction to Australia, it’s resources and electricity networks, I will then give an update of the major (GW scale) renewable projects and some other key statistics and milestones in renewables growth for 2021/22. This growth has led to transmission network reviews and formal announcements of renewable energy zones (REZ) in NSW and Queensland. A specific example will be given: Powerlink’s Transmission network upgrade between Townsville and Cairns which supports Queensland’s Northern renewable energy zone. Both transmission and distribution network planners are also having to decide how to manage an increasingly variable sources of generation. Options such as more storage, demand management, and generation control are all possible solutions. Planning for and enabling them quickly, and hopefully at lowest cost, is an ongoing challenge. Energex are examining MW scale batteries as a genuine mechanism for delivering distribution network capacity upgrades, and all Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSPs) are examining Dynamic Operating Envelopes (DOEs) to better manage Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Finally, I will mention the (slow) growth of EVs in Australia, discuss the reasons why, and the implications as this inevitably changes. Speaker(s): Geoff Walker, Room: MS 4279, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A8