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PERTH, Western Australia, May 31, 2006
(Refocus Weekly)
The electric grid in Western Australia has the
scope to accommodate “significant renewable generation capacity
beyond that currently installed and under development providing
adequate policy and systems are put in place to avoid the
difficulties, uncertainties, disruptions and additional costs of
renewable energy development.”
The study into increasing green power generation in the state was
conducted by Econnect to focus on increasing the feed of renewables
into the South West Interconnected System. It resulted from a
government-commissioned independent study into increasing the
ability of SWIS to accept higher levels of energy from generators
who use renewable resources.
“The abundance of renewable energy resources presents an opportunity
for increased use of renewable energy generation in this state,”
says energy minister Francis Logan. “The government will take into
account the report's findings and the issues raised in public
submissions in its future policy development processes.”
"The Carpenter government is committed to promoting the renewable
energy industry by identifying and implementing strategies that will
provide them with greater opportunities in the energy market," he
says. "The report provides a welcome independent, expert review of
some of the issues that need to be faced by industry and government
in planning for the renewable energy industry."
The report, 'Maximising the penetration of intermittent generation
in the SWIS,’ is part of the sustainable energy initiative policy
which includes a commitment to increase the amount of green power
sold on the state's main electricity grid to 6% by 2010. Windfarms
and solar PV across the state currently have a total capacity of 170
MW, with another 80 MW of renewable energy projects under
development or committed for construction.
SWIS is the power system for the southwestern part of the state,
extending from Kalbarri in the north to Albany in the south, and
east to Kalgoorlie. Most of the residents in the state live in that
area.
“Renewable energy technologies with intermittent output, such as
wind turbines, represent one of the most promising renewable energy
technologies for the short term in Western Australia,” the report
explains. “However, their attributes and intermittent output can
create power quality, reliability and cost issues for the power
systems they must be connected to. This then limits the degree of
penetration of these technologies on conventional power systems.”
The report focuses on identifying impacts and benefits associated
with the implementation of strategies that support increased green
power penetration subject to power quality and reliability
requirements. It considers a range of issues ranging from
system-wide to site-specific issues.
A draft version of the report was released for public consultation
in December and stakeholders in the electricity and renewable energy
industries provided submissions that were reviewed by Econnect for
consideration in the final report. The final report makes a number
of recommendations to be considered in future policy and regulatory
development.
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