Rewired

Could cheap, plentiful supplies of renewable energy give Australian manufacturers an edge?

Around the world, industrial energy users are embracing renewable energy. Global giants IKEA, Lego, Apple and Coca Cola are amongst hundreds of companies blazing a trail, making the RE100 pledge to power their operations entirely with renewables.

Closer to home more Australian manufacturers are seeing the benefits of cheap, dependable power - from food producers, to remote mine operators and even companies that produce chemicals in massive volumes.

In the final episode of this season of ReWired, we speak to one of the local businesses leading the way, trading their LPG powered boiler with a Danish-made biomass system. We hear from a Queensland business refining liquid fuels from waste products, and some now familiar voices help to put the bioenergy opportunity into context.

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ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released. While this is the final episode in this season, we hope to release more episodes soon.

You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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One of Australia’s oldest and most prolific methods of generating energy is poised to transform the electricity network - again.

In this episode of ReWired we take a deep dive into one of the oldest energy storage technologies - pumped hydro.

More than a century on from the establishment of the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Department, new hydro projects are being developed as part of work to prepare for a future powered by renewables.

In this episode, we hear from Hydro Tasmania CEO Steve Davy about the vision for the island state to become a national powerhouse. Chief Scientist Alan Finkel and AEMO CEO Audrey Zibelman share their insights into how pumped hydro will fit into the future energy mix, and ARENA CEO Darren Miller outlines some of the work underway to help this technology become commercial.

How could it work?

While the technology that underpins pumped hydro is not new, there are only a few working systems around the country.

The two biggest projects in the pipeline - Snowy 2.0 and Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation - have a collective capacity of about 4500 MW. According to Snowy Hydro, the 2000 MW Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro facility could power three million homes for more than a week when operating at full capacity. 

The large output and long duration makes pumped hydro well suited to complement large-scale renewables, with the capacity to store energy from windy and sunny periods for when generation drops.

One challenge is sending electricity from remote sites suited to large-scale pumped hydro facilities to distant population centres where it is needed. Tasmania’s plan to build the “Battery of the Nation” to bolster the National Electricity Market has a particularly big hurdle to overcome - Bass Strait.

With the existing BassLink interconnector at capacity, work is underway to advance the plan for a second connection to the mainland. The business case for the proposed “Marinus Link” is well-developed and the second interconnector is on track to enter service as soon as 2027.

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ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released.

You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

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Is it possible for wind and solar to supply reliable, dependable electricity day or night, regardless of the weather?

One of the biggest criticisms of renewable energy has been the simple fact that the output of wind and solar farms can vary depending on the weather and time of day.

When renewables made up a small part of the generation mix, that variability wasn’t a big problem. But as wind and solar do more of the heavy lifting, it is vital that we find ways to store energy for those times when less energy is being generated.

In this episode of ReWired: Solving the Energy Puzzle, we look at one of the newest - and most headline grabbing - large-scale storage technologies.

Just like the AA cells that historically powered devices like transistor radios, massive battery banks today store energy in electric vehicles and increasingly offer a way to support the electricity grid.

Hear Edify Energy CEO John Cole tell us about the 25 MW / 50 MWh battery they have installed alongside their solar farm at Gannawarra in northern Victoria. 

Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Audrey Zibelman shares her perspective on the role storage technologies like batteries have a role to play 'firming' the variable output of wind and solar farms, and helping to keep the lights on.

We also hear from Climateworks CEO Anna Skarbek, who believes that batteries will be an important part of the future energy portfolio. She shares her belief that flagship projects like the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia provide a glimpse of the future and help to shift the conversation around the energy transition.

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ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released.

You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Could the most common element in the universe be the key to a future powered by renewables?

In this episode of ReWired, we explore how renewable hydrogen could be poised for its moment in the sun.

While the potential of hydrogen has been understood for decades, the emergence of electrolyser technology - powered by affordable and plentiful energy from the wind and sun - is a potential game-changer.

The opportunity is massive. Just as Australia's resources have underpinned global industry for generations, hydrogen could allow us to export our riches of wind and solar energy as the world works to decarbonise.

Opportunities beyond our borders

One country that sees a bright future for hydrogen is Germany. In this episode, Managing Director of the German Energy Agency Kristina Haverkamp tells us that Germany won't be able to produce enough hydrogen to meet their future demand.

Describing hydrogen as one of a suite of renewable, synthetic ‘powerfuels’, she believes it will be an important alternative to direct electrification in the pathway to a future powered by renewables.

Where do we start

Producing hydrogen with an electrolyser costs more than fossil fuel alternatives today, but ARENA is working hard to make the emerging technology commercial.

As well as investing $70 million into a new funding round, ARENA is supporting massive ammonia users like explosives manufacturer Dyno Nobel to explore whether it is possible to transition to using a renewable hydrogen feedstock.

Incitec Pivot’s Vice President of Strategic Project Development Darren Jarvis told us these projects offer a pathway towards the vision of a hydrogen export industry.

We also hear from ATCO’s Head of Innovation Sam Lee Mohan, who tells us about their work to blend renewable hydrogen into existing natural gas pipelines. 

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Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released.

You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electric vehicles are finally breaking into the mainstream, but is Australia’s electricity network ready for them?

Australia’s EV journey has started slowly. But with more models available than ever before and fast charging networks under construction, for many they are becoming a viable alternative.

In this episode of ReWired, experts share their perspective on why you should consider an EV for your next car. Learn about work underway to make sure the electricity grid can cope with a growing fleet of electricity hungry vehicles, and hear from the people building new charging networks.

We even hear how the landscape is transforming in Germany, where the first car was built nearly 135 years ago.

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ARENA Rewired: Solving the Energy Puzzle is available now. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe now so you get a notification when new episodes are released.

You can help us grow the podcast by sharing it with your friends, family and colleagues, and let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are pleased to bring you the third season of ARENA's podcast, ReWired: Solving the Energy Puzzle.

We begin inside a net zero emissions home overflowing with renewable energy technology. Hear what inspired the owners to reimagine the modern Australian home to create and consume energy as efficiently as possible. 

We speak to energy leaders about the challenge of integrating the array of behind the meter technologies into a grid designed last century. AEMO CEO Audrey Zibelman and Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel explain some of the ways these hurdles are being overcome, and share a vision for how the network might work in the future.

And ARENA CEO Darren Miller introduces the game-changing distributed energy projects that ARENA is supporting, like Melbourne startup Allume, which is breaking down barriers to solar for apartments and other multi-metered buildings.

Your support made the first two seasons a huge success. Help us to grow the show by sharing it with your networks, and joining in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we enter a new decade, ARENA is launching season three of our podcast ReWired. Together we will look at the different pieces of Australia’s energy puzzle, and learn how they might come together in a future powered by renewables. 

Over six episodes, energy experts and innovators will explore a wide range of topics - the role of large-scale storage in balancing the grid, the transition to a consumer-driven energy system, and the electric vehicle revolution driving us to a more sustainable transport system. 

We will look at the state of Australia’s hydrogen industry, and hear how energy intensive industries are becoming more efficient and embracing renewables. 

You made the first two seasons of ReWired a massive success, and inspired us to share more of the important stories about Australia’s shift to renewable energy.

Find out more at www.arena.gov.au/blog. 

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Isolated from mainland Tasmania and at the mercy of the elements, the residents of Flinders Island have always prided themselves on their self-reliance.

We take a trip across the Bass Strait as Hydro Tasmania's new Hybrid Energy Hub kicks in to gear to find out how the shift away from diesel generation to renewables will affect lives.

Dewi Cooke meets some of the locals and hears how this small island has lived with intermittent electricity for years, while Adam Morton gets the lowdown on the Hub from Hydro Tasmania's manager of Hybrid Energy Solutions, Ray Massie.

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How many times would people tell you 'no' before you believed you couldn't? For Telstra Energy's Nada Kalam, the first time someone told her that 'girls can't do engineering' was in high school - and it's lit a fire under her ever since.

In this episode of The Innovators we explore a recognised issue within the energy industry: women's representation. And, as an energy systems engineer with one of Australia's biggest energy consumers, Nada shares how Telstra is using renewable technology to fortify its assets and reduce energy costs.

For more information on the Women in Renewables pledge or to read the report on corporate renewables, go to arena.gov.au/blog.

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Virtual power plants and digital energy marketplaces. These are the intangible, unseen elements of the energy revolution yet they're central to Bruce Thompson's working life.

But 20 years ago, Thompson was just a keen-eyed engineering student concerned about the environment and "this thing called climate change". A former activist and director of major projects at the Moreland Energy Foundation Limited (MEFL), he's been able to ride the wave of interest in environmental concern over the decades as issues that were once considered fringe have hit the mainstream. Now he's at energy software company GreenSync and is helping drive Australia's first open, digital marketplace for renewable energy, dEx.

In this episode of The Innovators, Thompson takes us on a journey from his days as a community campaigner in the Top End and how he applies what he learned to his current role as head of product strategy at GreenSync. For more, go to arena.gov.au/blog

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