PRESS
RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2017
Marketing contact:
Martin Van Der Linde
Tel : +61 7 3907 8777
Fax : +61 7 3399 6777
[email protected]
www.nojapower.com.au
The Finkel Report
Australia’s Energy Security and NOJA Power
“Australia’s electricity system is in transition. There is no going back from the
massive industrial, technological and economic changes facing our electricity
system. No country is immune to the change. What distinguishes countries’
approaches to the transition is how well-prepared they are in ensuring a
secure, reliable and affordable electricity system.”
-Blueprint for the Future, “The Finkel Report” 2017
2017 marks a major turning point in Australian policy for the evolution of the
electricity network. For almost one hundred years, utility business has
changed very little. Centralised generation and simple, one way power flow to
the consumer was an easy system to monitor and develop. The 2017 Finkel
report into Australia’s electricity future has shattered the view that a simple
centralised generation system is viable in the future. In the wake of South
Australia’s recent blackouts, Australia needs to focus on increasing system
security and ensuring future reliability, reducing emissions and rewarding
customers in the National Electricity Market. These goals are not simple
technological challenges – they require innovation to solve. These goals have
been held by Australian Switchgear manufacturers NOJA Power since their
very beginning. This year is the year that goals align, and the Australian
technology developed in Brisbane can be used to meet the security goals of
the NEM.
The Finkel Report does remind us that today, Australia’s grid wide technology
is not capable of supporting a 100% renewable generation mix. To achieve
the vision for net zero emissions from the energy sector by 2050, there must
be investment in technology across the entire sector. For the short term, it is
important that Australia maintains security of supply through effective
baseload generation from conventional sources such as Natural Gas Turbine
generation. As the technology in control, communications and automation
evolves, gradually the mix can be transitioned towards a greater proportion
of renewable energy. This secure progression will provide Australia with the
1
PRESS RELEASE
reliable energy it needs, as the technology evolves. It is of utmost importance
that Australia invests in the technology development to meet our goals, as we
work towards achieving the 2050 emissions targets.
NOJA Power OSM Recloser Installation
There is very little argument against the importance of renewable energy in
the future of Australia’s NEM, however an orderly transition to Renewable
energy requires system wide distributed generation support technology. It
requires switchgear with sufficient sensors, protection and automation
technology to make the safe reliable connection of renewable energy
sources. NOJA Power have been developing switchgear for this exact purpose
for the last 15 years. The key is to provide distributed control and monitoring
which allows for intelligent and responsible connection of renewable energy.
NOJA Power’s OSM Reclosers are Circuit Breakers which are installed on the
Medium voltage power lines throughout Australia. These circuit breakers act
like taps, able to interrupt the flow of electricity through the point when a
command is sent. These OSM Reclosers also have integrated sensors, which
can monitor the voltage (or electrical pressure), and current (electrical flow
rate) through the device. These sensors send their information to the
controller on the same pole, which is effectively an industrial grade computer.
Like a mobile phone or radio, Australian utilities can talk to these devices
remotely, to gather information about the electricity that is flowing through
these devices.
The future of network reliability in Australia is to use this information and
2
PRESS RELEASE
intelligent algorithms to allow the network to respond to changes in supply
and demand. When a cloud passes over a solar array, the supply drops
greatly. By using grid information and control information, we can sense the
electrical pressure drop, and then tell the system to add more pressure from
a different source. If the pressure gets too high, we can switch off some
generation and maintain stability.
The future of Australia’s electricity security is to support the research and
development which refines our ability to make this control and automation
possible. NOJA Power’s OSM Recloser uses the information it gathers to allow
utilities around the world to connect distributed generation such as solar and
wind farms safely.
“Australia’s energy security is of fundamental importance to the continued
growth and prosperity of our nation,” says NOJA Power Group Managing
Director Neil O’Sullivan. “While the technology deployment is underway, it is
important that we maintain system stability through our conventional
generation means. With the ongoing collaboration between Australian
utilities and NOJA Power, we are working to achieve the communications and
automation technology required to move the energy industry to our targets
by 2050.”
As a side note, NOJA Power’s reclosers are free from SF6 gas. SF6 gas used to
be a common material in switchgear, which is used to make the interruption
of electricity (turning off the tap under high pressure) easy. SF6 gas is over
23,000 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2 – a kg leak of SF6 is
the equivalent to over 23 tonnes of CO2. NOJA Power have a patented
alternative solid insulation system, which removes all risk of this CO2
pollution. It’s a comfort to know that Australian utilities have already
embraced this technology, with over 5000 devices installed across the
country, even replacing the old high risk SF6 circuit breakers.
NOJA Power is looking forward to continuing the work with Australian utilities
and the NEM to achieve the reliable, secure and clean energy future that
Australia deserves.
3