Power & Energy Magazine - Volume 19: Issue 5 - September/October 2021: Renewables in Australia

This issue of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine is set in Australia. Back then, the existential driver was the nuclear arms race and the possibility of planned or accidental annihilation. Although that threat remains, another is transforming the energy industry and electric power systems. The driver is climate change and the related efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Significant investments in alternative generation sources are dramatically changing the dynamics of operating the Australian grids. Higher penetrations of variable renewable resources and inverter-based resources (IBRs), such as batteries, are necessary to reach the regional emission goals. The changes that Australia is experiencing, and their plans to further reduce emissions, resonate with the transformations occurring in other parts of the world. What makes Australia unique is its large, electrically isolated area composed of two regionally controlled grids with local and overarching government policies. Although the issues are complex, Australia presents a microcosm for looking at a variety of dimensions where the energy transformation is occurring arguably more quickly. The diversity of issues covers the operation and planning of the power grids, their market coordination mechanisms, and the government policy and regulatory structures put in place to guide change and the interactions of the constituents.
In This Issue - Six excellent articles, representing early successes, remaining challenges, and ongoing efforts, provide a broad perspective of Australia’s power system transformation.