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Hey Reader, in today's edition:
- Synthetic inertia explained
- Don't transition alone: CEFC
- Measuring the cost of climate action
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Syncons vs batteries
Last week US battery giant Tesla issued a white paper clearing up what it said were misconceptions about the role of grid-forming inverters in the energy transition.
Tesla says it has 4.5 GW/12 GWh of grid-forming batteries in the pipeline across Australia that can provide synthetic inertia, and that such batteries are gaining acceptance by grid operators around the world, including AEMO.
The problem, it says, is that grid-forming batteries are assessed against standards designed for grid-following batteries, creating a major barrier to their adoption. It wants to see a rule change from the Australian Energy Market Commission, or for the issue to be addressed by the upcoming grid-forming specific access standard reforms.
Meanwhile, transmission giant Transgrid recently said its preferred portfolio of system strength solutions to enable the transition still includes ten synchronous condensers over the next ten years, the lead times on which have been proving extremely challenging in recent years.
In The Energy’s latest explainer, UNSW Associate Professor in Energy Systems Dr Georgios Konstantinou explains the difference between synthetic and synchronous inertia and the technical merits of each.
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Expert view
“Although increasingly recognised as part of system strength and frequency stability solutions, synthetic inertia has not yet been deployed at scale, and its system-wide behaviour remains an active area of study.
Because synthetic inertia relies on digital measurements, software controls, and the operating headroom of the converters, it can be more complex, less predictable and harder to model than synchronous inertia.
The challenge for the years ahead is learning how to run a secure and stable system that changes much faster than before. It will mean rethinking how the system is operated and taking advantage of the distinct capabilities of power electronics to provide adaptive location-specific, and system-wide services.”
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Dr Georgios Konstantinou
Associate Professor in Energy Systems, UNSW Sydney
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Don't transition alone: CEFC
A saving of $4 billion in transmission costs and $26 billion in generation capex is on offer over the next 25 years, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) says, if Australia’s big miners can be convinced not to go it alone in the energy transition.
A report commissioned from government advisers Marsden Jacob makes the economic and transmission case for a common user transmission infrastructure in the Pilbara.
It’s an idea that’s far from new, but seemingly yet to land as the CEFC feels compelled to point out it won’t deploy funds in the region to support standalone projects. Two years on from $3 billion in federal funds being allocated for projects in Western Australia, not a cent has been allocated. BHP quietly binned a $2 billion project last year.
Earlier this year, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said the company was “ready to build transmission lines ourselves” as it sought to connect solar power at its Pluto LNG plant.
The report says a common-user approach would ensure transmission lines are appropriately sized to accommodate future demand growth; ease pressures on traditional landowners and local communities; and enable small and mid-tier industrials and miners to access the grid for necessary decarbonisation.
Efficiencies from this approach would also require 21% less land for transmission and 16% less renewable energy, the report says. “There are significant benefits for the major Pilbara miners of working together, rather than individually funding inefficient subscale systems,” CEFC executive director, WA and Resources, Rob Wilson said.
A spokesperson for Fortescue told The Energy the company strongly supports the decarbonisation of the Pilbara, and common-user infrastructure will be critical to making that happen.
“At the same time, we’re already well advanced on our plan to decarbonise our Pilbara terrestrial iron ore operations by 2030, with major investment in new solar, batteries and transmission underway.
"We want to work with others to speed up the transition, but it’s important that projects already in motion aren’t slowed down along the way.”
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Go or no-go zones proposed
In a speech to the Smart Energy Council today, Environment Minister Murray Watt is expected to propose establishing "no-go zones" for development projects, including renewable energy projects, as well as "go zones" where approvals will be fast-tracked. (ABC) (AFR)
The regional planning zones for major projects will be the first legislated change to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, which has been recommended for reform for several years.
Under the proposed new rules, the government would be able to partner with states and territories to develop regional plans, which would feed into state planning laws.
“The need for individual projects to be assessed in a particular region, with all the environmental information that entails, adds to the cost and delay in obtaining approvals," Watt's speech reads.
"While it would assist development across a range of industries, it would be of particular value to the renewable energy sector, as you all attempt to build at large scale with speed and efficiency.”
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Catch Up
Capital
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New South Wales’ latest roadmap tender for firming infrastructure will open in October utilising a single stage bid submission process, requiring proponents to submit both project and financial information upfront. ASL said projects capable of supporting reliability in the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong sub-region during periods of peak demand will be prioritised. Bids will be due late November.
Global investment group La Caisse committed $200 million, alongside $50 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation for a new diversified agricultural platform to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). The group has signed mining giant Rio Tinto as a foundation offtaker. Its first asset is a broadacre and irrigation farm of more than 15,000 hectares in Central Queensland.
 Projects
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Marinus Link chose a joint venture of DT Infrastructure and Samsung C&T Corporation (TasVic Greenlink) as the preferred bidder to build the project’s converter stations and land cable civil works, which span 90km across Gippsland. Construction is expected to commence in 2026, subject to final environmental and regulatory approvals.
Policy
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Clean energy projects would be fast tracked under a new bill announced by the Western Australian government that some warned would leave the government vulnerable to industry influence. The government said it would enable “State Development Areas” and Priority Projects to help ensure project delivery in an "investment-friendly timeframe". (ABC)
“The State Development Bill will give us the powers necessary to secure investment in major clean energy and defence manufacturing projects, which have the ability to transform the WA economy in the years ahead.”
Roger Cook
Premier of Western Australia
Is climate action a net cost or benefit, asks University of Canberra School of Government head John Hawkins in the wake of last week’s Business Council of Australia report suggesting $500 billion of investment would be needed to cut emissions 70% by 2035. (The Conversation)
“To date, the most detailed analysis in both Australia and the United Kingdom give the same answer: when the escalating damage done by climate change is accounted for, climate action has vastly more benefit than cost.”
John Hawkins
University of Canberra School of Government
Technology
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Australia’s early moves toward green iron risk locking in dependence on fossil gas, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) says, in a new report on Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) technology. The authors also warn policymakers away from carbon capture and storage as a solution for steel decarbonisation, arguing Australia’s competitive advantage lies with green hydrogen-based DRI. IEEFA recently launched a Green Iron Tracker providing a list of operating and proposed, pilot and commercial-scale facilities for iron production across Australia.
“Gas producers are interested in participating in Australia’s shift to DRI production, but you can’t make green iron with gas. Moreover, gas-based production in Australia would struggle to compete with international rivals that have access to cheaper gas. Locking an emerging Australian DRI industry into a long-term dependence on fossil gas and CCS risks squandering the green iron export opportunity.”
Simon Nicholas
Lead Analyst, Global Steel, IEEFA
Climate
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A new emissions reporting guide and framework to help energy companies assess climate risks and opportunities under different scenarios is expected to uplift climate disclosure reporting across the sector, the Australian Energy Council said. The guides are the product of a year-long collaboration between the lobby group and the University of Adelaide. The guides come after regulator ASIC stepped up its efforts to combat greenwashing and Australia’s new climate disclosure regime saw compliance established as a duty of company directors.
People
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Former Greens leader Adam Bandt was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Bandt will start the role in January 2026 taking over from existing CEO Kelly O’Shanassy.
Cbus head of responsible investment Ros McKay, Fidelity's local head of sustainable solutions Daniela Jaramillo, and IFM Investors' executive director, public policy and research Anna Engwerda-Smith were named finalists in the “Driving the Policy Agenda” category of the Investor Group on Climate Change’s Summit awards.
The former renewable energy chief at Shell, Huibert Vigeveno, has been named CEO for MET group, whose European power assets include a growing wind base.
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What's On
September 9
Smart Energy Queensland
Environment Minister Murray Watt, Greens Leader Larissa Waters, Windlab Chief Development Officer Nathan Blundell, First Choice Solar Founder Peter Berkers, Solar Training Centre CEO Steve Kostoff, QUT Energy Storage Research Group Director Joshua Watts, and Renewables and Distributed Energy General Manager at Ergon Energy Network and Energex Glenn Springall will speak at this expo in Brisbane.
September 9-11
Women in Energy & Renewables Summit 2025
NEM Review Panel Member Paula Conboy, Head of Stakeholder & Community Engagement at Squadron Energy Kath Elliott, Tilt Renewables CEO Anthony Fowler, Endeavour Energy CEO Guy Chalkley, Ausgrid Group Executive for Transmission Development and Growth Kelly Wood, AEMO Executive General Manager of Policy & Corporate Affairs Violette Mouchaileh, Champions of Change Coalition Program Director Olivia Tsen will speak at this sold-out event in Sydney.
September 9-11
Gippsland New Energy Conference
Superpower Institute Director Ross Garnaut, GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) Chair Troy McDonald, the Net Zero Economy Authority’s Energy Industry Jobs Plan Review Leader Professor Roy Green, Iberdrola Executive Manager Engagement & Social Licence Nicola Pero, and Marinus Link Head of Community Stakeholder Engagement Mark Lindsay will speak at this event in Traralgon.
September 11
SACOSS Energy Forum
Australian Energy Regulator Chair Clare Savage, Energy Consumers Australia Advocacy and Policy Executive Manager Adam Collins, and Monash University Professorial Fellow Ron Ben-David will speak at this event in Adelaide.
September 11-12
24th Energy in WA Conference
WA Program Director for The Superpower Institute Jessica Shaw will lead a panel on the nuts and bolts of how flexible, integrated solutions are being delivered, featuring Executive GM Commercial & Growth at AGIG Rachael Smith, APA’s GM Power Development Gary Bryant, Enscope President Phil Ireland, Accure’s Australia Head Alan Coller and AEMO’s System Operations expert Paul Elliott at this event in Perth.
September 15
Queensland Clean Energy Summit
Corrs Chambers Westgarth Partner Melissa Grintner, Windlab Chief Development Officer Nathan Blundell, Aula Energy Head of Development Anthony Russo, regional mayors Greg Williamson and Andrew Smith, and Jo Sheppard from the Queensland Farmers' Federation are among the line-up at this Clean Energy Council event in Brisbane.
September 16
The Price of Power: The Future of Australia's Energy Sector
Bluescope Chief Executive, Climate Change and Sustainability Deborah Caudle, Alinta Energy CEO Jeff Dimery, AGL CEO Damien Nicks and Australian Energy Council CEO Louisa Kinnear will speak at this American Chamber of Commerce event in Melbourne, with R. Blair Thomas, CEO of US energy investment firm EIG speaking via Zoom.
September 23
AEMO's Annual Results
Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Daniel Westerman and Executive General Manager for Finance and Governance Vanessa Hannan will outline progress against strategic priorities and initiatives, financial results for FY25 and priorities for FY26.
September 24
Updated net zero pathways for Australia
The Net Zero Australia Project team from the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland and Princeton University will present their latest report on the roles of renewables, energy storage and firming including nuclear, carbon capture and storage and other complementary technologies at this hybrid event.
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