Australia is no stranger to the impact of climate change — heat waves, bushfires and extreme storms. SA Power Networks (SAPN) is tackling the challenge head-on. From in-the-field protection protocols to weather modelling and forecasting, SAPN is protecting staff and customers alike.
SA Power Networks Flies into Innovation with Drones
SA Power Networks has teamed up with Carbonix to conduct the first-ever long-range drone patrol of electricity power lines in Australia. The flight demonstrated the benefits of “over the horizon” drone operations, conducting thermographic inspections and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) imaging across 150km of powerlines in South Australia.
This exciting development highlights that the power drones have the potential to reduce overall travel and operational costs as well as improve staff safety. Drones are also able to speed up responses to outages, facilitate fault detection, aid in bushfire preparation, and streamline maintenance and line re-stringing work. This pioneering initiative heralds a new era in powerline management.
SA Power Networks’ “Flexible Exports” project has won the Australian Institute of Energy’s SA Energy Project of the Year Award 2023. The award is offered to the most significant and successful energy-related project, such as research, policy, legal, commercial, engineering and construction, over the past 12 months.
SA Power Networks engaged with more than 6,000 national and international stakeholders to successfully develop and deploy Flexible Exports, which allow solar customers to export up to 10kW of energy depending on grid capacity at the time. It’s a game-changer for both the industry and customers alike who now have an even bigger stake in producing zero-emission energy.
Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia, and Chris Beattie, Chief Officer of the State Emergency Service, invited SA Power Networks (SAPN) to a special event to recognise agencies that made at difference in their response to the recent River Murray floods that plagued South Australia from November last year until February 2023. Staff were praised for their tireless work and inter-agency cooperation, and the Premier presented SAPN with a memorial plaque to recognise their “outstanding collegiality and cross-government support for the River Murray floods”.
The SA Volunteer Awards, hosted by the South Australian Government has recognised SA Power Networks’ efforts in the community with a Premier’s Award for Corporate Social Responsibility. The Award celebrates a for-profit business that makes an extraordinary contribution to the community. SAPN supported in the region of 44 organisations last year with millions of dollars of direct grant funding. During 2022, it also launched its inaugural community grants programme that benefited another 25 community groups, schools and not-for-profits. That big-hearted approach to the community deserves to be celebrated!
SA Power Networks is expanding its world-leading Flexible Exports programme, allowing customers to export more solar energy into the grid. Solar customers are able to export (i.e. sell) up to 10kW per phase from their rooftop solar panel systems, depending on network capacity. Successful trials have proven that customers could export the maximum 10kW allotment 98% of the time. Customers getting on board with the Flexible Exports programme not only earn a return on their rooftop solar investment but also contribute to a more sustainable and stable energy grid overall.
CKHH companies are enacting adaptive strategies to mitigate climate change, including leading the charge in the hydrogen revolution. Day 2 of the Global Climate Action Conference explored how CKHH companies deal with climate-change extreme events and how they are transitioning to climate-friendly energy generation.
CKHH companies aren’t just spending money on traditional renewable energy – they are investing in original R&D to bring innovative solutions to bear. Pilot projects advance to become invaluable solutions to mass adoption of green technologies that just might save us all.
SA Power Networks’ sunny plans bear powerful fruit
South Australia is a world leader in the adoption of rooftop solar energy. On the sunniest days, home owners now put more energy back into the grid than they take out. In late December, a new record was set with the distribution network operated by SA Power Networks exporting 185MW to the national grid. SA Power Networks’ active support of rooftop solar has resulted in it receiving the South Australian Premier’s Award for Innovation and Collaboration in Energy for its Enhanced Voltage Management Project. This project has improved substation voltage management and local network solar capacity for 80% of SA Power Networks’ customers.
Enerven wins with rapid roll-out of solar and battery solutions for water utility
Enerven, an SA Power Networks company, has won the Australian Construction Achievement Award. Their Zero Cost Energy Future project for SA Water saw Enerven design and build over 242GWh of solar photovoltaic (PV) and 34MWh of energy storage across 33 South Australia water sites in less than 24 months. This storage enables SA Water to manage their excess energy production and feed it back into the grid to achieve a zero-net outcome.
