Alice Springs Future Grid Project
- $2.17m Funded by ARENA
- $9.15m Total project cost
Summary
The Alice Springs Future Grid project will focus on addressing barriers to further renewable energy penetration in the local electricity network.
Need
The Alice Springs Future Grid Project acknowledges that the Alice Springs power system faces a number of complex challenges to increasing the VRE penetration.
The rapidly shrinking minimum daytime demand makes it difficult to provide system services, and will only become more problematic as higher volumes of renewables are integrated into the network. Alice Springs is facing challenges sooner than many other grids.
Action
The Alice Springs Future Grid is a collaborative project consisting of interdependent sub-projects. These sub-projects have specific focuses, including modelling, microgrid trials, household battery and tariff trials, developing new cloud forecasting techniques, dynamic export and dispatch of PV, and an investigation into wind resources. A strong community engagement element aims to educate and empower Alice Springs residents, while also focusing on regular sharing of lessons learnt.
This project consists of:
Project reports- ARENA media release 14/08/20
- Alice Springs Future Grid – Wind Resource Monitoring Trial Technical Report #2
- Alice Springs Future Grid Lessons Learnt: Community Engagement
- Alice Springs Future Grid March 2021
- Alice Springs Future Grid Project Execution Lessons Learnt #1
- Lessons Learnt 2: Building a Multi‐Stakeholder Partnership
Learn more
Report: Alice Springs Future Grid Lessons Learnt: Community Engagement
This lessons learnt report highlights localised considerations and delivery challenges, and also reinforces broader community engagement challenges that are likely to arise.
Report: Building a Multi‐Stakeholder Partnership Lessons Learnt 2
This report represents some of the initial lessons learnt from the Alice Springs Future Grid Project with regards to the challenges and benefits of establishing a project consortium.
Report: Alice Springs Future Grid Project Execution Lessons Learnt #1
This Lessons Learnt report is the first public document to outline the Alice Springs Future Grid project as a whole; with an emphasis on the early phase of project execution.
Media Release: A Clean Energy Future for Alice Springs
ARENA has announced funding support the Alice Springs Future Grid Project.
Report: Alice Springs Future Grid March 2021
The Alice Springs Future Grid is a collaborative project consisting of interdependent sub projects.This document provides a high level overview, highlighting intended outcomes and work streams.
Outcome
The project aims to achieve the following outcomes:
- increased Alice Springs community consumer satisfaction regarding the reliability and supply of energy, following a series of innovative trials
- the reduction in or removal of barriers to renewable energy uptake
- increased skills, capacity and knowledge relevant to renewable energy technologies including through the delivery of a ‘Roadmap to 2030’ plan to achieve 50% renewables in Alice Springs by 2030
- improvement in technology readiness and commercial readiness of Renewable Energy Technologies.
Additional impact
Lessons learnt in Alice Springs will be transferable to other isolated grids in the NT, as well as larger networks. To preserve the knowledge generated through Alice Springs Future Grid, a website has been structured to support knowledge sharing and tell Central Australia’s unique and innovative renewables story.
Read more
ARENAWIRE Blogs
Preparing Alice Springs electricity grid for renewables
The electricity network that serves Alice Springs and its surrounds will be transformed to accommodate more renewable energy.
