Microgrids: moving towards climate change resilience

The problem of climate change has been ever increasing, and as more natural disasters affect every corner of the globe, we are no longer able to deny its existence and impact. The cost of doing nothing is also beginning to outweigh the cost of implementing measures that help drive change and provide us with a degree of resilience.

Across Australia and New Zealand in the past five years, we have seen major bushfires, significant storms, massive flooding and cyclones. Each occurrence critically damages the essential infrastructure that is relied upon for society to function normally.

The good news is that as we rebuild, we can apply more modern and smart investments to help mitigate the impact of future events. One such investment is the development of microgrids. Since the Black Summer bushfire events the Victorian Government announced that it supported the development of community microgrids.

A microgrid involves the inclusion of local storage and energy production capability, so that should a location be cut off in a storm event, a complete power outage is unlikely to occur. The communities that rely on power for firefighting, running water, sewerage and more, can therefore continue to function. This need is only going to be exacerbated as remote working post COVID-19 allows people to be more geographically dispersed.

These microgrids should utilise the latest in modern technology to ensure they are net carbon zero, through the use of solar, batteries and intelligent power control. Doing so can ensure they are available for extended periods without any reliance on diesel or other fossil-fuel generation. In some cases, a diesel generator might be included to ensure long-term supply, but considering the alternative is generators at each home, the carbon emission reduction is still improved.

Another benefit of these microgrids is that during normal periods they can help to support the grid as a whole. Such renewable resources and storage have the benefit of helping to minimise peak loads and improve power quality at remote locations. This means that money which may previously have been used to ‘gold plate’ the electricity grid can be used to create microgrids.

To see the positive effects of these microgrids, we don’t need to look too far from our own backyard. Companies like Bellevue Gold, in partnership with Zenith Energy, are putting in hybrid microgrids to support the next generation of mining. Bellevue Gold, having just completed commissioning of the hybrid components, is now running on 100% renewables during large portions of the day.

Another learning is in the Pacific islands where high diesel costs drive the need for innovation to try and offer some cost savings, meaning companies are more willing to try new things. In Guam it was proven that intelligent high-speed controls can not only support increased renewables, but can also drive significant power quality improvements (reducing under frequency load shedding and creating more stable power) and more importantly reduce diesel consumption through generator efficiency improvements.

As we transition to a hydrogen-focused future, power quality is even more important. Electrolysers are very dependent on stable power and don’t like to ramp up and down quickly, meaning an even higher level of control is required, almost necessitating a microgrid. If that hydrogen is then being sold to Europe, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism means that it needs to prove that the generated hydrogen is carbon neutral to avoid tax.

We can see that there are economic and social benefits to a microgrid and even a nested microgrid solution. The benefits go far beyond a natural disaster and can provide day-to-day advantages. The question for Australia is what it will take to drive some of the needed investment: industry is seeing the need due to global carbon commitments; however, more could be done domestically, and community microgrids are a very likely answer.

*Daniel Watson is an electrical engineer with a strong passion for renewable energy and achieving a better tomorrow. Having worked in power stations he understands the difficulties but also the needs around the energy transition.

Top image credit: iStock.com/jodie777