APA
Bundled energy systems
Energy transition
4 min read
Hybrid power plan tailored for industry
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APA Group
Published on
01 September 2023
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2023 07 24 Emu Downs Wind Farm 13
Emu Downs Wind Farm, WA

This article originally featured in the AFR’s special clean energy report on 1 September 2023 and was republished with the AFR’s permission.

Tailoring and bundling energy solutions to meet the unique needs of mining and resources companies with high energy needs will be critical to ensuring Australia transitions to a zero emissions future as quickly as possible.

APA Group, the Australian-listed developer of Australia’s largest off-grid solar farm at Mount Isa in remote north-west Queensland, recognises the need to accelerate the ramp up of renewable power as much as possible.

And as Australia’s renewable electricity capacity continues to grow, low-cost and lower emissions fuels like natural gas will be essential for delivering energy security when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.

Ensuring gas is available to play this role will be particularly important for sectors such as mining, resources and manufacturing, which have significant energy requirements and are often located in some of the nation’s most remote communities, making energy generation and supply even more complex.

APA Group chief executive and managing director Adam Watson says the company’s Dugald River Solar Farm – an 88MW power plant where solar panels line an area 65 times the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s playing surface – is an excellent example of a bundled, remote-grid energy solution.

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Dugald River Solar Farm, QLD

Now operational, the solar farm will provide APA’s resources customers in the North West Minerals Province with a steady supply of electricity at all times of the day and in all weather.

“One of the areas where we see real opportunity for our business, our customers and our communities is the decarbonisation of mine sites in remote areas,” he says.

“Most mining companies that operate in Australia have net-zero ambitions, so they’re all trying to find ways to decarbonise their energy solutions.

“As a unique infrastructure player in Australia, we can bring renewable power generation to the community and then connect it up with gas-fired power generation to ensure they have reliable energy even when the sun stops shining and the wind stops blowing.

“One of the critical roles we play is not only bringing renewable power generation to life, but also connecting it with electricity transmission lines to the substations that are necessary to take that energy to the end user.

“We wrap it all up as a package and bring that solution to the customer in a low-cost, low emissions and reliable way.”

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Northern Goldfields Interconnect, WA

Watson says one single renewable energy solution will not work for the entire industry, nor for every remote community operating outside of the national electricity grid, such as Mount Isa.

He says industrial energy users require around the clock energy that solar panels cannot generate alone to keep plants operational, and batteries are currently only capable of acting as a short-term option or emergency backup.

Gas provides the required energy security, and gas-fired power plants can be quickly powered up and down depending on when green energy is readily available, and therefore has a critical role to play in firming up energy supply, he says.

“It’s all different is the answer,” he adds. “When we look at how you create an effective energy system, we always say you need three things: that it needs to be low cost; that it needs to be reliable; and needs to be low in emissions.

“One of the things that APA is very focused on is making sure we can tailor the right solution for the customer’s needs.” Watson says solar panels on a large scale do provide the energy at a lower cost.

“The bigger it is, the more customers you can serve, then obviously the cost per customer comes down,” he says. “The sun is free, so when the infrastructure is installed, it actually is quite low cost. But the thing you need to remember is you can’t do it without gas.

“You can’t say, ‘it’s cheap and it’s free, but I’m not going to pay for infrastructure’, and you can’t say, ‘it’s cheap and it’s free, but I’m not going to have the gas-firming solution’ either.

“You need to bring it all together and generally you need to make that upfront investment, and then over time you get the savings.”

2023 07 24 Emu Downs Wind Farm 19
Emu Downs Wind Farm, WA

Watson says APA works closely with local communities and First Nations people to bring its energy solutions together with as much local employment, content and engagement as possible.

“It’s something that the communities are incredibly proud of, it’s something that our customers are incredibly proud of and it’s something that the people of APA are really proud of,” he says.

“When you’re able to deliver something like [the Dugald River Solar Farm], which is clearly going to provide benefits to the community, it’s a really important and special thing to be part of.”