Upcoming Events
26 July 2023: IEEE PES Technical Talk on 'The NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap - A Coordinated Approach to the Energy Transformation'
The IEEE PES/PELS WA Chapter is organising a webinar by Brad Hopkins from AEMO Services and Lulu Shao from EnergyCo on the NSW Electricity Infrastructre Roadmap. The talk will provide an overview of the roadmap, a general introduction to the NSW Renewable Energy Zones (REZ), the AEMO Services contract design to support the acceleration of built energy infrastructure and the challenges of REZ design.
About the Speakers
Brad Hopkins joined AEMO Services from its establishment and currently serves as General Manager - Commercial, alongside Baharak Sahebekhtiari. The Commercial Team leads the design and implementation of our competitive tender processes. Brad Hopkins has more than 15 years’ experience financing energy projects around the world, including 12 years with Macquarie Bank. Prior to joining AEMO Services, Brad played a leading role in implementing the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and designing the policy whilst a Partner at KPMG. Since returning to Australia from the UK in 2016, Brad has led some of the largest and most complex renewable energy transactions and energy policies. Brad has a Masters of Science (Environmental Economics) from the London School of Economics, a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Queensland.
Lulu Shao is a highly accomplished professional currently serving as the Director of Power Systems at the Energy Corporation of NSW. With her extensive expertise in power system planning, power electronics, and engineering design, she plays a pivotal role in guiding the technical aspects of developing Renewable Energy Zone projects in New South Wales. Prior to her current position, Lulu held the position of planning lead at Transgrid, where she was overseeing major transmission projects. Her contributions included interconnector upgrades between NSW and Queensland and Victoria, as well as enhancing transmission capacity in southern NSW. Lulu actively represents the Energy Corporation in industry working groups, demonstrating her commitment to collaboration, and driving innovation in the energy sector. Her exceptional educational background includes a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland, underscoring her dedication to academic excellence. Lulu has gained invaluable experience in the power industry during her career spanning over 15 years. With her expertise, experience, and passion for clean energy, Lulu continues to make significant contributions to the energy industry, shaping the future of renewable energy in NSW and beyond.
Date and Time
The presentation will be held online on Wednesday 26 July 2023 from 4.30pm - 6pm Perth time.
Register for this webinar using this Eventbrite link.
Latest News
7 June 2023: IEEE PES Technical Talk on 'Inertia and BESS in the Future SWIS'
The IEEE PES/PELS WA Chapter organised a seminar by Dr. Andrew King and Dr. Marjan Ladjavardi.
Early retirement of coal generation (and other fossil fuel generation) has been highly visible in the media recently. One of the biggest changes is the loss of system inertia as a result of losing these large heavy machines, particularly in the WEM. Using parameters that closely match the SWIS, this presentation looks at the levels of inertia that will need to be maintained in the in the future, and options for meeting this with current and possible future technology and/or reducing the required quantity.
About the Speakers
Dr. Andrew King is a Chartered Professional Engineer and holds Bachelor and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering. His core expertise is Numerical Modelling, particularly Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), in which he has over 20 years’ experience. Prior to co-establishing L&K Engineering Dr King was a Senior Lecturer at Curtin University where he was focused on understanding mechanical systems, including wave, wind and solar thermal energy generating devices. Recently, he has been involved in modelling markets and systems, particularly with regard to constrained access mechanisms.
Dr. Marjan Ladjavardi holds Bachelor, Masters, and PhD degrees in Electrical Power Engineering. She has extensive experience with Australia’s power networks, including the NEM, WEM as well as other private and public networks. Marjan’s work in academia and for power utilities and consultants, has given her an in-depth understanding of Power Engineering. Prior to co-establishing L&K Engineering, Marjan worked in a tier 1 consultancy as a Technical Director for Battery Storage and Distributed Generation. At L&K Engineering, Marjan has been heavily involved in grid connection, particularly dynamic modelling for the SWIS, NWIS and other networks.
Date and Time
The talk was held on Wednesday 7 June 2023 from 4.30pm - 6pm Perth time in the Karri Room at Central Park Conference Centre in Perth, WA.
4 April 2023: IEEE PES Technical Talk on 'Navigating the energy mid-transition'
The IEEE PES/PELS WA Chapter organised a seminar by Dr. Julius Susanto.
The Australian electricity sector is at the forefront of the global energy transition, a once-in-generation structural shift from fossil-fuels to zero or low carbon energy sources. Australia’s two largest electricity grids1, the National Electricity Market (NEM) in the east and the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) in Western Australia, are arguably in “mid-transition”, which is an awkward stage when both fossil-based thermal generation and renewable energy generation co-exist in large enough volumes so as to disrupt each other’s operations and economics. Providing a plan to navigate this mid-transition phase will be crucial to preventing a disorderly transition that is characterised not only by economic inefficiency, but also heightened risks to the reliability of the electricity system.
This technical talk presents a summary of a Churchill Fellowship undertaken by Julius Susanto in 2022, where he visited California, Texas, Washington DC, England and Ireland to learn how other jurisdictions at a similar stage to Australia were managing the energy transition.
About the Speaker
Julius Susanto is a power systems engineer with over 20 years of industry experience across the electricity supply chain, including renewable energy developments, engineering design, construction and commissioning, transmission network planning, system operations and policymaking. He received his Ph.D. Degree from Murdoch University, Australia, in Electrical Engineering and holds a Grad. Dip in Economics from the University of Western Australia. Julius is an IEEE Senior Member and Chartered Member of Engineers Australia (MIEAust CPEng) and is also a 2020 Churchill Fellow.
Date and Time
The talk was held on Tuesday 4 April 2023 from 4.30pm - 6pm Perth time in the Karri Room at Central Park Conference Centre in Perth, WA. A video of the talk can be found on YouTube.