2019 2nd Annual IET Energy Dinner - Green and Sustainable Energy

? John Noonan 2019

Thursday, September 19, 2019, 6.00 pm at U-City, 47 Franklin St, Adelaide, SA 5000.

SPONSORED BY PROMANAGE

The IET was pleased to welcome an audience in excess of 100 of Adelaide's prominent Engineers from diverse companies including our sponsor Promanage, Uniting Communities, Lucid Consulting, GHD, Scope Global, Raytheon, BAE Systems, DPTI, Flinders University, Adelaide University, University of SA, Innovation In the City (IIC) and many others. One of our speakers flew in from Hydro Tasmania to give his presentation on a potential 3rd Interconnector for SA, thank you, Christopher Gwynne. U-City is a wonderful new event venue and restaurant for such events, thanks to you and your staff Simon Schrapel.

Events like these could not be held without an enormous amount of work from some key volunteers, including Gary Neave, Gail Jackman, Chris Stoker, and Clinton Sewell. Without your hard work this event would not have happened, thank you. Thanks also to our sponsor, Promanage.

Speaker 1: Simon Schrapel, Adelaide's Greenest Building: U City

ADELAIDE’S $100 million U City development has been given the title of the state’s “greenest” building. The 20-story building at the corner of Franklin and Pitt St is predicted to use 45% less energy and 30% less water than a comparable new building.

The IET's first speaker was Simon Schrapel AO, the CEO of Uniting Communities, and one of the key inspirations behind U City. U City is a building that redefines the word "DIGNITY" for the SA Community.

Green Building Council of Australia CEO Romilly Madew commended the design, which achieved a rating 84.9 out of a possible 100. The U City development represents world leadership in sustainable design and has achieved more green star points than any other project in South Australia.

The mixed-use building by Uniting Communities will include specialist disability accommodation and retirement residences, and also boasts solar PV, water-efficient fixtures, a community bus, and five electric car-charging stations.

Uniting Communities has brought new meaning to the word "Dignity" for many people who have otherwise found life a personal struggle. U City is a bright new jewel in Adelaide's crown. This amazing new building will attract people from around the world to a new community development, quite unlike anything that has ever existed prior to the construction of U city.

Speaker 2: Cate Hart, DEW overview on renewable energy for SA

Cate Hart is currently the Executive Director for the Environment, Heritage and Sustainability Division within Department for Environment and Water. Cate has had a significant career in local government together with the private sector, most recently holding the position of CEO of the City of Prospect since March 2016. Prior to this, she undertook a CEO role with Wakefield Regional Council where she was very involved in Natural Resource Management and Economic Development; and she has held General Manager roles with the South Australian Local Government Association and City of Playford.

Cate is passionate about the future of South Australia and has been very involved in supporting the development of staff across local government through the Local Government Professionals Australia (SA Division), and currently sits on the LG Professionals Board. Cate is also the National Vice President of the Planning Institute of Australia National Board, and the South Australian representative on the SA Division.

Cate brings strong statewide partnerships in both the private sector and local government. She has significant experience in governance, strategy, and policy, financial management, development services within urban and regional settings, environmental assessment, and community engagement and advocacy.

Speaker 3: Megan Ward, Neoen Australia's Goyder Project

Neoen Australia has unveiled a massive new wind, solar and battery project for South Australia, adding to its suite of renewable and storage projects in the country, and taking the total pipeline of renewable and storage projects in the state to more than $20 billion.

The Goyder South project is earmarked for Burra, in the state’s mid-north, and will comprise up to 1200MW of wind, 600MW of solar, and up to 900MW of battery storage (the number of hours of storage is yet to be determined). The first stage, comprising about one-third of the capacity, and totaling around $1 billion, may begin construction this year, while the second and third stages will depend on the timing of the proposed new inter-connector between Robertsown in South Australia and Wagga Wagga in NSW.

Even the first stage will be the biggest of its type in the country, and while the overall project would easily be the biggest in the state, its country ranking will depend on the fate of other projects also on the drawing board, such as 4GW Walcha project in NSW.

There are even bigger projects planned for Australia’s north, such as the 15GW Asia Renewable Energy Hub in West Australia’s Pilbara region, and the 10GW solar farm for the Northern Territory, although these are “off-grid” and may not be completed for some years.

The final size of Goyder South will also likely depend on the fate of other projects in the same region. These include its own Crystal Brook wind, solar, battery and hydrogen hub, also proposed for the mid-north, as well as four different solar and battery projects.

Neoen has bought the undeveloped but permitted Stony Gap wind project from Pallisade, which will form the basis of the project. The exact location of the turbines will be decided after consultation with the local community. Neoen will open an office in Burra soon. The company hopes to lodge development approval later this year, with hopes to begin construction in 2021, and have the first stage online by 2022.

Speaker 4: Chris Gwynne, Tasmania, The Battery of the Nation

Chris is responsible for managing the development of the Battery of the Nation initiative, the blueprint for how Tasmania's renewable energy resources could be developed over the coming decades.

With further interconnection, favorable market settings and a sound development plan, Tasmania could produce significantly more renewable energy into the future as well as realising the full value of Tasmania's renowned hydropower system.

Battery of the Nation is planning for an orderly, secure and cost-effective transition for the energy sector. The development of additional interconnection across Bass Strait would unlock the full potential of Tasmanian hydropower in transforming the Australian energy market. It would also trigger significant development of new renewable energy, both in Tasmania and in Victoria. 

Additional interconnection would support the expansion of Tasmania’s existing hydropower system, through the development of pumped hydro, providing the firming capacity that will be needed to support a future Australian energy market characterised by decreasing coal plant and increasing wind and solar.

The Tasmanian opportunity is extremely cost-competitive with other realistic options for Australia’s energy future. When implemented, Battery of the Nation would put Tasmania’s energy needs beyond doubt, and ensure that Tasmanians enjoyed the lowest possible power prices.

It’s expected that in the coming decades the National Electricity Market (NEM) will rely less on coal and more on renewable energy sources like wind and solar. These changes are already starting to happen, and the late 2020s is expected to be the start of rapid change. The graph shows the rapid decline of coal from 2028 and the impact on overall generation capacity.

Wind and solar are what’s called ‘variable’ energy sources (as the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow). If we rely more on these sources, there’ll be a much greater requirement for ‘firming’ capacity, to ensure energy security and support variable generation sources.

Hydro Tasmania has revealed the three sites selected for further investigation into their pumped hydro potential. The three sites - at Lake Cethana and Lake Rowallan in the North West, and near Tribute Power Station on the West Coast – were selected from the original list of 14 potential pumped hydro options around the State.

They emerged as the most promising from the studies carried out over the last 20 months as part of a $2.0 million study jointly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Hydro Tasmania. The study is part of the Battery of the Nation initiative.

For South Australia, with the most ambitious Renewable Energy goals in Australia, Tasmania's Battery of the Nation Project is an attractive project to link to. Perhaps a creative investor such as Neoen might have an interest in developing a 3rd Interconnector between SA and Tasmania?

Speaker 5: Roger Davies, Fluid Solar

Roger Davies is a medical practitioner, inventor, researcher into sustainable energy strategies and CEO of Fluid Solar P/L.

Fluid Solar has a mission to provide sustainable energy and building designs to permit independent, sustainable construction and operation of solar-powered occupied spaces to people around the world.

To achieve this, A/Prof Davies has invented:- a tracking solar collector with no moving parts; a rooftop energy system that collects sufficient water and solar energy to power a building's heating cooling and air conditioning system through all four seasons with only thin grid or off-grid electrical energy collected from the rooftop; a solar thermal and latent energy powered air conditioning system; and a modular flat-pack building system to allow super fast and affordable on-site construction of single and multistorey buildings using the solar thermal energy systems, anywhere.

Fluid Solar House is a 3000m2, 3 story office building that has been completely off-grid since 2017. The Fluid Solar team of local engineering and fabrication engineers are rolling out their second big project, a 20 townhouse development in northern Adelaide, as the first "Sustainable solar thermal village"; powered by Fluid Solar technologies.

Construction of the Fluid Solar House was completed in 2016. Commissioning and testing through our first summer. Fluid Solar House went off-grid on April 6, 2017. There was no Grid connection and no use of backup power through the first winter. 

Brief History of the IET

In 2019, the IET operates a global Engineering Association from its headquarters at Savoy Place in London. With some 168,000 members worldwide, the Institution of Engineering and Technology is one of the premier societies for professional engineers and technologists. IET covers the science, engineering, and technology of biomedical engineering, communications, electronics, computing, software, control, information technology, telecommunications, power engineering, and manufacturing. The IET's history is founded in the global evolution of Engineering, Manufacturing and Technological Associations that dates back as far as the 19th Century.

IET Headquarters, London, Savoy Place

IET's origins stem from the founding of the Society of Telegraph Engineers (STE) in London on 17th May 1871. On the 1st of January 1889, the STE formally changed its name to the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE). The IEE's membership more than tripled from 2,064 to 7,045 between the years 1895 and 1914 illustrating the growth of electrical activity around the globe. Following the merger of the Institution of Manufacturing Engineers (IME) with the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) in 1991, the IEE became the authority responsible for awarding Prizes like the James N Kirby Award. The SA/NT Local Network in 2017 formally awarded the latest James N Kirby Award winner, South Australia's own Rod Hook. The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) was formed in 2006 by the joining together of the IEE and the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE).

IET in 2019 welcomes members from all disciplines of the Engineering Supply Chain. Members are encouraged from Engineers of all disciplines, Architects, Technologists of all disciplines, Quantity Surveyors, Surveyors, and other related Professions are encouraged to join.

The IET distinguishes itself from other Engineering Organisations in a number of ways. IET's breadth of membership, proactivity with its members and the services it provides are all features of the IET Local Network here in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Awarding prizes to members of the community, like the James N Kirby Award, is one example of the IET's proactivity. Another example is the Professional Networking events held for young Professionals, most recently the Oil and Gas PNE. Former Santos CEO David Knox joined with colleagues Nick Lagonik and John McArthur to speak about Engineering jobs in Oil and Gas. One of the most prestigious and engaging Engineering competitions for young professionals in South Australia and the Northern Territory and on a global scale is the IET's Present Around The World Competition.

If you wish to attend or participate in these types of Professional Engineering and Technology events in the future, you are strongly encouraged to join the IET and make yourself known to the IET SA/NT Local Network.

John Noonan, Chair, IET SA/NT Local Network.

IET SA/NT Local Network Event Articles: ? How Pumped Hydro is needed for the Future Australian NEM. IET and IEEE Power Engineering Society (PES) Day Webinar ? 2019 4th Annual IET Defence Professional Networking Event (PNE): Transitioning from SEA4000 AWD to SEA5000 Hunter Class Frigate Construction ? 2019 Student Paper Round of the PATW ? 2019 2nd Annual IET Energy Dinner - Green and Sustainable Energy ? 2019 Women in Engineering, Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Event (WiETIE) ? 2019 SA/NT Present Around The World (PATW) Young Professionals Heat 1 ? 2018 3rd Annual Defence PNE: Necessity is the Mother of Invention ? 2018 SA/NT Present Around The World Competition ? 2018 Energy Dinner - Future of Energy in SA - Keynote Speaker Richard Turner ? Developing the Australian Defence Industry 4.0 Workforce in 2017 with the Minister of Defence Industry, the Honourable Christopher Pyne MP ? 2017 Lucid Consulting BIM Event ? 2016 Defence Networking Event with Christopher Pyne ? 2017 SA/NT Present Around The World (PATW) Competition ? 2017 James N Kirby Award Dinner ? 2017 Flinders University Engineering Award ? 2017 University of SA Engineering Award ? 2017 Engineering Jobs in South Australia ? 2017 University of Adelaide Engineering BBQ ? 2017 YP Oil and Gas Networking Event ? 2017 SHC Careers Night ? 2015 SA/NT Present Around The World Competition ?