THE bid to transform electricity supply for the Riverina town of Lockhart is on track, but the town may be among only a few regional centres to gain a modicum of independence from the national grid or use it to their advantage.
The simple idea to make Lockhart Australia’s first zero-carbon town, where all the energy is locally produced using renewable power centres on a simple idea - create power for the town and also produce a surplus to be exported into the grid to assist in subsidising the town power.
To do that you need to access to the national grid via a local substation, but that access is fast becoming oversubscribed.
For example in Queensland there are some four times the applications to connect to the grid via substations than there are substations.
It’s the same story in most states. There are long queues of applications forming at each substation around the country.
And without the financial clout to build a multi-million dollar substation, access to the grid is fast becoming unattainable for small regional communities because opportunists are crowding the new energy marketplace.
Last year, as Lockhart township gathered to first hear of the proposal, developers got wind of it as well and lodged a backdoor application for access to its substation. And they weren’t alone. Within a week three applications to connect to the grid at Lockhart appeared on Essential Energy’s doorstep.
None had the full rights needed to progress their bid. But the opportunists caught Better Energy Technologies, the developer of the Lockhart plan, on the hop, creating a new hurdle for the company to negotiate.
Several of the larger solar groups in Australia that were owned by foreign interests have been sold to other international companies, so understanding who effectively owns our grid (other than the poles and wires) is getting harder to know.
The Lockhart project is a return to the old days when local councils produced their own power.
Last century this was commonplace, but over time these local power stations were absorbed by state-owned monopolies.
Then in the 1980s and 1990s these monopolies were broken up and sold off.
To ensure the public monopolies didn’t become private monopolies, regulation was introduced.
Unfortunately now with new technology enabling local communities to own their own power, the regulation stands in the way.
And network operators, all struggling to deal with the new opportunities are effectively blocking innovation rather than working to create a new electricity distribution model.
Essential Energy says its wants to empower communities to share and use energy by integrating innovative new technologies onto our network.
Essential’s head of strategy, innovation and market analytics, Josh Harvey said “we are currently supporting a number of trials into alternative grid connections, new energy solutions and cost-efficient demand management solutions to deliver best value for individual customers and whole communities.
“Consultation with customers and other stakeholders in the Lockhart community continues and is awaiting the result of Better Energy Technology’s approval with the Australian Energy Regulator to proceed with the project.”
Powering Lockhart with 100 per cent renewable energy is the brainchild of Better Energy Technology’s Gordon Hinds. Mr Hinds set up Boston University’s first course in urban sustainability from his Australian base five years ago. He has been a pioneer in harnessing 24-hour renewable energy. Lockhart will be the first town that remains on the grid to achieve this in Australia and follows the wishes of Australia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, to create zero-carbon towns.
“It’s an opportunity for towns to retake control of their own power,” Mr Hinds said. “Farmers produce surplus food that is sold to cities, why not power?”
Lockhart’s renewable power supply has grid-scale batteries storing energy created by a solar farm. Methane generators powered by waste will provide base load power. Any excess will be fed into the grid and sold.
The batteries are primarily lithium ion due to their cost advantage. They do have lifecycle issues in that they don’t last forever, but Mr Hinds hopes that in the 10 years the trial will take, new technology can be slotted into the Lockhart trial.
The batteries serve two purposes - to smooth the demand and supply of electricity and to allow for the solar power to be sold earlier and later in the day, increasing the tariff for the surplus wholesale power.
It’s pretty simple and the technology is available now, although it’s expensive.
However while the technology makes it possible, the regulations make it difficult.
Without the town’s support, the project would never have reached the starting block.
Two public meetings late last year resulted in unanimous support from council and the town’s residents.
Lockhart Mayor Rodger Schirmer wants the project to get off the ground. “What excites us is not just the potential for Lockhart, but also the research potential, we can run the methane generators on waste.”
