Abstract
The national electricity market (NEM) of Australia is reforming via the rapid uptake of variable renewable energy (VRE) integration concurrent with the retirement of conventional synchronous generation. System strength has emerged as a prominent challenge and constraint to power system stability and ongoing grid connection of VRE such as solar and wind. In order to facilitate decarbonization pathways, Australia is the first country to evolve system strength and inertia frameworks and assessment methods to accommodate energy transition barriers, and other parts of the world are now beginning to follow the same approach. With the evolvement of the system strength framework as a new trending strategy to break the transition barriers raised by renewable energy project development and grid connection studies, this paper provides a high-level overview of system strength, covering such fundamental principles as its definition, attributes, and manifestations, as well as industry commentary, cutting-edge technologies and works currently underway for the delivery of a secure and reliable electricity system with the rapid integration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) in the NEM grid. The intent of this study is to provide a comprehensive reference on the engineering practices of the system strength challenge along with complementary technical, regulatory, and industry perspectives.
Highlights
As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have been promoting sustainable and eco-friendly targets as a global growth engine throughout the long-term climate recovery
Recent research from [6] indicates that the national electricity market (NEM) has been transitioning to a market with increased prominence of non-dispatchable renewable generation attributed to a combination of factors including rising environmental awareness, carbon free initiatives, the economic viability of variable renewable energy (VRE), technology advancement, customer demand, and the withdrawal of fossil fuels
The paper aims to be a practical reference for engineers and renewable project developers in understanding the technical and financial risks associated with system strength in evaluating the feasibility of a renewable energy project’s grid connection work, in the context of the Australian NEM
Summary
As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have been promoting sustainable and eco-friendly targets as a global growth engine throughout the long-term climate recovery. In combination with carbon neutrality targets, Australia has outstanding access to variable renewable energy (VRE) resources such as solar and wind as well as large blocks of land, which has attracted a flow of domestic and foreign direct investment over the past decade [1]. Authorities have been developing state-of-art solutions in system planning, infrastructure upgrades, augmentation, and regulatory reformation to keep pace with rapid transition challenges. It is crucial for the market participants to understand the overwhelming opportunities and limitations, technical capability, system constraints, and grid connection requirements and challenges to enable projects to be registered in the NEM
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