Jack Curtis, co-founder of Sydney-based Neara, has responded to the New South Wales (NSW) budget’s AUD 2.1 billion allocation for new transmission projects, saying the opportunity to boost capacity of existing networks is possible with smarter grid solutions.
In doing so, he told pv magazine, the additional capacity would complement the country’s evolving energy mix while also de-risking reliance on new transmission projects that are at risk of not being built on time or at cost.
Acknowledging the NSW budget reinforces the state’s commitment to a renewable energy future by fast-tracking transmission to connect generation projects with the renewable energy zones (REZ), Curtis said the existing transmission network offers a bridging opportunity to manage the complexity of clean energy sources entering the grid.
“The issue is more about the relative allocation of focus and capital to the two solutions to solving grid constraints. The first one is you build a new grid of transmission projects, of which there’s about AUD 20 billion allocated through Rewiring the Nation to unlock 5 GW, 10 GW, 15 GW of renewable generation,” Curtis said. “And then you look at the existing grid, which potentially has as much capacity, but has nowhere near $20 billion of capital allocated to it.”
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