Renewable Energy Connections to the Distribution Grid

Renewable energy connection at distribution voltage levels is becoming widespread throughout the Australian electricity distribution grid. These distributed assets often have nameplate generation capacities of 5MW, and bring a set of cost optimisation challenges for protection and control.

In this presentation, we cover the switchgear, protection and controls which have been used to connect these generation assets to the distribution grid.

Case studies include the Kanowna Solar Farm and installations around Dubbo NSW, where the preference for SF6-free switchgear resulted in solid dielectric insulated switchgear selection.

Speakers

Martin van der Linde

Martin van der Linde is the General Manager - Marketing for international switchgear manufacturing and technology company NOJA Power. A Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Martin completed his Bachelor of Engineering majoring in Power Systems at UQ in 2013 and Master of Business Administration in 2023. An active member of Engineers Australia and the Electric Energy Society of Australia, Martin has worked in various technical and strategic managerial roles with experience of Power system protection energy distribution, conducting business in 15 countries, authoring over 70 technical articles and presenting at 10 conferences. Martin’s key interests are in modern energy distribution, storage and automation, education, commercialisation of technology and the solving energy distribution challenges in the modern grid.