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Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Renewables, gas and batteries: reliable and efficient power for industry

Tom Lukatela
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Woodside, Mia Yellagonga, Karlak, 11 Mount Street, Perth, WA 6000, Australia. Email: tom.lukatela@woodside.com.au

The APPEA Journal 59(2) 635-638 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18069
Accepted: 11 April 2019   Published: 17 June 2019

Abstract

Woodside believes gas-fired power and renewables are ideal partners to power industry. There are environmental and commercial reasons to integrate solar photovoltaic panels, or other intermittent renewable generation, with gas-fired power generation to support industry, especially in the Pilbara where sunlight is plentiful. This would increase energy efficiency, and reduce emissions, enabling a transformative shift towards a lower carbon future without compromising reliability or affordability. Woodside is studying a concept to integrate an industrial-scale solar farm, a battery energy storage system and reciprocating gas engines, to provide hybrid renewable, dispatchable, power generation for industry on the Burrup Peninsula. Feasibility studies have identified that a combination of solar photovoltaics, with high efficiency, fast starting, medium speed gas engines, can supply reliable power at world class energy efficiencies, while meeting local cyclonic design conditions and proposed grid stability requirements.

Keywords: Australia, battery, BESS, carbon footprint, clean energy, decarbonisation, electrification, energy efficiency, energy transition, innovation, integration, low carbon, power, reliability, renewables, solar microgrids, solar photovoltaic storage, solar PV, spinning reserve, storage, Woodside.

With Woodside in various roles for over 9 years, Tom Lukatela is currently the Development Lead for Power Opportunities at Woodside Energy. Born in Toronto, Canada, Tom graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences from Queens University in Kingston, Canada, and subsequently graduated with a Mechanical Engineering (Honours) Degree from Curtin University in Perth, Australia. Before joining Woodside in 2009, Tom held several technical sales and consulting roles in Canada and Australia. Since joining Woodside Tom has held several facility and engineering management roles at Woodside’s Australian LNG plants.


References

Australian Renewable Energy Agency (2018). Renewables mapping infrastructure. Available at https://nationalmap.gov.au/renewables/ [Verified May 2018].

Lukatela, T. (2019) Gas and renewables: partners in powering industry. In ‘Proceedings of the LNG2019 Conference’ (not yet published)