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Paul: The energy industry is quite a dynamic and exciting place to be at the moment. We're seeing unprecedented change as we transform to a renewable energy future. Large energy users and the electricity sector are decarbonising and the Queensland Government has laid out a roadmap through the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan to increase renewable energy targets to 70 per cent by 2032 and 80 per cent by 2035, and we are excited to be playing a role in many of those projects as we decarbonise the sector.
Aurecon has had a long history in the energy sector working on world-first and Australian-first projects. All the way back to 2012 we worked on the first utility scale solar farm in Australia. And then in 2017, we played a lead role in South Australia, delivering the Hornsdale Power Reserve, a 100 MW battery project, owned and operated by Neoen and supplied by Tesla in South Australia. At the time it was the world's largest lithium-ion grid connected battery.
More recently, we have been involved with the largest solar farm in Australia at Western Downs that's currently being constructed. We’re also working on a number of large Queensland projects that will help transform the energy sector, including large pumped hydro energy projects, a number of wind farms and a number of solar farms as well.
Paul: I think there's a real opportunity for Queensland and Australia to lead the way with the energy transformation and the Olympic and Paralympic Games provide an excellent opportunity to create a green and sustainable electricity sector to run the Games. So, with the increase in renewable energy coming through and these very large targets implemented over the next ten years, that really is an opportunity to run the Games off 100 per cent renewable energy.
I think there's also some really exciting opportunities for the entertainment and sports precincts to use renewable energy, but also have things like micro-grids that might use solar and batteries, or there might be hydrogen fuel cells involved to create a green precinct. And there's other opportunities around transport. When we think about transport infrastructure for the Games and we think about things like using renewable energy for our train network, we think about things like hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and buses that will transport people to the Games, I think there's a raft of opportunities that they can be implemented.
Paul: With all good opportunities, comes a set of challenges. And when we think about transforming the electricity sector, at the moment we like to think the technical challenge is relatively well understood. We know we need more renewable energy; we need energy storage and dispatchable energy sources to manage the electricity grid. Some of the challenges that we will need to overcome, though, will be things like implementing at scale. So, the number of projects that need to be implemented over the next ten years is enormous and we're looking at constrained supply chains. We're looking at international competition when the rest of the world is also trying to decarbonise their electricity sectors. So, implementing at scale, getting access to those supply chains and being able to deliver these projects will be the main challenge over the next ten years.
Paul: I think there won't be a single silver bullet to solve these challenges. I think we'll need to implement a raft of things from growing our industry in terms of our workforce, in terms of the engineering profession, supporting trades, processes and methodologies. There'll be new contracting models, new delivery models for contractors.
But I think there's also some opportunities that will come off the back of this renewable energy boom. When we think about an abundance of lower cost renewable energy in the future, it might provide opportunities to open new manufacturing precincts, new mining precincts that will be mining the materials we will need for the renewable energy products into the future and creating onshore jobs and opportunities in that space.
Paul: I think Australia definitely has an opportunity to lead the world. It's not going to be easy, but we have the natural resources in terms of the sunshine, the wind, the geography to be able to implement renewable energy at scale. And I think if we all play our part in doing so, then we definitely have an opportunity to lead the world.
Paul: I think we can leave a legacy of a sustainable, reliable and cost effective, electricity sector that can provide the foundation for those manufacturing jobs and other opportunities as we move forward.
Paul: The Olympic and Paralympic Games will act as a catalyst for moving forward with the infrastructure that we need to support Queensland and Australia over the next 10, 20 plus years and the opportunity to provide a sustainable Olympics, a Green Olympics with renewable energy and new technologies is key. And while they will be important to run the Games in a sustainable manner, the infrastructure that we've invested in to achieve that will be there for future generations.
Aurecon is not a sponsor of the Australian Olympic Committee Incorporated, the International Olympic Committee, any Summer or Winter Olympic Games, the organising committee for any Summer or Winter Olympic Games, an Australian Olympic team, a section of an Australian Olympic team, or an individual member of an Australian Olympic team. This material is not intended to suggest that Aurecon has any formal association with, or has provided any sponsorship or sponsorship-like support for, any of these parties.
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