Bigger and bolder energy thinking needed for the regions

As we head into yet another debate over the roll out of renewables, net zero and the trajectory for energy prices, we appear to be locked in a narrow discussion about the type and location of large-scale energy generation and alignment of transmission lines.

These are very, very valid concerns for impacted communities and land holders – but they are also part of a much bigger conversation.

To put it simply, large scale generation and transmission will inject more energy into the state and national network – but they will not help regions like Greater Shepparton, and the Goulburn Valley get more energy out of the grid.

Greater Shepparton represents almost 10% of Victoria’s industrial electricity use, and demand has increased by more than a 30% in less than a decade, but unreliable energy supply (power quality) continues to erode the competitiveness of our $10 billion ag, manufacturing and value adding sectors that employ more than 10,000 locals and inject almost $1 billion of wages and salaries into our local economy each year.

Ensuring we have access to more and higher quality energy hinges on right sizing the distribution network all the way to the factory and farm – as distinct from the transmission network.

Imagine knowing energy upgrades for your northern Victorian site are key to boosting productivity, introducing new and higher value product lines, your national and international competitiveness, and to accessing premium export markets with their carbon reporting and net zero targets, but before you can spend a penny on site you need to convince head office that your project will also need tens of millions of dollars to upgrade supply to site! 

There are four components to our energy future – generation, transmission, distribution and storage, and two sources – gas and electricity. All four components and sources are important but bringing them together is when the magic happens.

After decades relying on an energy model that generates energy in one location and transports it long distances to be used in other locations, we can now supplement existing supply by generating, storing, distributing and, importantly, using energy where, when and how its needed. 

Which means our regional manufacturers, farms, orchards and industry should be looking to a future where their investment in growth, technology and productivity doesn’t involve negotiating with other local users to avoid exceeding the local network’s capacity, or needing to find the time and capital to upgrade supply to tackle the myriad of issues identified in Powercor’s recent Electrification of Agriculture report. 

But these possibilities will not be realized if the conversation is artificially limited to large scale generation and transmission – a conversation that seems at odds with the very notion of distributed energy.

Right sizing and even repurposing the distribution network, targeting its vulnerabilities with strategically placed storage and augmentation, accelerating private industry’s behind-the-meter and collaborative investment infront of the meter to capture the imbedded public benefits, and progressively and ambitiously greening the gas and electricity grid – are all things we can begin today.

These efforts simultaneously activate all four components of our energy future. This approach begins with long term stable and integrated policy that can attract the large scale investment that’s needed, while also providing the flexibility that can work in and for the regions – and allows regions like the Goulburn Valley to capitalize on its energy demand as well as our ability to generate energy supply.

Investing in the regions – and especially Australia’s foodbowl - to address legacy issues, improve energy quality and meet growing demand from local users will unlock much greater economic and social returns than the same investment anywhere else in the nation.  

It’s also when regional communities will see real long-term benefits – and our state and national economies will unlock the export and economic boost they so desperately need.

In a debate clouded by opinions, incomplete knowledge and misinformation, and distracted by self-appointed experts picking energy winners with as much success as a Melbourne cup flutter, we need urgency, creativity and alignment at all levels. We need policy that works for and in the regions, we need regulators to look beyond the metrics of prudent and efficient to ask if investment is sufficient.

Above all else we need bigger conversations, committed leadership, and the understanding that energy must evolve because it is an enabler of growth, innovation and opportunity - not an end point.