June 20239He leads his function team in the development and delivery of network related investment proposals in line with operational, financial, regulatory, customer/stakeholder requirements and steers pilot projects across the network including stand-alone power systems, microgrids and utility scale battery energy storage solutions.Grid transformation engine, translating concepts into realityHere in Western Australia, our network is different, we have one of the world's largest islanded grids that spans 254,000sqm presenting unique, sometimes difficult but always exciting challenges in ensuring the continued power supply to more than two million customers.How we manage the South West Interconnected Network (SWIN), which includes both the transmission and distribution networks, is always evolving as we look to develop, trial and incorporate new technologies and delve deeper into our data. Our path towards decarbonisation and enabling the rapid growth and integration of renewables into the network has seen us think outside the box - how can we enhance and improve customer energy solutions while ensuring equity for all.In planning for the changing energy landscape, which is being evidenced around the world, we're transforming to a modular grid to ensure a cleaner, brighter and more resilient energy supply for the next generation.We want to ensure that we continue to meet the changing energy needs of Western Australians and this means looking at how we can better manage the network and deploy innovative customer solutions.We are aiming to ensure that Western Power can support greater energy needs being delivered by renewable resources by 2031. Already there is close to 2GW of solar PV connected to our distribution network - that's one in three households and this is set to be one-in-two by 2030. How we've planned for a safe, decarbonised and reliable network of the future with the growth of renewables and changing climate has seen the birth of GTEng - an innovative proof of concept scenario modelling tool called the Grid Transformation Engine that we've developed in-house.This ground-breaking modelling maps out what our distribution network will look like in 10, 20, 30 plus years enabling a new dimension in our decision making. GTEng uses intelligence from our data processing, electrical engineering, modelling and optimisation methods to form a cutting-edge planning tool that allows for multiple scenarios around future power needs and use.It processes complex and wide-ranging data to create visualisations and forecasts of different scenarios, including population and demographic predictions, economic forecasts, customer needs and profiles, energy generation and loads, energy use and location mapping.It involves multiple stages of data processing with different filters applied at each stage, which help us visualise what the potential energy landscape will look like and what we need to maintain and improve power supply.As a Government Trading Enterprise (GTE) and critical service provider, the community is at the centre of everything we do. To that end we built out customer profiles through engaging customer groups and understanding their current and future energy uses including looking at things like battery and solar PV uptake. We then took that information and spread it across our customer base to create different energy forecasting scenarios.Together when you combine the forecasts, customer demand profiles across the different scenarios we get a unique view and clarity on the most efficient ways to service
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