Renewable Energy

By 2030, most of Australia’s coal fired power stations will be reaching their end of life. In addition, there are commitments in place to reduce our emissions. As a result, an energy transition is underway which means replacing coal powered electricity with renewable natural resources. As part of this transition, renewable electricity generation in Australia has more than doubled over the last decade, with solar and wind being the primary contributors. In particular, large scale solar generation has begun rapid expansion with advances in technology and battery storage systems.

The time horizon when moving through the phases from concept to construction and operation for large scale wind and solar projects is long due to social, environmental and economic considerations being investigated and addressed during the planning and construction phases.

Water Technology has been involved in the planning and approval phases for over a 100 wind, solar and battery energy storage systems (or BESS) across Australia.

Water Technology has supported our clients since 2016 with investigations covering our broad range of services, including:

Surface water assessments: to determine if surface water flows might be affected across the site, and any potential impacts on nearby watercourses and private water supply
Flood modelling: to determine the level of flooding that could occur and whether this is likely to impact operations or infrastructure
Groundwater assessments: to determine if there are any groundwater-dependent ecosystems, if there are any groundwater and surface water interactions, if groundwater levels may be impacted and if dewatering may be required during the construction phase
Biodiversity surveys: to determine what flora or fauna may be located on the proposed property and whether construction and operation of the proposed facility may negatively impact those species
Risk assessments: identify any potential risks and assess the level of risk based on the information available and what mitigations might be possible

Beyond renewable energy, our groundwater team also supports emerging and transitional energy projects, including gold hydrogen, green hydrogen and coal seam gas developments.