Renewable Energy-based Micro-Grid; a Zero-Emission Option for Electricity Production in Australia

Australia is a big country with electric power transmission and distribution lines spanning very long distances. Most of these lines are outdoor facilities, which has the impact of grid vulnerability on to Australian communities, so it is essential to manage generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity in Australia in a sustainable way. The Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) alone incorporates more than 40,000 km of transmission and distribution lines. Currently, more than 70% of electric power in Australia is generated in central power plants using black or brown coal. Sun and wind resources are abundantly available in all Australian states that can be used as local resources for electricity production. The objectives of this paper is to present the results of a study conducted to see how micro-grids can help electricity generation using renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic and wind power combined with storage technology in a sustainable way. The study results presented here are for Queensland, chosen as an example, but the study can be applied for all other Australian states.