Latest news with #EnergyQueensland
Associated Press
08-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Learn How AI Helps This Energy Company Boost Efficiency
Previously published by Forbes Queenslanders love a road trip, so Sarah Zeljko, chair of Energy Queensland, decided to run with the theme as she described her company's exciting transition to renewables. She was on stage at the recent SAP for Energy and Utilities 2025 conference in Rotterdam to share her company's dreams for an electric future powered by technology, innovation, and people. Mapping the journey 'Such a transition is often perceived as a long and winding road,' said Zeljko. Continue reading here. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from SAP
Forbes
07-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Learn How AI Helps This Energy Company Boost Efficiency
Queenslanders love a road trip, so Sarah Zeljko, chair of Energy Queensland, decided to run with the theme as she described her company's exciting transition to renewables. She was on stage at the recent SAP for Energy and Utilities 2025 conference in Rotterdam to share her company's dreams for an electric future powered by technology, innovation, and people. Mapping the journey 'Such a transition is often perceived as a long and winding road,' said Zeljko. 'The journey is on unmarked territory with planned and unplanned pit stops. We have a carload of adventurers, innovators, planners, and navigators, along with some weary travelers, and some who didn't want to leave home in the first place. We all have to run very fast up a very big hill to get this done.' With 1.7 million square kilometers, Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It's nearly two and a half times the size of Texas, and it takes 32 hours to drive across. It's also known as the country's 'Sunshine State,' so it's not surprising it boasts the world's leading rates in rooftop solar. Zeljko's presentation was accompanied by impressive images of rows and rows of houses, almost every second one topped by rooftop solar panels. The spread of rooftop solar Energy Queensland Energy Queensland serves 2.3 million customers, 97% living in coastal cities with the remaining 3% spread across the vast territory, requiring an expansive infrastructure. The company manages more than 180,000 square kilometers of powerlines, including 1.7 million utility poles. In this landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is a game-changer for forecasting, optimization, and customer service, though it comes with cybersecurity challenges. 'Although we were late to the game, we clearly appreciate the transformative potential of AI in enhancing energy efficiency, optimizing the power grid, and improving cybersecurity,' said Zeljko, who says her job is really to look at the big picture. 'For us, it means increasing innovation and developing partnerships to realize a sustainable and resilient energy landscape.' Changing the game With 9,500 employees, the company is a major employer in Queensland. It's at the absolute forefront of providing a critical service, in good times and in times of disasters. No longer just a poles and wires business, the company is leading the country in pilots and trials, working with the industry to enable greater flexibility in the way people use energy. For a long time, discussions were all about large-scale generation, both coal-fired and renewables, and the large transmission infrastructure needed to transport electricity to homes and businesses. The system was originally designed for a one-way flow of electricity, but the bookend of the electricity flow has really started to shine. 'Now, customers are also generators, selling electricity they created back into the grid,' she explained. 'Homes, neighborhood batteries, and electric vehicles are all using a grid that was designed to go one way, and suddenly we have a grid that flows two ways, something that was totally unthinkable not so long ago.' The energy industry has evolved rapidly and data drives decisions. In the past, Energy Queensland had about 50,000 points of information coming in at about 30-minute intervals, whereas now it can have 2.4 million pieces of information at one-to-five-minute intervals. While artificial intelligence can drive efficiency and productivity in this environment, new opportunities come with heightened risk. 'We must keep our eyes wide open to the potential pitfalls of this emerging technology,' said Zeljko. 'We have significant obligations to safeguard ourselves against cyber threats and bad actors. As AI becomes more integrated into the energy sector, our obligations extend to ensuring AI systems are secure and resilient against manipulation.' Deploying technology Sharyn Scriven, the CIO of Energy Queensland, emphasized the critical role of technology in enhancing productivity and safety, particularly during storms and cyclones, through mobile-enabled field applications and the use of new technology such as camera equipped drones for damage assessment. The integration of SAP solutions since 2016 has been equally critical. 'Our SAP implementation has positively impacted the workforce and reduced task turnaround times,' Scriven explained. 'We were able to reduce complexity and modernize the technology landscape for better business agility.' Scriven also highlighted the importance of transitioning to RISE with SAP, a guided journey to move from on-premise to the cloud, to quickly unlock the full potential of SAP Business Suite. Key focus areas for Scriven's team include: Ensuring appropriate Executive sponsorship for business led / digital enabled projects Process standardization and a Clean Core goal Data cleansing and de-duplication Understanding business readiness and change impacts ahead of any technology change Implementing a 'show, don't tell' approach enabling staff to get 'hands on' with new technology 'The transition to RISE with SAP was initiated as the timing was right,' said Scriven. 'We had a window of opportunity in our delivery program, further supported by our need to adhere to the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, also adhered to by SAP.' Having laid the groundwork with IT systems that are fit for purpose and not overly complex, Energy Queensland is set to leverage AI for greater operational efficiency and better decision-making. That's how the company is playing a critical role in shaping the future of energy. Follow me on LinkedIn: Judith Magyar
The Guardian
29-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Brisbane city council blocks plans for fridge-sized community batteries due to loss of green space
The Brisbane city council has stymied a federal government renewable energy scheme by denying three development applications for community batteries the size of afridge due to loss of green space. The PowerShaper XL batteries, which range in capacity between 90kW and 180kWh, are about the size of an NBN or traffic signal box – or a fridge. But development applications for three sites, at an old Scouts Hall in Nundah, a substation in Newmarket and the Penley Street end of Woodbine Street in the Gap, were denied by Brisbane city council. All up, the trio would cost about $2.24m. The batteries were funded through the commonwealth's $200m communities batteries for household solar program. Energy Queensland won federal grant funding for batteries in 12 communities, including other Brisbane suburbs. It has approval to install them in Coorparoo and Moorooka. The civic cabinet chair for environment, parks and sustainability, Tracy Davis, a former LNP MP, said the council does not support 'plonking giant batteries in public parks'. 'These bogus claims about community batteries are just a desperate attempt for relevance from a clueless Labor candidate,' she said. 'With the election now called, the federal Labor government has been caught out failing to deliver on its own commitment about community batteries and is now trying to blame local councils.' Brisbane's lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, was one of the loudest backers of a plan to convert part of one the city's largest parks into a stadium for the Olympics, despite claims it would significantly reduce one of the city's biggest green spaces. The federal energy minister, Chris Bowen, said three rejected batteries would help 'nearly 1,000 households' power their homes with locally created green energy. In a letter to Schrinner, the federal government asked the city council to either reconsider their opposition or identify alternative sites within the same suburbs that they would support. 'The batteries will store solar energy for later use and sharing, support further solar installations in these suburbs, as well [as] contribute to lowering emissions, put downward pressure on household electricity costs and provide network benefits,' Bowen said in a letter to the mayor. Sources have told the Guardian that no other local government body has refused a development application in Queensland and in other states councils had offered alternatives when objecting. Rebecca Hack, the Labor candidate for Ryan – which includes the outer north-west suburb the Gap – said the council's decision flew in the face of claimed green credentials. 'The LNP lord mayor is constantly trying to tell ratepayers how much he cares for the environment,' she said. 'Well, he can start right now by putting aside his personal politics and getting these batteries approved, so they can be built as soon as possible.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Energy Queensland was contacted for comment. The Queensland Conservation Council's director, David Copeman, said he would be concerned if the council had adopted a 'not in my back yard approach'. 'If there was a particular tree which was seen as a character tree or protected under council rules, then obviously you'd relocate, and that's what we'd expect from appropriate planning, but that should be something that the council and Energy Queensland can work out,' he said. He said planning rules should take into account not just the environmental costs of a project, but its benefits – particularly if the counterfactual means using more coal for longer. Copeman said he is 'concerned that the council is delaying the rollout of this important infrastructure'. 'Brisbane city council, which has made a lot out of its commitment to net zero … for it to backslide on rolling out renewable energy infrastructure would be very concerning.' Davis said the federal government had known 'for months' that the council did not support the sites. 'Instead of petty political games, Labor must ensure Brisbane finally gets its fair share of federal road and transport funding and stop funnelling billions of dollars in additional investment into Sydney and Melbourne,' she said. The PowerShaper XL is about 700 x 900 x 2,000 mm and weighs 600kg.
