CDU joins network to promote Asia’s green energy future

Charles Darwin University (CDU) has partnered with Sun Cable, corporates and research institutes to drive renewable energy development across Asia.

The Asia Green Grid Network (AGGN) brings some of the best minds on renewable energy innovation together to address challenges of renewable energy generation and distribution in the region, and to explore the potential of green grids.

Green grids are carbon-free electricity grids transmitting power generated from renewable resources such as wind, hydropower, or solar energy.

CDU’s Energy and Resources Institute Director Professor Suresh Thennadil said CDU's involvement in the partnership was to test technologies at its Grid Testing facility at East Arm, Darwin and provide research support.

“We look forward to working with members of the AGGN to develop technologies that will lead to reliable and affordable 100 per cent renewable energy power systems and hasten Asia’s progress towards net zero,” Professor Thennadil said.   

“The Northern Territory has vast renewable energy resources and, as the only university based in the NT, we are passionate about developing the Territory’s capabilities so that we can fully utilise these resources.”

The other partners in AGGN include Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the National University of Singapore Faculty of Science, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Singapore Institute of Technology, Surbana Jurong, University of New South Wales, University of Adelaide and James Cook University.

Sun Cable Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Dr Fraser Thompson announced the new partnership during a keynote address at the Singapore International Energy Week recently, to coincide with the release of a AGGN white paper, Connecting Asia: One region, one grid, that Sun Cable commissioned.

“Cross-border trade of renewable electricity and grid integration is the cornerstone of a successful clean energy transition in Asia,” Dr Thompson said.

“Sun Cable’s research shows the potential by 2040 for grid integration in the Asia Pacific to reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 8 per cent of current global emissions, create 870,000 jobs, and enable US$493 billion of traded electricity annually.

“Our vision for the Asia Green Grid Network is for this network to play a leading role in supporting the innovation to make this happen.”

Sun Cable is developing the Australia-Asia PowerLink Project which includes 17-20 GWp solar generation and 36-42 GWh energy storage to enable dispatchable electricity from Elliott, Northern Territory.

The AAPowerlink will be capable of supplying 800 MW of capacity to Darwin and up to 15 per cent of Singapore’s total electricity needs.

AGGN is a key contributor to that goal by providing research and testing of renewable energy systems.

Read AGGN’s white paper.