Electricity powers hospitals, traffic lights, refrigeration, and homes. Blackouts in Australia can disrupt daily life and put lives at risk.
South Australia experienced a state-wide blackout in 2016 after a severe storm damaged transmission infrastructure. About 850,000 homes and businesses lost power. Most supplies returned within eight hours. The event prompted a major emergency response.
CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator commissioned a report on restarting the electricity grid using modern technologies. The report focuses on inverter-based resources, such as grid-forming batteries, to restore power after a blackout.
Historically, coal and gas generators were used to restart the grid. Many of these generators are nearing the end of their service life. Australia’s energy network now includes more large-scale wind and solar farms. Researchers studied whether batteries could replace traditional generators in black-start scenarios.
The report shows grid-forming batteries can energise large areas of the network. Smart inverters convert direct current from renewable sources into alternating current. These inverters mimic the behaviour of conventional generators but do not burn fuel. Batteries can gradually restore transformers without tripping protection systems.
During the 2016 blackout, wind turbines shut down quickly due to protection settings. This caused a large energy imbalance and a total state-wide outage. Lessons from this event improved modelling and standards for modern power systems.
Batteries have current limits, but this can help restart the network more reliably. Synchronous generators can inject large currents instantly, which sometimes triggers protection systems. Gradual energy injection from batteries avoids this problem.
Some challenges remain. Rooftop solar can become unstable during early restart stages. Traditional black-start generators are still needed while the grid adapts to higher levels of renewable energy.
Researchers estimate 2 GVA of new grid-forming technology will be needed by 2028 to maintain restoration capability. Studies are underway to test how renewable energy zones, including solar and wind farms, can help restart the grid.
Australia’s electricity system is evolving rapidly. The combination of batteries, wind, and solar could make blackouts less severe and restore power more quickly.