The Alice Springs Future Grid (ASFG) project was a $12.5 million collaborative project involving multiple organisations from across the Northern Territory and Australia. Launched in 2020, the purpose was to identify and overcome barriers to the further deployment of renewable energy in the Alice Springs power system and provide insights to how the 2030 target might be met.
Between 2020 and 2023, Alice Springs Future Grid undertook five discrete but interdependent sub-projects focussed on different elements of the challenges and barriers facing this objective, including modelling, microgrid trials, household battery and tariff trials, new solar forecasting techniques, and dynamic export management of distributed renewable energy systems. Each of the sub-projects examined the technical, regulatory, social and economic factors affecting their area of investigation.
Ekistica was the project lead for the Techno-economic modelling (sub-project 1) and the Commercial microgrid (sub-project 2) activities, and directed the Public Housing Solar & Battery Trial as well as co-contributor to many of the studies and reports linked below.
Led by the Intyalheme Centre for Future Energy, Ekistica, alongside project partners and consortium members Desert Knowledge Australia, the Desert Knowledge Research Institute, Power and Water Corporation, Territory Generation and knowledge sharing partner CSIRO, produced the following landmark reports:
Ekistica authored reports:
Techno-Economic Modelling Report (Sub-project 1)
Wind Resource Monitoring Trial Technical Report (Sub-project 1)
Regulatory Framework for Commercial Microgrids on Regulated NT Networks (Sub-project 2)
Public Housing Solar and Battery Trial
For further information, reports and data analysis, please visit the Alice Springs Future Grid Knowledge Bank: https://alicespringsfuturegrid.com.au/knowledge-bank