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The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
Lasantha Meegahapola, Associate Professor, RMIT University

New transmission lines are controversial for nearby communities. But batteries and virtual lines could cut how many we need

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Australia’s power grid was built to transport power from coal-fired power stations or the Snowy Hydro scheme to large cities and industrial precincts. The large transmission lines were designed with generation supply and demand, the shortest routes, and cost in mind.

But this ageing grid isn’t designed to cope with a green future where power flows into the grid from solar farms and windfarms on land and out at sea. To cope, Australia’s energy market operator is proposing over 10,000 kilometres of new transmission lines, linking major renewable precincts with the cities.

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