Last year, the ACT Government set a target that Canberra will be a net zero emissions city by 2045, powered by renewable electricity. To assist them, experts at the Australian National University (ANU) will develop a map to guide the ACT’s transition to an all-electric economy.  

Project lead Dr Bin Lu, an expert in renewable energy, and his team will develop detailed modelling for the electrification of ACT suburbs, looking at everything from electric cars, heating, and electrifying industry to energy storage (electric car batteries, neighbourhood batteries, and hot water storage). 

They will also develop Geographic Information System (GIS)-based maps of these resources, which Dr Lu says will shed light on the geographic distribution of Canberra’s distributed energy storage resources. 

Dr Lu says the study will show how cities like Canberra can achieve net zero emissions in a reliable and affordable way, and provide a template for the rest of the country.

“Canberra is a national leader in the renewable energy transition,” Dr Lu said. “Things are happening much faster here than the rest of Australia. 

“Our target – net zero by 2045 – is five years ahead of the national target, so there’s a real opportunity for the rest of the states and territories to learn from the ACT’s experience.”

“As outlined in the ACT Government’s Powering Canberra report, the strategic use of distributed energy resources will play a vital rôle in maintaining grid stability and reducing peak energy demand,” co-investigator on the project, ANU Associate Professor Marnie Shaw, Research Leader in the university’s Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program, said. 

“We will develop an integrated approach to support electrification and renewable energy integration through high-resolution simulations.” 

Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction, said the ACT Government welcomed the ANU’s announcement to further the ACT’s efforts to electrify Canberra.

“We know we need to transition our energy systems to 100 per cent renewable energy and phase out fossil fuels like gas (i.e., natural gas) and petrol and diesel vehicles,” Mr Rattenbury said.

“To help us achieve this goal, the ACT Government is developing an Integrated Energy Plan, outlining key actions government will take to help our community to transition away from fossil fuels, support increased uptake of consumer energy resources like solar and battery technologies and make sure we have the right skills in place to help us get there.

“Community collaboration and knowledge sharing will be vital to helping us implement the plan and meet these ambitious climate action commitments.”

The ANU group was awarded the 2023 Icon Water and ActewAGL Endowment Fund to support their work.