In early November 2009, the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University and the City of Greater Bendigo hosted The Energy Futures in Regional Australia Conference. As it becomes clearer that regions that use smart technologies and build in price and supply buffers will stand to gain and attract business, while those that don’t will lose out, the event was organised to encourage regional Australia to closely examine its energy future.

Keynote speaker and the EnergyAustralia Chair of Power Engineering at the University of Sydney Prof Vassilios Agelidis describes the smart grid as capable of minimising energy losses and optimising use by spreading demand.

Prof Agelidis warns that whatever is implemented, it must be part of a long-term plan, since what we introduce will remain in place for 40 or 50 years. For example, Prof Agelidis asks whether a new large centralised power station is the best option to replace the ageing power stations in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, suggesting that decentralised power stations for regional cities, towns and even large farming enterprises could be a better option.

Prof Agelidis says that many things will influence this decision, not least the ability of the grid to cope with two-way power flows that could be improved with technology and demand management. He says the cost of building and maintaining power lines across the country might make locally based off-grid solutions viable for remote areas, especially where power lines are a high fire risk.

He also suggests local governments in regional and remote areas consider investing money in their own energy futures.

“Local governments are afraid of investing in renewable energy, and then they put their money into investment schemes. At least if they invest in building renewable energy systems locally, they have something concrete in a downturn.”

Indeed, local governments are becoming increasingly interested in localised energy generation solutions. Mike Hill, a conference speaker and government adviser on local sustainability, says growing awareness of the distribution losses along power lines, coupled with the need to reduce CO2 emissions, has sparked interest in localised energy generation among local governments in rural areas.

According to Mr Hill, few local governments showed any interest in local energy generation 20 years ago. Now, two thirds recognise that energy and energy futures are a big issue for them. They’re realising lower priced, reliable energy supplies will give them a competitive edge and attract business.

Conference delegates heard about farms already becoming part of the smart grid. Melbourne company Bellwether Agriculture Pty Ltd is planning to build plants that recycle waste to make biogas, along with A-class recycled water and organic fertiliser. The plants, located at abattoirs in New South Wales and Victoria and at a northern Victorian farm, are to be built in the next twelve months. The biogas will be used to power electrical generators, produce heat and provide fuel for vehicles. This will buffer the business against higher energy costs.

Other regional areas are examining the viability of farm forestry and timber to generate energy, and others, like Castlemaine in central Victoria, are encouraging their businesses to co-generate power so that waste output from one business generates energy for another. Hepburn Wind is building a community-owned wind farm capable of supplying energy for 2,500 homes.

Many more speakers at the Energy Futures Conference offered insights into technologies that regional areas can adopt, such as printable solar cells, and smart energy monitoring systems for homes and businesses.

There are 28 regional cities across Australia with populations of 100,000 or more, as well as large processing and manufacturing plants, all highly energy-dependent. Dotted between them are equally energy-dependent towns and farms. The leaders in these areas need to be auditing the power needs of their communities and businesses and assessing their energy dependency. If they are highly energy dependent, then they need to be examining the potential for locally based renewable energy generation. Only smart regional communities will benefit from a smart grid.