Australia’s Telstra Energy turns to AI to optimise renewable assets

Emerging electricity and gas supplier Telstra Energy has deployed Fluence’s AI-powered IQ bidding application.

The newly established supplier, the energy subsidiary of Antipodean telecommunications giant Telstra, intends to use the IQ bidding application to optimise the performance of two renewable assets – the 232MW Murra Warra 1 wind farm in Victoria and the 88MW Emerald Solar Park in Queensland.

Both Murra Warra 1 and Emerald Solar Park have long-term power purchase agreements to supply clean energy to Telstra Energy and their offtake partners.

The IQ bidding application updates the legacy dispatch system to further maximise generation during favourable market conditions and avoid generation during periods of oversupply and negative prices.

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“The National Electricity Market’s shift to ‘five-minute settlement’ last year, where the market is both dispatched and settled at five-minute intervals, requires renewable energy assets to have extremely accurate price forecasting abilities to ensure they avoid any adverse pricing events,” comments Fluence Chief Digital Officer Seyed Madaeni.

“The IQ bidding application helps renewable energy assets overcome this challenge. The deployment of AI-based trading platforms will play a critical role in assisting the transition towards clean energy generation and the viability of large-scale renewable assets.”

The bidding application analyses thousands of variables to provide price forecasting and optimisation using proprietary machine learning algorithms.

The resulting market-compliant bids can increase revenue for wind and solar asset owners and operators by up to 10% over a 12-month period.

Located in northwestern Victoria, Murra Warra 1 is currently undergoing an expansion to add a second stage that on completion will see its 99 wind turbines produce more than 1800GWh annually.

Emerald Solar Park, located in the Central Highlands region of Queensland, has been generating since late 2018.

Telstra Energy was awarded licenses to retail electricity and/or gas in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria as well as Tasmania in late 2021 but has yet to launch to the wider public.