investigation into the future requirements of the Stradbroke Island power supply

Exhibitor: Peter Shield

Supervisor: Zhao Dong

Research Group: Complex and Intelligent Systems

Industry Sector: Energy and Utilities

Stradbroke is an idyllic sand island situated in Moreton Bay. It is home to 2500 permanent residents but about 70,000 holidaymakers also visit the island annually looking to explore the island’s beauty. The island supports many tourist operations of various sizes and is the site of the Queensland’s second largest sand mining operation. This mining operation is also experiencing sustained growth and plans are in place to open a new mine complex in 2007. However despite the obvious need for a constant power supply to the island, there has never been a detailed study undertaken into the power needs of the island nor has there been any strategic plan drawn up to meet the future needs of the growing Stradbroke Island community.

Stradbroke Island is currently experiencing a period of growth in many areas. As mentioned previously, the mining operation has experienced a sustained 2.5% annual growth. Furthermore, a new mining complex will open in 2007. In addition Stradbroke is experiencing population growth of 3% per year and a considerable increase in tourist numbers. This has resulted in a requirement for additional infrastructure as well as a dramatic increase in the number of both tourist operators and accommodation. These combined pressures have resulted in an increase of the power consumption on the island, which will result in the current network’s capacity being exceeded by 2009.

The aim of this investigation was to ascertain the best method of upgrading the power network to North Stradbroke Island and the surrounding Moreton Bay islands. This has been done by investigating several proposals for the network upgrade to minimise the cost of any new system as well as to reduce the risks associated with the installation and operation of the system. The risk assessment performed on each of the possible solutions included investigations into blackout possibilities, minimising customer interruption and associated costs as well as the maintenance of the N-1 criteria featured in the present network. The three main possibilities investigated in this report were the installation of additional transmission cables to the existing towers, the installation of new transmission cables on a new set of towers and the installation of an undersea link to the island.

Of these options the best possible solution was to utilise the existing towers and infrastructure and install additional transmission cables. This allowed cost to be minimised as well as installation time. This resulted in flow on benefits such as minimising the possibility of costly power cuts to the island and its consumers. The proposed system also allowed for greater reliability in the transmission network and resulted in minimal additional maintenance costs. Thus this solution was seen as the optimal choice.