The global energy transition is well underway and continues to increase in momentum and importance as investors, stakeholders, activists, and governments heighten their emphasis on sustainability and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).

At Jacobs, we’re a purpose-led organisation fully committed to tackling climate change. We do this both in how we operate our business as well as partnering with our clients to deliver solutions along the entire energy transition value chain as they deal with the rapid pace of change caused by the energy transition.

There has been an unprecedented level of interest from employers who are keen to get involved in Connexis’ Girls with Hi-Vis® (GWHV) this year.

GWHV is held annually across the month of June and sees infrastructure employers in the civil, energy, telco and water sectors open their doors to female high school students.

The goal is to inspire young wāhine to see a future for themselves in the industry by giving them hands-on experience of some of the skills, tools and technology used in roading projects, wind farm maintenance, wastewater treatment and more.

Hitachi Energy will deliver a 150 Mvar static compensator (STATCOM) at the Transpower Hamilton substation to improve voltage management across the Waikato and Upper North Island region, where a large amount of thermal generation capacity is being decommissioned and demand is set to grow.

The project is one of the largest of its kind across New Zealand for Hitachi Energy, which will engineer, procure, and build the specialist STATCOM equipment.

New Zealand’s goal to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to 50 per cent by 2030 has seen around 1000 megawatts of fossil-fueled generation capacity decommissioned across the region since 2012. Coupled with demand growth this raises the risk of voltage instability. Under certain scenarios, transient over-voltage and under-voltage events could make voltage management difficult and potentially lead to voltage collapse and blackouts. These risks meant Transpower required a new dynamic reactive plant to help maintain quality of supply for the Waikato and Upper North Island regions.

Industry has shown an appetite for opportunities to celebrate and promote the electricity supply industry (ESI) despite the continued uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Thanks to this industry support, Connexis is excited to be preparing for the return of two key events in 2022.

Girls with Hi-Vis® (GWHV) is back this June to open the eyes of high school girls to the opportunities in infrastructure careers.

The challenge this year is to build on the momentum of 2021, which was our busiest and best-attended season to date. Last year 23 workplaces opened their doors to 539 students from 64 schools in 11 regions around the motu.

To meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5˚ C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels, the New Zealand Government pledged in October 2021 to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This target involves all sectors, not just energy, however grid infrastructure will play a vital role in the transformation process as electricity will become the backbone of the entire energy system.

Making progress towards a low emissions future brings significant challenges, including the sheer scale of infrastructure and skilled workforce required to deliver large and complex projects, and the need to balance technical requirements and costs with delivering sustainable outcomes for future generations. Digitisation will be critical for overcoming the complexity of New Zealand’s energy challenges.

Many networks face intense scrutiny and their risk committees are regularly reviewing options available to reduce the risk and even prevent destruction from wildfires. The increased occurrence and severity globally of out of controls fires over recent years has gained attention from territorial and national authorities as well as product developers and manufacturers.

Developed in response to the damage caused by a growing incidence of wild fires in the likes of California and Australia, many of these products are available to networks and contractors in many countries.

Covid-19 restrictions may have led to the cancellation of Annual Connection, the electricity supply industry’s annual celebration of its skills, training and workers, but organisers continue to shine a light on the sector’s talent and opportunities.

Annual Connection was scheduled for Christchurch in November. The three-day event, a joint initiative between Connexis, the infrastructure industry training body, and industry, is the highlight of the electricity supply calendar.

Connexis Director Kaarin Gaukrodger says it was a difficult decision to cancel this year’s event. “While the cancellation is a major disappointment for all involved, to hold Annual Connection in its planned format in the current Covid climate is just not possible.”

It is a wrap for Girls with Hi-Vis® 2021 but the legacy of this year’s campaign, the most successful in its 10-year history, could bring more diversity to the energy industry and be part of the solution to persistent skills gaps in the workforce.

GWHV is an initiative founded and run by Connexis, the infrastructure Industry Training Organisation. It gives female high school students the opportunity to visit an infrastructure company, get hands-on experience, and hear from inspirational women in the industry.

As the world gets warmer and the tech gets cooler, what role will energy play in our sustainable future? LUMO is bringing together a range of speakers to explore this question through the intersection of energy, humanity and technology. It provides a platform to challenge the status quo and shift the national narrative of energy “so that it becomes a sector that all New Zealanders want to be a part of,” says organiser Dee Anderson.

LUMO is being hosted by Energy Academy, which was born out of electricity distribution company Orion Group’s commitment to “powering a cleaner and brighter future”.

The story of New Zealand’s energy industry is incomplete without considering the reach it has globally, particularly in the geothermal sector. New Zealand has had a significant impact in developing the global geothermal industry. The direct reduction of carbon emissions by international geothermal projects we have enabled is equal in magnitude to all of New Zealand’s net carbon dioxide emissions (about 12 MT/year). East Africa is one of the key regions that our industry has been supporting for 50 years and a good example of how our export technology has been applied. So how and why is it that we became so involved in a region half a world away?

Voltage regulators are overhead assets that most networks neither have a lot of, nor are they replaced very often. When a network needs a new or replacement regulator, sourcing can be a bit of a head scratcher – especially in these Covid times with some manufacturers advising lead-times of 12 months or more.

USA based Howard Industries SVR-1 single-phase step voltage regulators are tap changing autotransformers designed to automatically regulate distribution line voltages in a range of +/-10 per cent in 32 steps. One of the most popular and reliable voltage regulators in the USA, they have been getting a lot of attention recently in New Zealand and Australia. Quality and reliability are the attributes most talked about – expressed as lower failure rates and consequently lower maintenance and operating costs. For example the option of a painted stainless tank increases the life of the unit significantly over a mild steel unit, especially in coastal locations.

By Kaarin Gaukrodger, Connexis

The 2021 landscape for the infrastructure industry is a mix of unique opportunities and challenges. While our workforce continues to be resilient and adaptable to change, Covid-19 has reshaped the lives of not only our workforce but the entire population of New Zealand.

With challenge comes opportunity and because of the critical nature of the work our industry does, ensuring the effective day to day running of the country, the demand for skilled people continues. The labour market has constricted from the impact of Covid-19 but restrictions on people movement around the world has driven demand in the energy sector that has for years been reliant on immigration to cover local skills shortages.