Pivoting to deliver green energy projects

Phronis is profiled today in The Australian Financial Review. We were asked our opinion on critical infrastructure delivery.

While technology, technical capability and capacity will always feature in our thinking, given the ambitious infrastructure plans being proposed by all levels of government, we feel the real step change comes from greater collaboration and planning across government.

We have an extraordinary depth of talent already in this country which can (and who are motivated to) deliver these infrastructure agendas, but not if we continue to perpetuate them in competitive isolation and without a bigger strategy of national significance in mind.

We feel we are poised for extraordinary things as a nation if a new level of collaboration is possible.

Read the Article

Financial Review

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Phronis is proud to be providing engineering support to Sun Cable’s world-changing Australia-Asia PowerLink project by completing the civil works pre-feasibility study for the solar farm precinct (the world’s largest solar generation and battery storage facility) as well as assisting on facilities concepts in Darwin and Singapore.

We have partnered to deliver the preliminary civil engineering layout and concept design of the solar precinct and supporting infrastructure including rail sidings, airfield, helipad, road network, logistics hub, photovoltaic (PV) array, operational facilities, HV alignments, and positioning of substations, power conditioning systems and the voltage source converter. Phronis also delivered the infrastructure construction cost estimate, construction fleet estimate and fuel consumption estimate. As authors of the civil engineering pre-feasibility report, the concept planning work and costs information were drawn together to provide the basis for the next stage of development.

This really is one of those projects that will change the world and we are honoured to have been selected by Sun Cable to move the creation process forward and start making Sun Cable’s vision real.

Being involved brings real life to our purpose of inspiring delivery of world-changing infrastructure too.

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This year we’ve added support for projects in South America, and we are exploring opportunities to partner with clients in Korea and India.

Not bad for a Queensland business just shy of 10 years old.

From humble beginnings from a home office in 2012, to our fabulous HQ now in Milton, Phronis is a team of around 45 people and has continued to support clients and projects domestically and abroad. This year we’ve added support for projects in South America, and we are exploring opportunities to partner with clients in Korea and India.

Under the current circumstances, this has not been easy, but that doesn’t mean it is not possible. Inspiring the delivery of world-changing infrastructure is too important to make us take our eye off our purpose.

A huge thanks to all our clients, partners, and most importantly our team.

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For more see our Project Page or view this on Linkedin

Phronis recently provided detailed design services for an upgrade to a biogas flare at a sewerage treatment plant. The flare was designed and manufactured in Australia by Energy 360 Pty Ltd – Biogas specialists.

Our core scope included creating structural, piping, and underground services design solutions that were integrated into the client’s existing 3D model. We also provided HAZOP facilitation services. 

Equally rewarding was the rapid responses to technical queries that were raised during construction to support the construction schedule. When faced with an unexpected challenge, the client reached out and we identified a solid solution within a few hours that would have otherwise delayed construction.

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In this same capacity, over the last 4 years, Phronis has been proud to support Pembroke Resources’ Olive Downs Project as their owner’s infrastructure engineer. We had an opportunity to write an editorial about this work in this month’s edition of the Australian Mining Review. You can read about Pembroke’s ambitious coking coal project and our support for the delivery of their infrastructure vision on p34-35 in the link below.

Projects, like Olive Downs, for example, don’t come without their challenges and learnings, and yet they also present opportunities for, and demand, some very different thinking.

Creating value where the sun shines and the wind blows.

Phronis adds value to renewable energy investments

According to data supplied by the International Renewable Energy Agency and the Australian Clean Energy Regulator, Australia is the global leader in building renewable infrastructure. Building on our existing capabilities, Phronis is involved with several renewable energy projects across Australia and also putting their minds to new technologies that could support the storage challenges in the sector.

Building new renewable energy

Between 2018 and the end of 2020, it is projected that Australia will install more than 16 gigawatts of wind and solar energy infrastructure. That means renewable energy in Australia is growing at a per capita rate ten times faster than the world average and three times faster than the next fastest country, Germany.

“The sector is developing dramatically and will continue to mature further over the next 10 years,” said Phronis’s Senior Commercial Adviser, Peter Bradnam.  “This change requires all stakeholders to think differently at all stages of the project life-cycle about how value can be maximised from this infrastructure investment”.   As a business that drives itself to think differently about infrastructure solutions, Peter is part of an experienced team at Phronis who have partnered with contractors and clients alike to design and deliver a number of renewable infrastructure concepts and projects across Australia, working across feasibility, design and project delivery.

With this experience, as part of a broader energy strategy, Phronis continues to play a part in helping to expand Australia’s capabilities in the renewable sector.  Building from this experience, the team are continuing to explore and identify further innovations that could be brought to future projects, aimed at addressing some of the ongoing challenges in bringing these projects to market.

Solar Generation

As an example, Phronis has recently partnered with a major contractor to support the design delivery of a 60MW Solar Farm. The project included construction of a new solar photovoltaic (PV) generation facility and a transmission line linking nearby mining operations to the solar farm and battery facility.

Wind Generation

Last year, Phronis worked closely with an EPC contractor, providing design services for aspects of a project where over forty turbines will be deployed for a $300 million project, covering 5,000 hectares of land.  The wind farm is expected to generate 180MW, which is enough power to supply 138,000 homes locally.

Future projects and opportunities

Phronis specialises in providing innovative technical outcomes for their clients and has several current and future renewable infrastructure projects identified.

“We’re excited to be influencing the growth of this sector, and are looking for further project opportunities, including creating our own concepts which would see Phronis tackling the Achilles heel of renewable energy – storage” said Peter.

Phronis is proud to support the development of renewables projects, both in Australia and abroad. We are also developing our own concepts that could help tackle the Achilles heel of renewables – storage!

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Waste will continue to be waste if we don’t think differently about it, and the potential it has!.

Phronis Tackles the War on Waste

Waste is a critical issue, but trying to solve Australia’s waste problem is about so much more than just how to cope with our rubbish. It’s no understatement to say how we deal with it and the decisions we make surrounding our waste will shape the future of Australia. Appreciating that it is part of a broader integrated solution, Phronis is playing a key role in waste to energy in Australia, proudly supporting major international technology providers to deliver state-of-the-art solutions locally.

The issue of rubbish

According to ABC’s War on Waste program, Australia is one of the most wasteful countries in the developed world, with our rubbish growing at twice the rate of the population. Given that Australia is a fast-growing country, this problem is hitting a crisis point.

Thankfully, Australia’s attitude towards waste management is shifting with an acknowledgement that we need to reduce the amount of waste we generate and accelerate the recovery rate of our resources. The value of waste resources and embodied energy in waste is beginning to be recognised, playing a significant part of Australia’s economy.

Landfill has traditionally been the preferred means of “disposing” of our waste. Modern landfill sites are highly regulated and carefully managed, making them expensive to operate and manage, and limited by their finite capacity. Waste going to landfill represents lost opportunities to extract materials and energy that can replace the use of virgin resources, and reliance on fossil fuel energy.

Australian is beginning to address the waste problem. Circular economy principles are being adopted and waste strategies are shifting away from the linear ‘take-make-use-dispose’ model. This will help to reduce waste and improved resource efficiency.

What does ‘waste to energy’ mean?

Waste to energy refers to the process of converting domestic or industrial waste products into energy, such as heat or electricity. It’s a broad term, encompassing a range of processes, and can work alongside recycling as an essential part of a larger urban waste management system.

Landfill is the least desirable option. In the Waste and Resource hierarchy, energy recovery is preferable to landfill, because it recovers some value from waste, reduces greenhouse gas emissions from organic waste, and lessens the legacy impacts of landfills.

Incineration technology continues to develop around the world, with an increasing focus on energy recovery and pollution control. Over time, environmental regulations and standards have also become more robust and stricter to ensure the protection of the environment and human health.

While only part of a broader integrated environmental strategy, there are several waste-to-energy facilities proposed throughout Australia. Their expected capacity will vary.

However each of these facilities can process hundreds of thousands of tonnes of residual, or post-recycling waste a year. They can also reduce carbon dioxide emissions significantly, while exporting impressive amounts of electricity to the grid, each with enough to power many tens of thousands of houses each year.

There are already more than 2,000 waste-to-energy facilities operating around the world, in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia with Scandinavia leading the pack. Europe alone has around 450 waste to energy facilities which can process up to 73 million tonnes of waste per year.

Here in Australia, there’s no denying we’re playing a game of ‘follow the leader’ and larger scale waste to energy projects have begun to gain traction.

Phronis’s contribution

Phronis has a globally recognised capability in waste to energy solutions, bringing to the Australian market key technical resources from around the world and across all disciplines. Phronis also brings to the table an inherent driver to think differently about intractable challenges. 

Many of our team have been intimately involved with global players in the roll-out of technical solutions for waste disposal in Australia and abroad for some years.

Technology used in the design of waste to energy facilities generally comes from overseas. Consequently, Australian standards may not always be taken into consideration, running the risk of delays and rework which result in unnecessary project costs and delays– for the contractors, for local governments and users. 

Phronis has proven it can partner easily with global players to ensure designs meet Australian standards and these are properly applied, removing hurdles early and ensuring that time, money and potential aren’t also ‘wasted’ (pun intended) in bringing this technology into the local market.

This can include providing support for compliance with Fire Engineering, BCA conformance and Dangerous Goods and also managing the registration of plant and equipment with safe work authorities.

Phronis, as a multidisciplinary team, can guide clients through any feasibility, design and/or regulatory requirements for the registration and operation of waste management facilities of all types. Phronis is passionate about supporting local councils, governments at all levels and private enterprise in their pursuit to creating value from waste and treating it as a resource. Richard Hill and Ian Beasley can be contacted for further insight into our waste-to-energy solutions.

Waste is a global problem and community attitudes to waste production are changing. Creating more waste-to-energy opportunities as part of a sustainable waste management chain could be a very good place to start.

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