Sectors.
A diverse mix of different skills, talents, backgrounds and experiences, PE's team of specialist electrical engineers are united by a collective ambition to lift the bar when it comes to power system solutions across a range of sectors.
Renewable Energy
Renewable energy systems typically use inverters to convert DC power to AC power. These inverters often require harmonic filtering to ensure compliance with supply authority emission limits.
PE's core offering includes the design, analysis and commissioning of such projects and covers all requirements of a complete renewable energy power system.
Transport
PE is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in DC railway traction power design, earthing and bonding design, stray current design, protection design, insulation coordination, EMC integration, testing, commissioning, assurance and operation.
We also have a long-standing relationship with Sydney Airport and have acted as EMC in design and maintenance of its high voltage electrical power system for the past 10 years.
Defence
PE supports the Australian Defence Force with leading-edge power system protection, earthing design and commissioning works. Our work includes projects at Randwick Barracks, RAAF Richmond, RAAF Darwin and RAAF Tindal.
Minerals & Heavy Industry Materials Processing
PE supports Minerals development and processing distribution power system design, switchroom design, substation design, harmonic filtering, power factor correction, protection design and earthing design.
Our work within heavy industry material processing includes the development of power systems for steel mills, arc furnaces and other facilities. Testament to our ability and reputation in the space, we hold long-standing working relationships with some of Australia's largest mineral processing companies.
Property
When developing properties adjacent to heavy rail and light rail systems, NSW legislation requires developers to obtain expert advice in stray current mitigation. PE’s electrolysis experts provide our clients with the required risk mitigation reports to support their development and satisfy Development Application (DA) conditions.
PE has delivered several Data Centre projects, providing power system protection, earthing design and commissioning. We have also worked on state significant landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House where we investigated and resolved harmonic issues.
Projects.
Bannerton Solar Project
Bannerton Solar Project is a 110MW site near Robinvale, Victoria. The site covers 192 hectares and is made up of some 319,406 solar panels. The project has a peak generating capacity of 110MW (DC) which reduces greenhouse gases by 88,400 tonnes per annum (CO2 equivalent) and generates enough clean electricity to power over 40,000 homes.
Subsequently, Bannerton Solar Park contributes to Victoria’s renewable energy agenda and reduces reliance in the area on fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy generation methods.
Harmonic Distortion and Power Quality compliance for a large renewable generation project is critical for supply authority connection assurance allowing the project to then operate at its rated capacity.
Solution
PE provided review of the projects operating Power Quality in terms of Harmonic Distortion, Flicker and Negative Sequence generation. The project was certified to operate at its rated capacity.
Service
Harmonics
Clients
United Group Limited (UGL) Pty Ltd
Sector
Renewable Energy
Years
2019 to 2020
Light Rail Projects
Over the past decade Australia has seen a renaissance with light rail transport systems with projects including the Inner West Light Rail Extension (IWLRE), Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle and Parramatta.
Each one of these projects has its own unique environment and electrical challenges that need to be resolved during design, construction and commissioning then continue to be monitored or managed through operation and maintenance.
Solution
The electrical engineering team at PE has supported every one of these light rail projects through some phase of the project life cycle and has represented either the client (delivery agency), main contractor or design consultant.
PE undertook or is undertaking the traction power design for IWLR, Canberra Light Rail (CLR) and Parramatta Light Rail (PLR) then commissioned or is commissioning these systems into service.
PE will continue to support operator organisations such as CMET, Transdev, ALTRAC and GRCLR through the operation and maintenance phases of the CLR, IWLR, SLR, and PLR for many years to come.
PE has developed leading edge simulation software to model the traction network operations and our software is verified by comparison against actual network operations.
Service
Traction Power, Protection, Earthing & Bonding, Distribution, Harmonics, EMC, Assurance and Electrolysis & Stray Current
Clients
Inner west, Sydney, Canberra and Parramatta
Sector
Transport
Years
2012 to present
Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport is one of Australia’s most important pieces of transport infrastructure. It is a domestic and international gateway and an essential part of Sydney’s integrated transport network, connecting to more than ninety destinations around the world.
It comprises many airside and landside buildings and structures and interfaces significantly with the surrounding road, freight and heavy rail networks. The airport is supported by a high voltage electrical power system and underlying lower voltage power system.
Solution
The electrical engineering team at PE has supported Sydney Airport for over a decade, helping to deliver many projects across the full life cycle.
PE has assisted Sydney Airport to improve resilience in the power system to avoid risk of blackouts which introduce major national and international travel disruptions.
PE continues to support Sydney Airport as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in power system planning, power system protection, power system earthing and electrical standards development.
Service
Power System Planning, Protection, Earthing, Distribution, Harmonics and Assurance
Clients
Sydney Airport Corporation Limited (SACL)
Sector
Transport
Years
2011 to present
RAAF Base Darwin & RAAF Base Tindal
RAAF Base Darwin is one of the Air Force's main forward mounting bases. It is located 6.5 km north-east of the City of Darwin and shares the runway with Darwin International Airport.
RAAF Base Tindal is located 15 kms outside Katherine and 320 kms south-east of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
These air force bases are supported by high voltage power systems employing the latest technology protection systems.
Solution
PE has developed IEC 61850 protection network programming and commissioning for RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base Tindal.
Service
Protection and Assurance
Clients
SCEE, INTRACT and SAGE Automation
Sector
Defence
Years
2018 to present
Liberty Bell Bay
Liberty Bell Bay is Australia's only manganese alloy smelter, it has four (4) submerged electric arc furnaces, including a sinter plant, and can produce around 150ktpa of high carbon ferromanganese and 120ktpa of silicomanganese which is used in the production of steel and is exported to companies around the globe.
The plant is supported by a high voltage (HV) power system, which PE has continually supported for twenty (20) years.
Solution
PE has been engaged to complete a detailed system capacity assessment report based on the proposed future system loading with upgraded Power Factor Correction (PFC) Capacitor Banks.
The engineering team will produce staging plans to achieve the proposed future system loading from the existing system configurations and furnace loads.
Ongoing support will also be provided during the procurement, installation testing, and commissioning of the system upgrades.
Service
Power Modelling and Power Factor Correction
Clients
GFG Alliance
Sector
Heavy Industry Materials Processing
Years
2022 to present
BlueScope
BlueScope is a provider of innovative steel materials, products, systems and technologies, headquartered in Australia with operations spread across North America, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands and throughout Asia.
Manufacturing plants typically are supported by high voltage power systems.
Solution
PE is involved with numerous manufacturing and industrial sector clients deriving power from local utility networks.
During the first engagement, the engineering team applied their knowledge of the local area power system derived from multiple projects including data centres and distribution warehouses to investigate the existing high voltage power supply capacities and upgraded supply options from surrounding zone substations in service or under development, to determine concept options for BlueScope Steel plant upgrades.
PE were re-engaged by BlueScope Steel to complete the design of the High Voltage (HV) power supply upgrade and Low Voltage (LV) augmentation including switching, earthing and Accredited Service Provider Level 3 (ASP3) connection applications from the local supply authority (Endeavour Energy).
Service
Power System Planning, Distribution Design, Power Quality, Harmonic Distortion, HV and LV Switching, Earthing, ASP3.
Clients
BlueScope Steel
Sector
Heavy Industry Materials Processing
Years
2021 to present
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House (SOH) incorporates a range of non-linear loads which generate harmonic distortion and sub-optimal power factor. Equipment used on site was experiencing reliability issues that were expected to be related to power factor correction equipment.
SOH required a specialist consultant to investigate the power quality, identify issues and provide recommendations and related documentation for improvements and remediation of known and unknown power quality issues across the Opera House main power supply.
Solution
PE’s team of specialist electrical engineers completed site investigations, desktop studies and installed recorders to capture data on the SOH power system performance. The recorded data was analysed to identify the power quality performance issues and cost-effective solutions were recommended to SOH to bring the system back into compliance.
Further assistance will be provided by PE to SOH through the procurement, installation, testing and commissioning of recommendations to ensure that the power quality issues are rectified to their complete satisfaction.
Service
Power Quality, Power Factor Correction and Harmonics
Clients
Sydney Opera House
Sector
Property
Years
2021 to present
Accredited Service Provider Level 3 (ASP3)
All commercial, industrial, residential and retail developments need to be connected to the local electricity supply network and may require existing assets to be augmented. There are three (3) Electrical Network Operators (ENO) in NSW, namely, Ausgrid, Endeavour Enginery and Essential Energy.
The ENO’s provide consultants with the ability to complete designs for the augmentation of or connections to their network through Accredited Service Provider Level 3 (ASP3) certification.
Solution
PE regularly provides review of proposed development designs, determining the load and any existing asset conflicts, identifying suitable design solutions, applying for and managing connection to the ENO electrical supply network.
PE provides construction assistance to ensure that solutions are implemented in the most time and cost-efficient manner for our clients.
Service
ASP3
Clients
BlueScope Steel, Ford Civil, Ku-ring-gai Council, Phoenix Builders, Waverley Council and others.
Sector
Property
Years
2022 to present
Aerial Transmission Line
Developments in around the rail corridor may impact or conflict with Sydney Trains aerial 11kV or 33kV transmission lines. Such developments require negotiation with Sydney Trains and the development of feasible and compliant designs, to allow these aerial transmission lines to be relocated.
Solution
Develop designs to mitigate risk of new developments against the existing aerial transmission lines, including:
- aerial diversion or undergrounding sections of the distribution feeder
- cable jointing pit
- relocated underground to overhead transmission line infrastructure
- adjusted aerial transmission line configurations
- modified earthing systems
The design solutions need to comply with the requirements of Transport for NSW (TfNSW) Asset Management Branch (AMB), Australian Standards, WorkCover Standards and Sydney Trains (who are the distribution utility operator).
Service
Distribution, Commissioning, Assurance
Clients
AUSCONNEX, Lipman Constructions, Phoenix Builders
Sector
Property
Years
2020 to present
Electrolysis and Stray Current
Developments in around railway infrastructure may impact of stray current flows from the railway. Such developments require a Subject Matter Expert (SME) to review the development plans and provide guidance on mitigation of the corrosion risk from stray current interference flows.
Numerous clients have required a specialist consultant to complete Electrolysis Risk Reports (ERR) on various proposed development projects to satisfy the requirements of Transport for NSW (TfNSW) per the Development Application (DA) conditions of consent regarding electrolysis mitigation.
Solution
PE regularly provides review of the site design for electrolysis impacts to local Sydney rail systems or projects.
Completing the ERR to identify the risk mitigation measures required to satisfy DA Conditions of Consent and close out stakeholder comments including those from Transport for NSW (TfNSW).
PE also provides construction assistance to implement the recommendations of ERR including the installation and testing if electrolysis test points, in the most time and cost-efficient manner for our clients.
Service
Electrolysis and Stray Current
Clients
MIRVAC, Scape, Parkview, Squillace, Milligan Group, Sharma Boarding House, JKL Design, Moderinn, and others.
Sector
Property
Years
2010 to present
Sydney Water
Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a New South Wales Government–owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains regions of New South Wales.
Solution
PE were engaged to complete a detailed review of Sydney Waters processes and procedures around the testing of metallic water pipes to ensure that they are electrically safe prior to starting work on or near them and that the environment remains safe during work.
Ongoing support is being provided with the review and provision of Sydney Water employee training and auditing of project works to ensure compliance with the latest processes and procedures is maintained.
Service
Assurance
Clients
Sydney Water
Sector
Utilities
Years
2022 to present
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