Industrial growth, electrification and the growing value of flexible demand in WA

The State Government's South West Interconnected System (SWIS) Demand Assessment highlighted the potential for substantial growth in electricity demand as existing industries decarbonise and emerging sectors such as critical minerals processing, mining and renewable hydrogen develop over coming decades. Initial modelling found that electricity demand could grow significantly beyond historic levels if proposed industrial developments proceed.

Meeting that demand will require considerable investment across the electricity system. New renewable energy generation, storage assets and transmission infrastructure will all be needed to ensure reliable and affordable electricity remains available to industry and communities.

However, supply-side investment is only part of the equation. As the SWIS evolves, demand-side flexibility is becoming an increasingly important tool for maintaining reliable system operation.

Flexible demand refers to the ability of energy users to temporarily reduce, shift or manage electricity consumption during periods when the system is under stress. Rather than building additional generation to meet every period of peak demand, flexible loads can help balance supply and demand in real time.

Many mining and mineral processing facilities have large electrical loads associated with energy-intensive processes like crushing, grinding and concentration. These processes sometimes have buffered stockpiles that can be drawn down to allow electrical loads to be reduced for short periods, with no downstream operational impact.  This makes them well suited to demand response participation.   

Stockpiles act like a battery to release more energy back to the grid when it is stressed.  Other processes, such as those with variable speed drives or parallel processing lines, can sometimes also be modulated for short periods. When aggregated across multiple sites, this flexibility can become a valuable reliability resource for the broader electricity system.

Demand response can also help improve utilisation of existing infrastructure to support renewable integration.  This reduces the need for costly new infrastructure and emergency interventions during periods of system stress.

As demand for low-emissions minerals and materials increases globally, many WA mining and processing businesses are pursuing electrification and decarbonisation strategies. This will create opportunities not only to reduce emissions, but also to participate more actively in energy markets.

Demand response programs allow businesses that use large amounts of energy to monetise flexibility that may already exist within their operations. Rather than viewing electricity consumption as an inflexible supply cost, organisations can increasingly treat flexibility as an asset that delivers value to both their business and the wider energy system. 

Re-thinking processes can create a new revenue stream and support the grid, without any investment and with minimal to no impact on production output. For example, the Reserve Capacity Program pays enrolled commercial and industrial energy users a regular year-round income to be on standby to reduce power consumption should a rare grid emergency occur, where demand temporarily exceeds supply.

As Western Australia's energy transition accelerates, reliable power will remain essential to economic growth.

The challenge is not simply producing more electricity. It is ensuring the system has the flexibility required to support new industries, integrate renewable generation and maintain reliability through periods of change.

For many mining operations, that flexibility may already exist today.  Demand response participation via the Enel X virtual power plant can unlock the value of that flexibility for operators, the grid and the environment.