The studies APD delivers
Load flow · fault level · transient and voltage stability · system strength · harmonics · earthing and EMF · protection coordination · insulation coordination · UFLS and emergency schemes · model validation, RMS and EMT - in PSCAD and PSS®E, with DIgSILENT PowerFactory for steady-state studies where networks require it.
Earthing design itself lives with the substation bench. Earthing design →
15 GW+ of connection studies delivered across the National Electricity Market (NEM) and the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).
Connection and compliance studies
Pre-application and formal connection studies for new generators, storage and industrial plant - system strength, fault levels, voltage stability, thermal capability, access rights and GPS compliance modelling.
GPS registration across the NEM and WEM for batteries, renewable generators and industrial plant - including a fifty-year-old alumina refinery plant brought to full compliance on Western Power's SWIS. The GPS case →
Connecting plant? Start at grid connection Australia - or the battery-specific page, BESS grid connection & studies.
Network-scale and REZ studies
Central West Orana - network modelling, NEM studies and system strength behind Australia's first Renewable Energy Zone, unlocking 3 GW. The CWO case →
The same studies capability sits behind REZ planning and major network augmentation across the NEM and WEM.
Special systems - where the studies get strange
SKA-Low
Frequency sweep, harmonics, protection and earthing for the world's largest radio telescope - so the array stays quiet.
Case study →160 MW into an island
Feasibility of importing up to 160 MW of solar and BESS into an islanded LNG operation via a dedicated HV link.
The story →Woodside Pluto
Integration studies for Pluto's connection to the North West Interconnected System.
Case study →Research-grade methods
The methods are published where the industry moves its standards forward. CIGRE Paris Session 2026 paper 10487 - co-authored with AEMO - models coordinated UFLS and DER shedding across a 3,500-bus RMS representation of the NEM. Paper 11251 validates a grid-forming BESS replacing synchronous generation.
And the studies are verified against real equipment, not just simulation - EMT-derived COMTRADE records replayed into physical protection relays. Technical publications →
Who the studies are for
Generators and developers (connection and GPS) · network owners (REZ, augmentation, UFLS) · industrial and mining clients (islanded systems, compliance) · lenders and government (independent review).
Studies FAQ
What is a system strength assessment?
An assessment of how firmly the network holds a stable voltage waveform near a connection point - and whether new inverter-based plant can operate stably there without remediation.
RMS vs EMT - when does each matter?
RMS models capture system-wide dynamics efficiently and suit wide-area and planning studies. EMT models resolve the fast inverter control loops that RMS cannot - essential near low-system-strength connection points and for protection behaviour with inverter-based resources.
What does AEMO require for model validation?
Validated dynamic models that match measured site behaviour - established through the R1 and R2 processes, with site tests confirming the plant performs as the models predicted.
What is a GPS study?
The modelling and testing that establishes - and then proves - a generator's negotiated performance standards at its connection point under the National Electricity Rules.
Related
Grid connection Australia
The connection pathway the studies feed - NEM and WEM, application to energisation.
Explore →