Our vision is to play a key role in decarbonising the planet using technology. We will keep the lights on through the delivery of 100% renewable energy that will power industry and energy networks 24/7.
The sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow. Sunshine Hydro’s Superhybrid™ solution incorporates hydro power and leading edge digital technology to bridge this naturally occurring gap. By doing so, Sunshine Hydro fulfils the substantial market need that demands energy, 24/7, produced without fossil fuels.
Sunshine Hydro is in the business of keeping lights on with 100% renewable energy.
Sunshine is the source of energy that we harness. It is quite obvious that electricity generated by solar panels is directly from the sun, but less obvious is that the sun is responsible for producing the effect of the air moving between hotter and colder parts of the planet, that generate wind energy.
Hydro is an abbreviation of both Hydro Power and Hydrogen. Hydro Power first became an electricity source in the late 19th century after James Francis invented the hydro turbine. The name hydrogen is from the Greek hydro = water, and genes = to create, because when hydrogen is burnt it creates water. It was named in 1783 by Antoine Lavoisier.
Combine the two key elements and like the big bang, Sunshine Hydro is born.
As we grow our team, it is important that those who join us fit well with how we work, think and play. Values bind a community and Sunshine Hydro is a community of like minded employees, shareholders, consultants and partners. The values that underpin our community include the following:
Agile, Collaborative, Proactive, Flexible, Inclusive, Passionate, Caring.
We see our culture as one that will evolve. We care about our culture and we strive to attract and retain the hard working, creative people who perform the most amazing feats for the benefit of customers, their families and communities, co-workers and shareholders.
Sunshine Hydro cares a great deal about the preservation of the environment in which we all share and will maintain constant vigilance on all projects during design, construction, and operation.
Sunshine Hydro is mindful of the community impact its projects will potentially have and is deliberate in its intention that any impact will be significantly positive.
Sunshine Hydro considers local community members to be stakeholders who are equal in importance to all other stakeholders.
Industry demands power 24/7 and communities demand power at the flick of a switch. To satisfy this need, there is a requirement to store energy so that it’s available when we need it. Further, this energy must be produced in a carbon neutral manner.
This is where Sunshine Hydro’s Superhybrid solution excels and what propels Sunshine Hydro into the leading edge of renewable energy projects.
A typical project of Sunshine Hydro is able to store 10 gigawatt-hours of energy, which is enough to power 600,000 houses for a day.
Sunshine Hydro technology is used to model, manage, and orchestrate highly efficient and cost-effective Superhybrid projects for its renewable projects portfolio and generate value for shareholders.
Sunshine Hydro also provides consultation to parties with third party ownership of renewable energy projects to present clear evidence of maximised operational and investor return through Superhybrid solutions.
Sunshine Hydro has the best practice expertise to add value to any hydro project.
Sunshine Hydro’s mission is to keep the lights on. A system is needed that will look ahead for many days to make sure there is enough energy stored for use at night and on calm days. The system needs to look at weather forecasts, electricity demand, electricity prices, water levels in the dams, energy storage, amount of hydrogen stored, operational status of all the technologies and many other factors. This requires millions of calculations and decisions to be made every second. Sunshine Hydro has developed sophisticated algorithms to optimise this task. Advanced Energy Storage Optimising Program (AESOP) AI software encapsulates this technology.
A Superhybrid is a system or process that combines multiple technologies that are not normally connected. Sunshine Hydro’s typical Superhybrid model includes wind and solar farms feeding into a pumped hydro project which is linked to a hydrogen generation plant. All components are orchestrated to work smoothly together using our AESOP control system.
Key components of a typical Superhybrid model include:
All the components of a Superhybrid solution make an important contribution and work together in this ecosystem to provide a reliable, contractible, firm green energy output
Grid ancillary services are used to manage grid power systems safely, securely, and reliably. These services maintain key technical characteristics of the system, including standards for frequency, voltage, network loading, and system restart processes.
There are times when the market demands electricity which cannot be provided elsewhere. If the prices are sufficiently high, it creates an opportunity to provide electricity to meet this demand. With a Superhybrid system, electricity can be diverted from various system components to meet this demand. This is called demand electricity and is sometimes referred to as “peaking power”.
Industry and community require a constant feed of electricity. Wind energy varies with wind conditions and solar energy is only available during sunny days. Firm green energy is a constant stream of renewable electricity that can be contracted and relied on all day every day.
Unlike traditional fossil fuel-based hydrogen, green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis of water using renewable power such as solar or wind which splits water’s two main elements hydrogen and oxygen producing green hydrogen gas.
Hydrogen is liquefied by reducing its temperature to −253 °C, similar to liquefied natural gas (LNG) which is stored at −162 °C.
This is a bi-product of the electrolysis of water using renewable energy.
A carbon offset refers to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), or an increase in carbon storage (e.g, through land restoration or the planting of trees), this is used to compensate for emissions that occur elsewhere.
Sunshine Hydro acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.