Challenges and digital solutions for Australia’s energy transition

Australia’s energy producers are at a tipping point. While the government is committed to reaching 82% renewable energy by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050 , this won’t be easy.

In 2023, fossil fuels still accounted for 65% of total electricity generation in our country. Part of the problem is that Australia’s legacy electricity infrastructure wasn’t built with renewables in mind. Add in regulatory delays, workforce gaps, and electricity market volatility, and it’s clear we have a bumpy road ahead if we want to transform Australia’s energy system for the long term.

We’ve set the scene for a challenge here, but there are positives. For one, Australia enjoys an abundance of sunny days, making it one of the best places in the world for renewable electricity. We’re also seeing how digital technology can play a pivotal role in removing roadblocks and speeding up the transition.

In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at Australia’s energy transition, the challenges on the path to net zero, and the different ways digital solutions can help accelerate the shift.

• Australia wants to achieve 82% renewable electricity by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
• The legacy grid is limiting the adoption of renewable energy.
• Regulatory delays and skill gaps cost valuable time and resources.
• Customer expectations are shifting towards sustainability and transparency.
• Digital solutions like AI and automation can offer vital solutions.

Australia’s renewable energy transition will involve replacing fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, with renewable sources like solar, battery, hydroelectricity, and wind energy.

The main driver behind this shift is necessity. Rising temperatures are leading to more extreme weather events like bushfires and droughts, posing a growing threat to natural ecosystems and local communities. Reducing carbon emissions is essential, both for Australia and the wider world.

However, this isn’t the only reason for the transition:

• Australia’s coal-fired power stations are becoming increasingly expensive to maintain, and two-thirds of them will have passed the average retirement age of 42 years by 2030.
• Renewable energy sources are altogether cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives. Solar and wind energy, in particular, are now the lowest-cost forms of new energy generation.
• Customer demand for cleaner, more reliable energy solutions is putting pressure on Australian regulatory bodies to modernise the grid and accelerate the transition.
• It will spur job creation, which will be a catalyst for economic growth.

The good news is that the move to green energy is already underway with the support of numerous policies and investments that help allocate resources and coordinate strategies. Here are some of the essential federal frameworks currently in play:

Industry bodies such as the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), and the Clean Energy Council also play a key role in setting standards and advocating for policy reform across the country.

While we still have a long way to go, Australia is already laying the groundwork for sustainability. However, we need to remain focused on overcoming key challenges on the path to adopting renewable energy.

Read: Salesforce Accelerates Energy Transition with New Climate Investments

As you can imagine, Australia’s transition to renewables is about more than swapping out one form of energy for another. It requires a total overhaul of legacy infrastructure and a careful strategy to minimise risk across the board.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the challenges that are making Australia’s renewable energy transition difficult. We’ll then dive into how technology is offering a solution.

• Aging infrastructure: Australia’s electricity grid wasn’t built with two-way renewable energy flows in mind. Fixing this problem requires a total infrastructure overhaul, with 10,000 kilometres of new transmission lines needed to meet 2050 targets.
• Connection delays: Overhauling infrastructure is anything but straightforward. Grid capacity constraints and slow approval processes stall many new clean energy projects.
• Data silos: Fragmented data spread across legacy systems, business departments and external partners make it difficult to gain a unified view of assets, performance and customer needs. This equals disjointed strategies.
• Planning complexity: Unsurprisingly, planning a country-wide renewable energy initiative is complex when factoring in state government legislation, privately-owned land, Indigenous territories and economics within the national electricity market.
• Cybersecurity and resilience: Critical energy infrastructure faces growing threats from sophisticated cyber attacks. Climate-related disruptions are also a concern as extreme weather events become more frequent.
• Workforce gaps: Australia currently has a shortage of highly-skilled specialists in the renewable energy sector. This workforce gap can slow down production timelines and make maintaining energy systems challenging.

Add in external pressure from customers looking for more reliable energy solutions and greater transparency over how their data is being used, and it’s clear that Australian government agencies are walking a tightrope between efficiency, security, reliability, and public trust.

Now for the positive news: Many of the challenges above can be solved through technology. By utilising artificial intelligence (AI), leveraging automation and unifying data, energy providers can accelerate the transition to a cleaner, smarter energy system.

In short, digital transformation is no longer an option – it’s absolutely essential if Australia hopes to reach its ambitious goals. Here are five ways energy providers can use digital solutions to drive change:

1. Modernise grid operations with real-time data
2. Integrate planning and stakeholder data
3. Automate customer communications and green reporting
4. Improve field efficiency with mobile and AI tools
5. Strengthen cybersecurity and operational resilience

Let’s break down each of these strategies one by one.

Today’s rooftop solar energy and battery storage systems continually feed power back into the grid. This means new infrastructure needs to be far more dynamic, both to enable two-way electricity flow and to keep track of changing conditions across a decentralised network.

Real-time data plays a key role here. With the help of IoT sensors, cloud platforms and advanced analytics deployed across the network, energy providers can continuously gain insights on things like:

• Grid conditions to detect anomalies early
• Asset health for predictive maintenance and long-term performance
• Energy usage patterns to respond to surges or dips in demand and optimise output
• Outages and faults to rapidly fix potential issues and reduce downtime

Salesforce Net Zero Cloud gives businesses the tools to unify their sustainability data, reduce compliance risks and unlock new opportunities on the road to emission reductions.

The move to renewable energy in Australia is no longer a technological challenge for a single department to meet. Engineering teams, environmental regulators, government agencies, private sector partners and Indigenous land councils all play a key role in the effort.

However, when each of these groups operates in isolation, with data and insights locked away behind departmental walls, grid planning becomes increasingly disjointed.

Breaking down these silos is essential. Creating shared data environments to connect systems across departments and stakeholders encourages transparency and collaboration.

Tools like Data Cloud and MuleSoft can help you unify your data across all of your cloud and legacy systems into a single source of truth. They break down silos, providing a complete picture that improves decision-making and supports faster and more reliable grid project planning.

Customers today want full transparency about what energy providers are doing to combat climate change and how they’re doing it. However, many energy providers still rely on manual processes to communicate with customers. This can lead to slower response times or, in some cases, radio silence.

Automating customer communications and sustainability reporting allows energy providers to deliver real-time updates to their customers, helping build stronger relationships based on trust and transparency. It also frees up time and saves money.

For instance, with Salesforce Net Zero Cloud and Marketing Cloud, providers could:

• Provide real-time data about their sustainability initiatives and recent improvements
• Offer customers real-time energy insights on their usage patterns
• Automatically update on outages and maintenance schedules
• Support business customers with emission data to help them meet ESG requirements

This kind of automation gives customers visibility over how utilities are working toward sustainable energy, an essential component of long-standing trust.

Field teams are the frontline of Australia’s energy transition, but manual processes and outdated systems don’t make their job easy.

Mobile and AI-powered tools can be a game-changer here. For example, field workers equipped with mobile apps have access to real-time grid data and the ability to view their open jobs, safety checklists and asset histories without needing to call a dispatcher.

Combining this with AI-powered scheduling ensures the right person is dispatched at the right time, optimising routes. Digital twin technologies can help workers visualise infrastructure before they arrive at a location. All of this leads to:

• Fewer truck rolls, cutting costs as well as emissions
• Better first-time resolution during fixes thanks to digital twins
• Improved safety and compliance due to mobile app access

Salesforce Field Service brings AI agents into every corner of field service operations, helping field employees get work done faster, deliver more proactive service and access all of the data they need while on site. Watch a demo today.

A decentralised and digital energy infrastructure will also lead to new entry points for cyber criminals, and as you can imagine, the consequences of an attack would be severe.

Cybersecurity and operational resilience go hand in hand with digital transformation. Energy providers must be able to secure every connected device, monitor and control access in real-time and respond quickly to any incidents as soon as they happen.

A good starting point is to embed a zero-trust architecture into the foundation of all systems, which will ensure no device is trusted by default. From there, utilities must implement real-time monitoring and threat detection, as well as clearly defined protocols covering everything from data security to incident response plans.

Tools like Salesforce Shield 2.0 add a vital layer of protection across core grid systems, as encryption keeps data secure and real-time monitoring makes it easier to detect anomalies. Pair this with Salesforce Security Center to gain a unified view of all permissions and access controls and eliminate any gaps in your energy security posture.

Utilities may manage the infrastructure behind Australia’s energy transition, but they aren’t the only drivers behind the change. Businesses play an equally important role in shaping demand.

Organisations that use significant amounts of energy have a responsibility to set ambitious targets and invest smartly in clean technologies to accelerate the reduction of emissions.

Woolworths Group is setting a great example with its goal of sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewables by the end of 2025, largely through investment in renewable energy projects. This sends a strong signal to the wider market about clean energy transitions.

Similarly, Endeavour Energy is using AI to model and plan its transition to net zero. The company is optimising grid performance while identifying the most effective pathways to reduce emissions, and it’s all backed by customer data.

Salesforce’s Net Zero Cloud is helping utilities make this shift by giving businesses a unified view of all of their sustainability data. In addition to reducing financial and compliance risk, our platform opens new opportunities for revenue, investment and ESG impact, which will help all organisations do their part for net zero. Try it for free.

Australia’s energy transformation is complex, but it’s not a far-fetched goal. If utilities and businesses can coordinate efforts across infrastructure, regulation, customer engagement and technology, transforming our country’s energy sector is an achievable goal.

Along the way, digital solutions like AI, automation and real-time data will be key to overcoming core challenges. The right technologies will help providers move faster and deliver more reliable energy at scale, without introducing unnecessary risks.

Salesforce’s suite of tools is here to support the shift. We haven’t made our commitment to sustainability a secret over the last decade, and we’re dedicated to giving companies the solutions they need to make the transition to green energy faster and more affordable.

Read: Take a look at our ready-made solutions for Australia’s sustainability goals