An ambitious project to map the exact electricity needs of Canberra in 2045, suburb by suburb and half-hour by half-hour, is to be done at the Australian National University.
The ACT government aims to be "net zero" by 2045 which means transport, including cars, heating systems and industry would need to be - if it's achieved - powered by non-carbon sources.
At the moment, the ACT's electricity all comes from green sources but that doesn't include for the wider categories, particularly petrol and diesel-powered cars.
Under the ANU project, the researchers from the engineering department will assess exactly where, for example, batteries will exist in the ACT, whether they be batteries to power cars or homes. Storage for hot water will also be assessed.
They will assess where batteries will move around the city in cars during the day.
The ANU researchers will work out with computer models the demand for electricity and the ways it could be supplied without burning carbon.
"Canberra is a national leader in the renewable energy transition. Things are happening much faster here than the rest of Australia," said Bin Lu, who is leading the study.
"Our target - net zero by 2045 - is five years ahead of the national target, so there's a real opportunity for the rest of the states and territories to learn from the ACT's experience."
He and his team will come up with detailed modelling for the electrification of ACT suburbs. It will help planners assess how the grid needs to be re-engineered.
"We will also need energy storage to support this transition," Dr Lu said.
"We'll be working on data that shows how distributed energy storage resources - things like electric car batteries, neighbourhood batteries and hot water storage - can play a big role."
The research will provide valuable insights into "the challenges, barriers and opportunities in transitioning to net-zero emissions by 2045", researchers said.
