Powering Australia’s solar and wind build-out

Omnetric supplies the electrical distribution scope of a solar plant: inverter duty transformers stepping inverter output to 33 kV collection voltage, grid connection transformers up to transmission level, central and string inverters, HT and LT switchgear, DC, AC, HT and control cabling, string combiner boxes, earthing and lightning protection, and SCADA, optical fibre and metering for the main control room. Omnetric is a supplier rather than a manufacturer, sourcing proven equipment and matching it to each project's requirements.

An inverter duty transformer, or IDT, steps the AC output of a solar plant's inverters up to collection voltage — usually 33 kV in Australia — so power can be carried across the site and on to the connection point with lower losses. Because it sits directly downstream of the inverters, it has to tolerate harmonic content and the daily thermal cycling that inverter-fed generation imposes, which is what separates it from a standard distribution transformer.

Utility-scale solar and wind farms in Australia typically connect at 132 kV, 220/275 kV or 330 kV, depending on the region and the network service provider's requirements. Impedance, tap range, cooling capacity and fault strength for the connection transformer are set by the connection agreement and AEMO's National Electricity Rules, and units must be built to AS 60076.

Wind farms transform in stages — turbine-level units feed a medium-voltage collection network, which a central substation transformer lifts to transmission voltage. Omnetric supplies the collection and connection scope around that: transformers, HT switchgear, collection and control cabling, earthing and lightning protection, and SCADA and metering equipment. Australian sites are often remote and far from load centres, so ambient temperature and weak-grid conditions drive the specification.

SCADA gives remote monitoring and control of the plant, including curtailing generation to a set percentage of output when the network operator requires it. Equipment across the site reports over optical fibre cable back to the main control room, where faults such as an inverter trip are raised for maintenance engineers to troubleshoot. The control room also carries the monitoring units and battery backup that keep it running through a supply interruption.

Transformers Omnetric supplies are built to AS 60076, the Australian standard for power transformers, with IEC equivalents where applicable. All units are specified for Australian ambient, environmental and network conditions, including sites where ambient temperature exceeds 40 °C.

A dry type transformer uses air rather than insulating oil, so it carries no oil fire load and needs no spill containment. That makes it the standard choice for indoor substations, high-rise buildings and data centres. Oil-filled units such as fin wall transformers offer higher power density and lower cost for outdoor and industrial installations.

A kiosk substation is a factory-assembled package combining HV switchgear, a distribution transformer and LV distribution in a single transportable enclosure. Because it is built and tested in the factory, it cuts on-site civil works and commissioning time — which is why it suits brownfield sites, subdivisions and remote operations.

Omnetric operates across Australia from offices in Sydney, New South Wales and Adelaide, South Australia, serving solar, wind and storage developers alongside utility, data centre, EV infrastructure, industrial and mining clients nationally.

You can talk to Michael, Omnetric's AI intake agent, at any time. Michael captures your project requirements — voltage, capacity, site constraints, timeline and compliance needs — and routes them to the right engineer. Start at https://service.autoproc.ai/book/omnetric?service=ai_intake.