Seeing the Power System in Practice at API Summer School
There is a significant difference between understanding an emerging technology on paper and standing beside it while industry experts explain how it operates within a real electricity network.
That is why site tours are an important part of the API Summer School experience.
They give participants the opportunity to step outside the classroom, see power infrastructure firsthand and connect the strategic and technical discussions taking place throughout Summer School with the realities of delivering and operating Australia's changing power system.
In 2026, that included an afternoon exploring Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with the Ergon Energy Network team at two very different sites in Queensland.
From utility-scale batteries to the low-voltage network
Summer School delegates visited the Morayfield BESS to explore high-voltage battery deployment in a real-world environment.
Participants gained insights into HV connection and feeder support, how battery systems respond to network events, and the internal architecture of utility-scale BESS. This included seeing and discussing components such as inverters, cooling systems and battery modules.
The experience was then complemented by a visit to the Caboolture Ground Mount BESS, where the focus shifted to the low-voltage network.
Here, discussions explored LV deployment considerations, network constraints, voltage management and the growing role of distributed energy resource integration within the energy transition.
Together, the two visits gave delegates an opportunity to consider battery storage from different perspectives and at different points within the electricity network.
More importantly, they could ask questions directly of the people working with these technologies and better understand the practical considerations that sit behind their deployment.
Connecting strategy with what happens on the ground
Battery storage is increasingly part of conversations about the future power system, but seeing BESS operating within the network provides a different kind of understanding.
For professionals whose day-to-day work may be concentrated in one discipline or part of the electricity supply chain, site visits provide valuable exposure to infrastructure and operational challenges outside their immediate role.
A participant may understand network planning but have limited exposure to the physical components of a battery system. Another may work closely with high-voltage infrastructure but have less familiarity with the challenges emerging on the low-voltage network as distributed energy resources increase.
Site tours help make those connections.
They provide an opportunity to see how the technical, operational and strategic pieces discussed throughout Summer School translate into physical assets and real network environments.
Why does this matter for future leaders?
As professionals move into positions of greater responsibility, they are increasingly required to make decisions that extend beyond their original area of technical expertise.
Leaders may need to assess investment priorities, understand project and operational risks, work across different technical disciplines or communicate decisions to executives, boards, regulators, customers and other stakeholders.
They do not need to become the technical expert in every part of the power system.
They do, however, benefit from understanding how different parts of that system interact and from knowing the right questions to ask.
Experiences such as the Morayfield and Caboolture visits help build that broader perspective. Participants can connect concepts such as network constraints, voltage management, feeder support and DER integration with the infrastructure and operational environments where those challenges actually occur.
That context becomes increasingly valuable as their careers progress.
Learning from the industry itself
There is another important element to Summer School site tours: access to people.
Delegates are hosted by professionals who can explain not only what they are looking at, but how it fits within their organisation and the wider power system.
In 2026, Summer School alumnus Stephen Richardson and the Ergon Energy Network team shared their knowledge with delegates throughout the BESS visits, creating an opportunity for technical discussion, questions and peer-to-peer learning in the field.
It is this combination of classroom learning, industry insight and practical exposure that makes site tours such a valuable component of Summer School.
For emerging professionals, they broaden the understanding of the industry they are building a career within.
For organisations investing in their future leaders, they help develop people who can look beyond their own role and better understand the interconnected system their decisions ultimately influence.
Sometimes, understanding the bigger picture means getting out of the classroom and seeing it for yourself
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