Enerven is a leading high voltage service provider to government organisations, businesses and communities, delivering electrical infrastructure up to utility-scale with expertise and experience across all stages of an energy project, including engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Founded in South Australia, Enerven has played a significant role in the state’s ambition to reach 100 per cent net renewables by 2027 and helped deliver some of Australia’s largest battery energy storage systems as a leading high-voltage specialist working across the entire National Electricity Market.
Richard Amato, Chief Executive Officer at Enerven, told Green Review that Enerven had ongoing contracts with both South Australia’s and New South Wales’s transmission businesses, looking after their infrastructure 24/7.
Amato said: “We build it, we maintain it, and when there’s storms or when the state goes black – we’re the business out there that’s putting those towers and lines back up.
“More recently, we’ve been active in supporting the transition of two of New South Wales’s largest coal fired power stations into two of Australia’s largest battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Following its expansion into New South Wales, these two projects demonstrate Enerven’s end-to -end capability from design through procurement, civil and electrical construction, integration, and commissioning, all underpinned by strong safety, quality, and environmental practices.
At Eraring, Enerven is delivering the balance-of-plant works for a 460-megawatt/920-megawatt-hour battery, integrating renewable energy into the grid and providing critical support during peak demand periods, while at Liddell, Enerven is transforming the former coal-fired plant into a 500-megawatt renewable energy hub.
Core to Enerven’s success is its workforce, which can easily adapt and innovate to meet the evolving demands of the energy sector.
Amato said: “In this energy transition – where we build the big batteries and then connect them into the grid – we are really proud of the operations part of our business, where we’ve got 300 to 400 people working on the ground, behind the scenes to keep the state going.”
He explained Enerven’s team was often working in live environments, or in storms or other extreme conditions, with the urgent need to get the power back on, so having an experienced and safety-conscious workforce was fundamental.
Amato added: “When we promote our expertise in the energy transition and around batteries, solar, and renewable projects, we do that on the shoulders of our people doing all the operational contracts.
“They’re the real heroes when there’s a big storm, and you see our trucks in the street, but they’re out there every day doing things that don’t make the media.”
Looking ahead at how the energy transition was panning out, Amato noted that while South Australia was a world leader in the uptake of renewables, electricity prices were still too high.
He said: “If we measure success from the level of renewables in our network, on many days we’re 100 per cent renewable – that is world leading.
“But for the full benefit of the energy transition to be realised, people want power to be available, environmentally friendly, and affordable.”
Innovating operations with the use of drones
Enerven is pioneering the use of drones in the industry, advancing safety, efficiency and precision across Australia’s vast and varied landscapes with remote asset inspections, large-scale civil mapping, and support for renewable energy projects.
Amato described work Enerven had undertaken following the bushfires on Kangaroo Island in 2020, where it used drones to restring cable in areas that were inaccessible by flying over gullies and trees.
High-resolution inspections of transmission lines, substations, battery systems and wind farms are now performed quickly and safely, without the need for shutdowns or working at heights.
Amato continued: “Our drone capability has substantially expanded, and we use it right across our business now.
“We use drones to install cable that avoids environmental damage, so it avoids trucks having to go into farmers’ land and damage crops. It prevents disturbing wildlife, and it enables us to comprehensively inspect infrastructure that we maintain.”
Another example of this was Enerven’s installation of about 97 kilometres of fibre-optic cable for SA Power Networks, going from Adelaide undersea all the way to Kingscote on Kangaroo Island.
Enerven has also innovated its drone capability, offering an automated “drone-in-a-box” solution for greenfield construction sites that captures daily or weekly progress and integrates CAD overlays to track development from start to finish.
In more challenging environments, Enerven’s heavy lift drones can transport equipment and perform line stringing – dramatically reducing manual labour and improving safety.
Amato said: “Our drone program is a great example of how we bring innovation to life.
“It’s not just about having the technology – it’s about using it in a way that creates value for our clients and the communities we serve.
“We’re designing and building for the future – whether it’s renewable energy, telecommunications or grid upgrades, we’re focused on delivering infrastructure that’s smarter, faster, and built to last.”
