The collaboration revolution: How Alliancing and IPD can accelerate grid delivery

Electricity transmission projects are now facing structural challenges that conventional delivery models cannot manage. Global demand for critical components like transformers and high-voltage equipment has outpaced supply, with lead times stretching into years. Even with manufacturers operating at full capacity, they barely meet goals, making just-in-time procurement strategies unsustainable. Project teams must now secure manufacturing slots well before final approvals are granted.

Permitting and stakeholder engagement remain essential steps for any transmission project. Environmental assessments, heritage reviews and regulatory approvals still follow a series of processes, often across multiple agencies and jurisdictions. These tasks cannot be eliminated, but collaborative delivery models can integrate them more effectively. By embedding iterative approvals and early engagement into the delivery framework, Alliancing and IPD reduce friction and keep momentum, even when cross-border regulations add complexity.

Community and environmental concerns demand trust more than compliance. Collaborative models create space for co-design and benefit-sharing from the outset, rather than treating engagement as an afterthought. This approach helps address cultural sensitivities and environmental risks while maintaining schedule discipline. It does not remove the need for rigorous assessment; it makes those steps part of a shared plan that moves forward together.

Meanwhile, energy demand surges. Electrification is accelerating across transport, industry and buildings. The scale of new data centres is now measured in power demand, rising into gigawatts.  Transmission networks must expand capacity to meet these new loads while connecting renewable energy sources and supporting emerging fuel pathways such as hydrogen, green ammonia and sustainable aviation fuel. According to the International Energy Agency, global investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure must increase from USD 260 billion to USD 820 billion by 2030.

Traditional delivery models — Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Design and Construct (D&C) and Design then Construct (D-then-C) — struggle to absorb pressure on schedule. These models typically separate design and construction phases, limit early collaboration and assign risk unevenly. When unforeseen issues arise, delays and cost overruns follow. Misaligned incentives and siloed contracts further reduce efficiency and slow decision-making. As a result, the infrastructure required to deliver clean energy remains inaccessible.

The Kwinana Battery Energy Storage System Stage 2 (KBESS2) demonstrates what changes when all parties commit to a different approach. Delivered in response to the Western Australian Government's plan to retire coal-fired power stations by 2030, the project used an Integrated Project Management Team (IPMT) structure that brought Synergy and our team together across technical and management disciplines.

Construction began just three months after the final investment decision. The build phase was completed in 13 months, with commissioning taking another four months and the first power transferred to the grid shortly after. This structure broke down traditional boundaries and enabled collaborative governance. Reporting was transparent. Risk was shared. The project met its tight schedule while maintaining financial stability and technical performance. It also established new organisational standards  , including the Major Project Delivery Standard, now used in the Collie Battery Energy Storage System project.

In Canada, the Convertus York Biofuel Facility will become the largest biofuels project in the country. Delivered through IPD with Convertus, Bird Construction and our team, the CAD 490 million initiative will process organic waste into renewable natural gas and fertiliser, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 15,000 tonnes annually. The facility includes solar-ready infrastructure, stormwater capture and reuse, advanced odour control using photoionisation and biogas injection into the natural gas grid. Digestate will be treated and used as fertiliser.

We led the permitting process and are delivering the balance of plant design. All partners jointly manage scope, schedule, budget and risk. The collaborative model has improved outcomes across delivery and team performance, enabling lean and agile execution. The facility is expected to begin operations in early 2027.

These timelines — three months to construction start, 13-month builds, early commissioning — don't happen by accident. They happen because of how these projects are structured from day one.

Alliancing is one collaborative delivery model that directly addresses the limitations of traditional approaches. It brings together owners, designers, contractors and suppliers under a single contract, where all parties share risk and reward and work towards a jointly developed target cost. All project participants commit to a "no blame, no disputes" philosophy: a cultural and contractual stance that redirects energy from litigation risk toward problem-solving.

Key characteristics of Alliancing include:

• All parties work under joint governance structures that reduce conflict and improve coordination, directly countering the siloed contracts and slow decision-making in EPC models.
• Financial outcomes are shared through pain/gain arrangements, solving the misaligned incentives and risk allocation that lead to finger-pointing when issues arise.
• Open-book transparency supports trust and accountability, addressing the opacity that causes cost overruns and erodes confidence between parties.
• Integrated planning begins from the outset, enabling faster decisions and more accurate forecasting.
• Early stakeholder engagement prevents opposition from derailing projects later.

IPD offers similar benefits. It promotes early involvement, collaborative problem-solving and flexible execution. Both models are designed to support complex infrastructure projects where adaptability and stakeholder alignment are essential.

Compared to EPC, Alliancing and IPD can fast-track schedules and improve cost certainty. They are particularly effective in transmission projects, where schedule is a key driver, with clients and stakeholders requiring a more integrated and responsive approach to project delivery.

Without modern transmission infrastructure, clean energy will remain inaccessible. Permitting delays and logistical issues will continue to undermine progress. Stakeholder opposition will persist regardless of approach, but models that build engagement and collaboration in from the start stand a far better chance of success.

Collaborative frameworks like Alliancing and IPD offer a practical solution because they compress timelines, improve stakeholder alignment, allocate risk appropriately and create more resilient outcomes. As governments and industries intensify their net-zero commitments, these models are becoming essential tools for infrastructure delivery.

To accelerate transmission reform and support the clean energy transition, we recommend: 

• Streamlining permitting by engaging regulators early and harmonising approval pathways 
• Securing supply chains through long-term procurement strategies that reserve manufacturing capacity ahead of project approvals 
• Engaging stakeholders proactively to build trust and accelerate project execution 
• Actively assessing project risks and drivers to inform the most appropriate project delivery model – this may mean adopting collaborative project delivery models such as Alliancing and IPD, rather than defaulting to EPC

Electricity transmission is a critical enabler of net-zero. Collaborative delivery is now a proven strategy that is already delivering results.