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• Phasing out coal-fired power is inevitable, but a deeply complex process from a social-institutional standpoint. • The nature of the coal-fired power transition is comparable to the automotive industry closures observed in Australia's recent industrial past. • This paper draws on just transitions and the transition management analytical frameworks. • Four key insights offer pointers for policymakers to support the transition away from coal-fired power in Australia and globally. Nearly three-quarters of Australia's electricity generation is coal-dependent with fossil fuel-led electricity contributing to over a third of Australia's CO 2 emissions. Climate change imperatives are calling for permanent shifts to these patterns, leading to early closure announcements of several coal-fired power plants across the country. Although the pace and scale of the energy transition are unprecedented, the closure of large-scale industries is not uncommon. The most recent closure in Australia's industrial past that remains vivid in the nation's collective memory was the end of nearly 70 years of automotive manufacturing. Drawing on expert consultations, and applying just transitions and transition management thinking, this paper identifies four key insights from the auto sector closure experience. These offer compelling pointers to guide socio-economic transformations in frontline regions that are likely to face challenging, often deeply personal, impacts resulting from the closure of coal-fired power stations over the coming decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to provide investors' views on financing costs and barriers to entry into the electricity generation sector, with a focus on investors' views on potential impacts on cost of capital from adopting nodal pricing and financial transmission rights (FTRs). The implications for policymakers and policy reforms are also discussed in detail. Design/methodology/approach: Survey-based data collection of investors and developers in electricity generation, consisting of multiple choice questions from a closed list of discrete choices, binary-choice questions, and questions with free-text/open-ended answers. Findings: Across survey respondents, weighted-average cost of capital (WACCs) were broadly unchanged over 2019, with increases for undiversified/non-integrated participants offset by decreases for horizontally integrated participants. Cost of equity has risen, whereas cost of debt has fallen. Nodal pricing-cum-FTRs were estimated to increase WACCs by 150–200 basis points p.a. (15–20%), reflecting concerns around the firmness of FTRs and ability to automatically access intraregional settlement residues. Research limitations/implications: These findings have energy policy implications, namely, the need to consider the interaction between economic theory and real-world financing models when designing and implementing fundamental energy sector reforms. Practical implications: The need to consider implementation and transitional issues (e.g. grandfathering of existing rights, focusing on reducing the largest barriers to entry) is associated with implementing nodal pricing. Originality/value: Unique set of survey questions and insights that have not previously been addressed in an Australian context; what-if analysis not previously done in an Australian context [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel peak load management scheme for rural areas. The scheme transfers certain customers onto local nonembedded generators during peak load periods to alleviate network under voltage problems. This paper develops and presents this system by way of a case study in Central Queensland, Australia. A methodology is presented for determining the best location for the nonembedded generators as well as the number of generators required to alleviate network problems. A control algorithm to transfer and reconnect customers is developed to ensure that the network voltage profile remains within specification under all plausible load conditions. Finally, simulations are presented to show the performance of the system over a typical maximum daily load profile with large stochastic load variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging complex circumstances caused by economy, technology, and government policy and the requirement of low-carbon development of power grid lead to many challenges in the power system coordination and operation. However, the real-time scheduling of electricity generation needs accurate modeling of electricity demand forecasting for a range of lead times. In order to better capture the nonlinear and non-stationary characteristics and the seasonal cycles of future electricity demand data, a new concept of the integrated model is developed and successfully applied to research the forecast of electricity demand in this paper. The proposed model combines adaptive Fourier decomposition method, a new signal preprocessing technology, for extracting useful element from the original electricity demand series through filtering the noise factors. Considering the seasonal term existing in the decomposed series, it should be eliminated through the seasonal adjustment method, in which the seasonal indexes are calculated and should multiply the forecasts back to restore the final forecast. Besides, a newly proposed moth-flame optimization algorithm is used to ensure the suitable parameters of the least square support vector machine which can generate the forecasts. Finally, the case studies of Australia demonstrated the efficacy and feasibility of the proposed integrated model. Simultaneously, it can provide a better concept of modeling for electricity demand prediction over different forecasting horizons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes very short-term wind prediction for power generation, utilizing a case study from Tasmania, Australia. Windpower presently is the fastest growing power generation sector in the world. However, windpower is intermittent. To be able to trade efficiently, make the best use of transmission line capability, and address concerns with system frequency in a re-regulated system, accurate very short-term forecasts are essential. The research introduces a novel approach—the application of an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system to forecasting a wind time series. Over the very short-term forecast interval, both windspeed and wind direction are important parameters. To be able to be gain the most from a forecast on this time scale, the turbines must be directed toward on oncoming wind. For this reason, this paper forecasts wind vectors, rather than windspeed or power output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential role for fuel substitution in electricity production in reducing carbon dioxide emissions over a ten-year time horizon. This is achieved by adding fuel substitution to output changes resulting from demand responses arising from a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. A time profile of adjustments is developed. The tax required for Australia to meet a 20 per cent reduction in emissions from 1993 levels is calculated and effects on inequality and social welfare are examined. The paper also examines the potential effect of a subsidy towards the use of low- emission fuels, financed from the carbon tax. A subsidy produces an improvement in emissions abatement and a lower tax required to reach the emissions target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The energy and cost benefits of dynamic PV-integrated shading devices are assessed. • Both energy efficiency and on-site energy generation benefits are considered. • Optimal design and operation of PV-integrated shading systems are determined. • PV-integrated overhangs can allow office spaces to achieve net zero energy operation. • For Australian office buildings, PV-integrated shading systems are highly cost-effective. The paper summarizes a comprehensive analysis to determine the energy and cost benefits of static and dynamic photovoltaic (PV)-integrated shading devices when applied to windows of office spaces located in different climate zones across Australia. The evaluated dynamic shading systems consist of rotating overhangs placed above the windows and operated to minimize the annual energy demands of office spaces. For the first time, the study determines through optimization-based controls the best angle settings for the rotating overhangs on hourly, daily, or monthly basis to minimize the energy consumption of office spaces in Australia. The analysis results indicate that both optimally designed static and optimally operated dynamic PV-integrated overhangs have substantial potential to reduce the annual energy needs of office spaces for all Australian climates with annual energy savings ranging from 45% to over 100% depending on the building orientation, window size, glazing type, and overhang depth. This high energy benefits are attributed to the multi-function capability of the PV-integrated shading systems to minimize cooling and space thermal loads while maximizing on-site electricity generation. Unlike the case of static shading devices, it is found that dynamic PV-integrated overhangs allow office spaces to reach net-zero energy operation for certain climate zones in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several measures of volatility have been developed in order to quantify the degree of uncertainty of an energy price series, which include historical volatility and price velocities, among others. This paper suggests using the permutation entropy, topological entropy and the modified permutation entropy as alternatives to measure volatility in energy markets. Simulated data show that these measures are more appropriate to quantify the uncertainty associated to a time series than those based on the standard deviation or other measures of dispersion. Finally, the proposed method is applied to some typical electricity markets: Nord Pool, Ontario, Omel and four Australian markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) with a focus on its design and implementation features that benefit an increasing level of wind generation. The NEM design is discussed both in terms the ability of the system operator to manage threats to the security of the power system that an increasing level of wind integration may pose through the use of market-based frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) as well as the extent to which the commercial decision-making processes are suitable for participation of wind farm operators in the electricity market. In this way, the features of the NEM that facilitate wind integration are identified along with aspects of the market design that could be refined. This allows for comparisons to be made to other electricity market designs in terms of their ability to support an increasing level of wind integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main focus of this paper is to select an economically suitable sustainable standalone power supply system for a remote off-grid town in Western Australia. Existing power systems of such remote towns in Australia have adverse environmental impacts and contribute to global warming due to the utilization of fossil fuels, especially diesel and gas. The possible electricity supply systems for such towns can vary from a diesel/gas generator towards a hybrid system composed of a generator, wind turbine, photovoltaic system, and battery energy storage. In order to limit the cost of the system and to propose the most economically feasible solution, various combinations of supply systems are considered. These systems are analyzed in this paper by the help of HOMER software to determine the optimal architecture and the control strategy of the supply system. This study has used real demand data of the town, as well as the prices of different electrical components in the Australian market. The scenario which yields the minimum cost of energy is defined and suggested. Also, a decision-making based technique is proposed to help the local electricity utility in finding the suitable solution in the case of budget limits on the investment and annual operation and maintenance. Another aim of this analysis is to investigate and illustrate the impact of a small annual load growth on the size of the selected components for the selected power system, as well as the total net present cost and the cost of electricity. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to analyze the impact of uncertainties of some of the parameters in the outcome of the study to obtain the optimized cost of the selected system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combustion power plants emit carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a major contributor to climate change. Direct emissions measurement is cost-prohibitive globally, while reporting varies in detail, latency, and granularity. To fill this gap and greatly increase the number of power plants worldwide with independent emissions monitoring, we developed and applied machine learning (ML) models using power plant water vapor plumes as proxy signals to estimate electric power generation and CO2 emissions using Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and PlanetScope imagery. Our ML models estimated power plant activity on each image snapshot, then an aggregation model predicted plant utilization over a 30-day period. Lastly, emission factors specific to region, fuel, and plant technology were used to convert the estimated electricity generation into CO2 emissions. Models were trained with reported hourly electricity generation data in the US, Europe, and Australia and were validated with additional generation and emissions data from the US, Europe, Australia, Türkiye, and India. All results with sufficiently large sample sizes indicate that our models outperformed the baseline approaches. In validating our model results against available generation and emissions reported data, we calculated the root mean square error as 1.75 TWh (236 plants across 17 countries over 4 years) and 2.18 Mt CO2 (207 plants across 17 countries over 4 years), respectively. Ultimately, we applied our ML method to plants that constitute 32% of global power plant CO2 emissions, as estimated by Climate TRACE, averaged over the period 2015–2022. This dataset is the most comprehensive independent and free-of-cost global power plant point-source emissions monitoring system currently known to the authors and is made freely available to the public to support global emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we propose a market mechanism for regulated exit of highly emissions intensive power stations from the electricity grid. The starting point is that there is surplus capacity in coal fired power generation in Australia. In the absence of a carbon price signal, black coal generation capacity may leave the market instead of high emitting brown coal power stations. We lay out options for a mechanism of regulated power station closure using a market mechanism. Plants bid competitively over the payment they require for closure, the regulator chooses the most cost effective bid, and payment for closure is made by the remaining power stations in proportion to their carbon dioxide emissions. This could overcome adverse incentive effects for plants to stay in operation in anticipation of payment for closure and solve the political difficulties and problems of information asymmetry that plague government payments for closure and direct regulation for exit. We explore the issues theoretically and provide empirical illustrations. These suggest that closure of a brown coal fired power station in Australia could yield emissions savings at costs that are lower than the social benefits. The analysis in this paper is applicable to other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the possibilities for interfuel substitution in Australia in view of the need to shift towards a cleaner mix of fuels and technologies to meet future energy demand and environmental goals. The translog cost function is estimated for the aggregate economy, the manufacturing sector and its subsectors, and the electricity generation subsector. The advantages of this work over previous literature relating to the Australian case are that it uses relatively recent data, focuses on energy-intensive subsectors and estimates the Morishima elasticities of substitution. The empirical evidence shown herein indicates weak-form substitutability between different energy types, and higher possibilities for substitution at lower levels of aggregation, compared with the aggregate economy. For the electricity generation subsector, which is at the centre of the CO2 emissions problem in Australia, significant but weak substitutability exists between coal and gas when the price of coal changes. A higher substitution possibility exists between coal and oil in this subsector. The evidence for the own- and cross-price elasticities, together with the results for fuel efficiencies, indicates that a large increase in relative prices could be justified to further stimulate the market for low-emission technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Nowadays renewable sources are being used as clean sources to generate electricity and to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels. The uses of renewable sources are being increased in electricity generation and contributed to reduce the greenhouse gas emission. The function of any electrical power system is to connect everyone sufficiently, clean electric power anywhere and anytime of the country. This can be achieved through a modern power system by integrating electrical energy from clean renewable sources into the nation''s electric grid to enhance reliability, efficiency and security of the power system. The paper on the status of review the driving force of the generation of renewable energy and proposing electrical energy generation from renewable sources to be ensured at least 20% of total energy of Australia. This paper has been studied the existing electricity generation capacity of Australia from renewable and non-renewable sources. Optimal electricity generation from renewable sources has been examined. The environmental impact of electricity generation from renewable sources has been considered. Under this paper the yearly average wind data of past 20 years and above for some meteorological stations of Australia have been used. The prospective electricity generation from wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels has been proposed in the paper that will increase electrical energy of the power grid of Australia. It was estimated the capital cost of prospective electricity generation farms from wind and solar PV sources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Wave energy is increasingly being seen as an alternative source of low-emissions power particularly for Australia, as Australia has abundant wave resources. This paper, using the performance characteristics of wave energy converters (WEC), resource measurements along Australia''s southern coastline and global resource estimates, models projections of the future uptake of wave energy globally and in Australia. Globally, wave farms are projected to be installed up to a presumed maximum limit of 500 GW. In Australia there is more variability in the amount of wave farms installed, with differences across the different WEC. The outcome globally and in Australia depends on variations in the average power generated by the WEC and the carbon price path. In Australia, the majority of projected WEC installations are in the state of Victoria, which has relatively high demand and currently highly-emissions intensive sources of generation compared to states with better wave resources. When a dispatchable, or continuous power ability is added to wave energy''s output the uptake of wave energy increases in Australia, in those states with the best resources. When the amount of wave energy extractable in any region is increased or decreased it has a large effect on output in Victoria in particular, which generates power from wave energy up to 30% of the total extractable resource under the dispatchable power scenario. Wave energy has the potential to make a significant contribution to electricity generation globally and in Australia. This paper is part two of a series of papers, the first being . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Despite possessing a very large potential of renewable energy sources, Australia has lagged behind other developed countries in embracing renewable energy. Various programs and policies have been devised and implemented by Australian governments. Nevertheless, the proportion of renewable energy in electricity generation in Australia has not increased significantly. This paper seeks to explain why Australia has difficulties in adopting renewable energy by using the Political Aspect of Innovation (PAI) framework to examine the causes and barriers that have blocked the taking up of renewable energy. The PAI framework is concerned specifically with public innovation policy in Australia and the way it aims to encourage and support investment in new technology development. The paper finally outlines some future suggestions for charting the progression of the Australian energy system toward a transformative sustainable future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Australia has to meet the challenges of End-of-Life treatment of photovoltaic modules in coming years due to rapid growth of photovoltaic capacity during the last decades. This paper contributes towards the sustainable management of decommissioned solar panels through the estimation of PV waste flow between the years 2031–2047 based on the actual installation of the PV modules from 2001 to 2018, and the provision of a forecasting model applying on four major scenarios to project the waste generated from 2048–2060. Assuming three forecasting schemes, and consistent annual-growth-rate of PV installation for each scenario, the future PV waste was quantified. Considering the PV installation from 2001 to 2018, the cumulative waste is estimated to be 0.8 million tonnes until 2047. The mainstream of the waste is estimated to be glass and aluminium with 541,209 and 116,483 tonnes respectively, followed by 8375 tonnes of copper and 71,329 tonnes of steel. The PV waste includes various valuable substances which, if appropriately recycled, can bring significant economic benefit. With regards to all PV penetration scenarios in the electricity generation market until 2030, Australia is estimated to face around 1–8 million tonnes of decommissioned PV until 2060. The recovery of the EoL PV raw materials can lead to value creation of nearly 1.2 billion dollars. These findings can shed light on the possibility of a circular economy and suggest an active contribution of all parties and a very well-planned coordinated approach prevent the potential environmental impacts and maximize resource efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since the global warming and climate change are recognized as real concerns, attention of power system planners and operators, energy policy makers and regulators as well as developers around the world including Australia is focused on using alternative and low emission energy technologies for electric power production. Renewable energy and energy efficient technologies have many advantages including reducing climate change, increasing sustainability in power sector, and increasing security of power supply. This paper presents an overview on both current electricity grid and future grid. Experts believe that in future more distributed generation (DG) will be integrated into the low to medium electricity grid. This paper will also review the key drivers in relation to integration of increased DG technologies in general and the renewable energy-distributed generation (RE-DG) technologies in particular, into the electric power system and the opportunities and challenges linked to these technologies. This paper also reviews possible connection location of RE-DG into the grid and its impact on system voltage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper briefly outlines the development of water hydraulic power systems and devices during the 19th century, and then describes a range of extant system elements from Australia and New Zealand. The significance of this early motive power technology is underlined by the many end-use applications that evolved, and further work in identifying, recording and, where practicable, conserving extant remnants is advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia is dependent on fossil fuel and exports significant quantities of coal and gas. Additionally, it has major uranium reserves and is the world's second largest exporter. It has one research reactor but no nuclear power electricity generation. Until 2007, Australia declined to endorse the Kyoto Protocol but has volunteered to limit the growth of CO2 emissions. This paper considers the greenhouse debate and nuclear energy. It concludes that whether the cause of global warming is the use of fossil fuel or solar activity, the remedy is the same. Reducing CO2 in the atmosphere will allow more heat to escape to space. Reducing the use of fossil fuel will reduce atmospheric CO2. For environmental, economic and global reasons the more populated Australian states should now consider the use of nuclear powered electricity generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the least-cost greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement pathway for a coupled energy system. We consider the roles of diverse abatement technologies, such as renewable electricity generation, biomass and carbon capture and storage (CCS), as well as sources of operational flexibility, such as peaking generators, electricity storage, transmission and electrolysis. Scenario and sensitivity analyses are applied to explore plausible pathways to energy system decarbonization. All modelled pathways to a zero-emissions energy system feature an accelerating transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy with diverse technologies playing a role. This includes variable renewable generators (VRG), CCS, and sources of operational flexibility on different timescales. Specifically, synchronous condensers appear to be a cost-effective option to control system frequency, inter-seasonal hydrogen storage in engineered caverns can play a significant and complementary role to that of pumped hydro and battery storage, and technologies that capture and sequester atmospheric carbon, including biomass-to-CCS and direct air capture (DAC), can also play a significant role in the transition to net-zero emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]