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Purpose: This paper aims to comprehensively analyse the sustainability reporting practices of Australian electricity retailers in comparison with global sustainability reporting indicators outlined in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the GRI G4 sector-specific guidelines, the paper investigated Australian electricity retailers' reporting in three broad areas of sustainability, namely, economic, environmental and social. The 2018/2019 annual reports along with websites, corporate social responsibility reports and standalone sustainability reports of the major electricity retailers listed on the Australian Energy Regulator were analysed and coded using a content-based technique. Findings: The findings inform that electricity retailers' disclosures are substantially varied between and within the three categories of sustainability reporting, and the majority of the retailers have failed to address over two-third of the GRI indicators. This study also shows that positive information is the dominant form of the disclosures, and reporting with declarative information without providing any quantifiable data is a common practice of the retailers who fail to address an indicator that requires information in numerical terms. Originality/value: Electric utilities provide essential services to society and have a significant influence on sustainable development. This study contributes to the social disclosure literature, in particular in a developed countries energy sector context, and captures insights about the sustainability reporting and accountability behaviour of the major electricity retailers operating in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrical infrastructure is one of the major causes of bushfire in Australia alongside arson and lightning strikes. The two main causes of electrical-infrastructure-initiated fires are asset failure and powerline vegetation interactions. In this paper, we focus on powerline–vegetation interactions that are caused by vegetation falling onto or blowing onto electrical infrastructure. Currently, there is very limited understanding of both the spatio-temporal variability of these events and their causative factors. Bridging this knowledge gap provides an opportunity for electricity utility companies to optimally allocate vegetation management resources and to understand the risk profile presented by vegetation fall-in initiated fires, thereby improving both operational planning and strategic resource allocation. To bridge this knowledge gap, we developed a statistical rare-event modelling and simulation framework based on Endeavour Energy's fire start and incident records from the last 10 years. The modelling framework consists of nested, rare-event-corrected, conditional probability models for vegetation events and consequent ignition events that provide an overall model for vegetation-initiated ignitions. Model performance was tested on an out-of-time test set to determine the predictive utility of the models. Predictive performance was reasonable with test set AUC values of 0.79 and 0.66 for the vegetation event and ignition event models, respectively. The modelling indicates that wind speed and vegetation features are strongly associated with vegetation events, and that Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) and soil type are strongly associated with ignition events. The framework can be used by energy utilities to optimize resource allocation and prepare future networks for climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on the notion of energopower (Boyer 2014) to show the foundational role of electricity in the (re)production of political power in Australia. I show how conflicts surrounding electricity have reconstituted state-market-society relations and rescaled governance. I study a series of notable national-scale interventions and argue that, through the contingent and chaotic play of events in the political sphere, market-oriented governance regimes for electricity have been weakened, and the issue of electricity decarbonisation has become 'weaponised' for electoral benefit. I explain how national political leadership in Australia has stepped in from a constitutionally-weak position to govern electricity under pressure for environmentally-driven adaptation. I show four statecraft techniques that reconstitute electricity in new ways: discursively linking electricity governance to socio-environmental futures; national interest framings that are weaponized for electoral gain; tactical governance through parliamentary compromise and appeasement; and jettisoning market logics in favour of state intervention. This study recognises the limits of centralized state-making under a Federalist system but shows the potential for statecraft to reshape scalar-territorial relations and strengthen the role of the central state vis-à-vis the market. Vital resources like electricity are not just struggled over but, under the right conditions, can come to shape political power. There is neither infinite potential for state rescaling through the performance of legitimacy, nor do rigid scalar hierarchies simply block reconfigurations of state power. To understand the potential for resource struggles to re-scale state power attention must be paid to the techniques of statecraft that support and undermine legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we review studies to understand how much households change their electricity consumption when there is a price change. Many studies find residential households have long‐term and short‐run elasticities behaving as economic theory would suggest. Long‐run elasticities range from −0.75 to −0.3, and short‐run elasticities range from −0.47 to −0.026. Household responsiveness seems to increase when paired with technology. The major gaps in research from the empirical economic literature are how low‐income and vulnerable Australian households could be affected by price changes and how Australians respond to within‐day variation in prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronous generators are operating for less time than before or being decommissioned in the National Electricity Market (NEM) of Australia, due to the proliferation of asynchronous wind and solar generation. Sub-networks of the NEM will face inertia shortages in the near future. This paper develops a formulation of zonal inertia constrained generator dispatch for power systems with a diversified generator portfolio including synchronous generators, synchronous condensers, inverter-interfaced generators and energy storages. Zonal inertia constraints are formulated in unit commitment and optimal power flow to limit the rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) in the event of network separation. Load frequency relief is also considered to reduce the ramp rate requirement of primary reserve. The proposed formulation can reduce the average cost of primary reserve and maintain zonal inertia adequacy to constrain RoCoF in case of the trip of the interconnector(s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to explain the relationship between high frequency electricity demand, intra-day temperature variation and time. Using the Generalised Additive Model (GAM) framework we link high frequency (5-minute) aggregate electricity demand in Australia to the time of the day, time of the year and intra-day temperature. We document a strong relationship between high frequency electricity demand and intra-day temperature. We show a superior model fit when using Daylight Saving Time (DST), or clock time, instead of the standard (solar) time. We introduce the time weighted temperature model that captures instantaneous electricity demand sensitivity to temperature as a function of the human daily activity cycle, by assigning different temperature signal weighting based on the DST time. The results on DST and time weighted temperature modelling are novel in the literature and are important innovations in high frequency electricity demand forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The untapped potential of offshore wind is vast, and will be critical in the global transition to renewable energy and carbon neutrality. Although Australia's waters are home to enough wind energy to cover its entire electricity needs, the lack of a regulatory framework has prevented the establishment of an offshore wind industry. However, with the passage of the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 , there are now significant opportunities for the offshore generation of renewable energy, as well as the transmission of electricity within—and beyond—Australian waters. Framed by consideration of the global and regional context, this paper provides a meaningful perspective on the potential for offshore wind energy in Australia, outlines the new regulatory framework which will enable it to be realised, and highlights key points of contact with contemporary issues of ocean law and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission trading is widely considered to be the most effective policy to minimize the overall costs for CO2 abatement. However, the political feasibility of an emission trading scheme may crucially depend on the free initial allocation of emission permits to carbon-intensive industries in order to offset the reduction in profits.This paper aims to analyze these potential profit impacts and the possible compensation to affected generation compaflies through modeling the Australian National Electricity Market under a potential emission trading scheme. Historical emissionbased and historical generation-based allocation approaches are used in this paper to calculate and compare the percentages of carbon permits that should be freely allocated. Two carbon permit price scenarios are -used to analyze the sensitivity of the optimal percentage of free allocation to carbon permit price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multilevel perspective (MLP) has emerged as an influential framework for analyzing sustainable transitions. Whilst the MLP has recently incorporated valuable geographical perspectives this paper argues that more nuanced accounts of socio-spatial dimensions are still needed to explain how and why some regions miss opportunities for energy transitions. It does this through a study of the restructuring of the Victorian electricity system in Australia in the 1990s and the resulting failure to build demand side management into the energy market design and regulatory framework. The failure of the demand management niche requires a compelling explanation as to why, despite increasingly porous and seemingly unbounded flows of knowledge and capital and emergent actor networks, the territorial-scalar embeddedness of the electricity regime was reinforced. Drawing on geography literature the paper argues that a multidimensional analysis can do the following: address criticisms of the a-spatial and residual character of the landscape level; situate transitions within a geographical political economy context; and reveal the variations and semi-coherency of regimes shedding light on the degree of regime stability and the opportunities for niches to break through. This paper expands the conversation between theories of geographical political economy and sustainable transitions arguing that the geographies of capitalism and the state need to feature more than as a backdrop to socio-technical change, and instead should be brought directly into the MLP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia offers an interesting case study of climate policy effectiveness as Australia has 'tried' a wide range of policies to mixed effect. Given that more than half of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions typically come from stationary energy generation, most climate policy in Australia has focussed on electricity sector reform, particularly the uptake of variable renewable energy and the decrease of thermal power generation. Electricity supply in Australia has undergone substantial change over recent years, substantially due to these policies, and needs to continue changing in the future to meet climate change mitigation targets and ensure stable, cost-effective electricity supply. This paper is therefore written from the perspective of an electricity planner and seeks to learn from the experiences of climate policies tried over recent decades. We start by reviewing the history of Australian energy policy and a description of how the Australian electricity network is structured to operate. We examine the theory and effects of different policies tried, which range from renewable energy targets, carbon pricing schemes, subsidies for renewable energy and research and development initiatives. We make three key observations from the case analysis: (1) that there has been substantial expense and effort effectively wasted through duplicate effects of different policy mechanisms by both federal and state governments; (2) as various mechanisms enable variable renewable energy generation to increase, the market becomes distorted, increasing total system costs and decreasing system robustness and resilience; and (3) the narrowed focus of climate policy mechanisms on certain variable renewables, such as solar photovoltaic and wind generation, omitted the opportunity for uptake of scale-able low carbon, firm generation options, like nuclear power and carbon capture and storage., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Household norms have been shown to influence energy efficiency behaviors, but little is known about the relative influence of household norms when compared to other established drivers of household efficiency behaviors, such as comfort‐seeking, environmental concern and cost sensitivity. This paper unpacks the nature of the influence of household norms on household efficiency behaviors, whether as antecedents, mediating the influence of other drivers or a direct influence on efficiency behaviors. Responses from 775 households in regional Australia were analyzed to test six hypotheses. Results suggest that household norms are among the most important variables influencing household efficiency behaviors. They have a strong and significant influence on curtailment and investment behaviors, mediate the relationship between established drivers of efficiency and efficiency behaviors and influence the drivers of efficiency. These findings demonstrate the importance of household norms for improving the energy efficiency of households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the interplay of transmission and storage investments in a multistage game that we translate into a bilevel market model. In particular, on the first level we assume that a transmission system operator chooses optimal line investments and a corresponding optimal network fee. On the second level we model competitive firms that trade energy on a zonal market with limited transmission capacities and decide on their optimal storage facility investments. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to analyze interdependent transmission and storage facility investments in a zonal market environment that accounts for the described hierarchical decision structure. As a first best benchmark, we also present an integrated, single-level problem that may be interpreted as a long-run nodal pricing model. Our numerical results show that adequate storage facility investments of firms may in general have the potential to reduce the amount of line investments of the transmission system operator. However, our bilevel zonal pricing model may yield inefficient investments in storages, which may be accompanied by suboptimal network facility extensions as compared to the nodal pricing benchmark. In this context, the chosen zonal configuration of the network will highly influence the equilibrium investment outcomes including the size and location of the newly invested facilities. As zonal pricing is used for instance in Australia or Europe, our models may be seen as valuable tools for evaluating different regulatory policy options in the context of long-run investments in storage and network facilities. [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]

• A new energy-as-a-service business model for aggregators of prosumers. • A new techno-economic simulation framework to compute business model benefits. • The new business model increases the average profitability of the aggregator by 438%. • The new business model provides free electricity to prosumers. Traditional retail business models price electricity using volumetric tariffs, which charge customers for the unit of energy consumed. These tariffs were designed for passive consumers with low flexibility. In this paper, we argue that these volumetric tariffs are unsuitable for prosumers with high flexibility since they are unable to adequately value the flexibility of their distributed energy resources in multiple electricity markets. This reduces the interest of prosumers participating in aggregators' business models. To address this issue, we propose a new business model for aggregators of prosumers, based on the concept of energy-as-a-service. In this business model, prosumers pay a monthly fee for aggregators to represent and optimize them in multiple wholesale electricity markets, including in energy and ancillary service markets. The monthly fee is computed by a new techno-economic simulation framework proposed in this paper, which can also be used to estimate the profitability of the new business model from the perspectives of both the aggregator and prosumers. Our experiments on a portfolio of real prosumers from Australia show that the new business model maximizes the economic benefits of both the aggregator and prosumers by increasing the average profit of the aggregator by 438% and reducing the average electricity cost of prosumers from $583/year to $0 when compared to two of the most common retail business models available in the Australian market. In other words, the economic benefit for prosumers is free electricity. In addition to this benefit, the new business model also provides simplicity and predictability to prosumers, as they are offered a guaranteed outcome before providing the services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synergistic operation of integrated electricity and natural gas systems (IEGS) in the presence of wind power necessitates a distributed optimization framework that ensures information privacy. However, incorporating wind power penetration leads to distributed optimization problems including uncertainty and unstable distributed algorithm's convergence. With the increasing proportion of wind power in IEGS, fluctuating wind power penetration highly affects the convergence of distributed optimization solutions, resulting in uncontrollable optimization time of the distributed algorithm. Accordingly, this paper investigates the impact of wind fluctuation and uncertainty on distributed IEGS optimization and proposes a novel fast distributed co-optimization framework. Specifically, an adaptive alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is developed to accommodate wind fluctuation. Based on designed rules, the penalty parameter is updated in every step to maximize the gradient of the optimization objective. The experiments are conducted using real wind power generation data sourced from a wind farm in Australia and a classical IEGS framework composed of the IEEE 24-bus electricity system and a 12-node natural gas system. Compared to original ADMM and residual balancing ADMM, the proposed framework achieves an average reduction of 0–91.4% in the number of iterative steps for multiple solution iterations across various scenarios, with a corresponding decrease in the standard deviation by 13.8%–93.0%. • Fast and stable convergence of IEGS distributed optimization problem. • ADMM with an adaptive penalty parameter guarantees the convergence. • Update rate further improves the sensibility of the penalty parameter. • Mean value and standard deviation of running iterations significantly decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around one‐third of Australia's coal‐fired power stations closed between 2012 and 2017, with most of the remainder expected to close over coming decades. Current investment in generation capacity is primarily in the form of alternative power, especially wind and solar. In this paper, we conduct an event study to assess the local unemployment effects of Australia's coal‐fired power station closures, an issue of considerable interest given the prominence of coal‐fired power stations in local economies. Our analysis uses monthly regional labour force survey data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. We find that on average there has been an increase in local unemployment of around 0.7 percentage points after closures of coal‐fired power stations, an effect that tends to persist beyond the months immediately after closures. The findings raise questions about appropriate policy responses for dealing with local structural adjustment issues facing coal‐reliant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts related to electricity including "Estimator-based sliding mode control strategy design," by J. D. Lee, J. F. Lin, and A. J. Li, "A discrete multi-objective particle swarm optimization dynamic self-regulating energy management scheme for smart grid applications," by A. A. A. Elgammal and A. M. Sharaf, "Upgrading and uprating of hydro generators: An Australian perspective," by M. M. Znidarich .

In this brief update on analysing the economic costs associated with carbon policy uncertainty, we outline the public policy processes commenced by the Commonwealth Government following the publication of Nelson et al. (2010). We also summarise the research completed by other economists testing the hypothesis that there are material economic costs associated with ongoing carbon policy uncertainty. Independent studies by Frontier Economics (2010), Deloitte (2011) and Sinclair Knight Merz (2011) all conclude that climate change policy uncertainty will result in sub-optimal capital investment within the electricity sector. In turn, this sub-optimal investment will manifest itself in unnecessary increases in electricity prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the intraday price volatility process in four Australian wholesale electricity markets; namely New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. The data set consists of half-hourly electricity prices and demand volumes over the period January 1, 2002 to June 1, 2003. A range of processes including GARCH, RiskMetrics, normal Asymmetric Power ARCH or APARCH, Student APARCH and skewed Student APARCH are used to model the time-varying variance in prices and the inclusion of news arrival as proxied by the contemporaneous volume of demand, time-of-day, day-of-week and month-of-year effects as exogenous explanatory variables. The skewed Student APARCH model, which takes account of right skewed and fat tailed characteristics, produces the best results in all four markets. The results indicate significant innovation (ARCH effects) and volatility (GARCH effects) spillovers in The conditional standard deviation equation, even with market and calendar effects included. Intraday prices also exhibit significant asymmetric responses of volatility to the flow of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) is a popular method of increasing the portion of renewable energy generation in electricity supplies. The Australian Federal Government introduced a RPS that, in addition to accelerating the uptake of renewable energy, is designed to provide an ongoing base for the development of commercially competitive renewable energy and contribute to the development of an internationally competitive renewable energy industry. The design parameters of the RPS and the existing electricity market framework within which it operates are important considerations in determining the success of this policy initiative in meeting all its objectives. On the basis of the Western Australian experience, this paper argues that while conceptually the RPS may be a useful tool for increasing the portion of electricity generated by renewable resources, and supporting the development of a competitive renewable energy industry, its effectiveness depends upon the policy framework within which it operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a comparative study for practical optimal sizing of rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) for grid-connected houses (GCHs) by considering flat and time-of-use (TOU) electricity rate options. Two system configurations, PV only and PV-BESS, were optimally sized by minimizing the net present cost of electricity for four options of electricity rates. A practical model was developed by considering grid constraints, daily supply of charge of electricity, salvation value and degradation of PV and BESS, actual annual data of load and solar, and current market price of components. A rule-based energy management system was examined for GCHs to control the power flow among PV, BESS, load, and grid. Various sensitivity analyses are presented to examine the impacts of grid constraint and electricity rates on the cost of electricity and the sizes of the components. Although the capacity optimization model is generally developed for any case study, a grid-connected house in Australia is considered as the case system in this paper. It is found that the TOU-Flat option for the PV-BESS configuration achieved the lowest NPC compared to other configuration and options. The optimal capacities of rooftop PV and BESS were obtained as 9 kW and 6 kWh, respectively, for the PV-BESS configuration with TOU-Flat according to two performance metrices: net present cost and cost of electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and part of that commitment is the enactment of the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (Cth) (the REE Act). This article focuses on the Australian Renewable Energy Target and how the REE Act impacts on the electrical generation industry to dilute greenhouse gas emissions. The research examines the market of trading "carbon credits" produced under the provisions of the REE Act, which are known as Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), and views this as a taxation and subsidisation system. It aims to develop a clear understanding of the operations of the REE Act: how the REC system interacts with Australia's two other main taxes - Income Tax and Goods and Services Tax; and how the trade in RECs may be treated in the accounts of the respective trading entities - the liable parties and the renewable energy electricity generators. [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]

The decreasing cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power technologies makes 100% renewable energy systems economically viable. Building more capacity to mitigate periods of low solar and wind supply results in systems that produce surplus energy at other times. As these surpluses vary across time and space, it becomes crucial to map their geographic distribution and quantify their magnitude. This paper presents the largest geographic and longest time series analysis of oversizing solar PV and wind in the context of the Australian National Electricity Market. We examine the additional solar, wind and battery capacity required to meet 100% of demand between 2010 and 2020. Without battery storage, this is achieved by generating approximately four times demand at an average production cost 28% lower than recent wholesale electricity prices. The addition of 1–8 h of storage reduces the average production cost by 55% compared to recent prices. Our analysis also investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics of surplus energy generation under different scenarios. We identify which regions are most suitable for the expansion of industrial, commercial, and business operations using surplus renewable generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are large disparities between basic restrictions for exposure to extremely low-frequency (0-3 kHz) Electric and Magnetic Fields set by two major international bodies. Both bodies agree that these basic restrictions should prevent neuro-stimulatory effects: the retinal phosphene at frequencies up to a few hundred Hertz and peripheral nervous stimulation (PNS) at higher frequencies. The disparity arises from differences in estimated thresholds and frequency dependence, and whether restrictions should be of tissue induced current density or electric field. This paper argues that the latter metric more directly relates to neurostimulatory processes. By analysing available literature, a threshold for retinal phosphenes occurrence is found to be 56 mV/m (95% Confidence Interval 2-1330 mV/m), with a characteristic frequency of 20 Hz. Similarly, the smallest PNS sensation threshold is identified at 2 V/m (characteristic frequency above 3 kHz). In the case of the former, the large range of uncertainty suggests a 'power of ten' value of 100 mV/m. For the latter, because of the small margin between sensation and pain threshold, and because of the large individual variation, the smallest estimate of sensation threshold (2 V/m) represents a basic restriction with precaution incorporated., (Copyright 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Objectives. This study aimed to better understand the carbon emission impact of haemodialysis (HD) throughout Australia by determining its carbon footprint, the relative contributions of various sectors to this footprint, and how contributions from electricity and water consumption are affected by local factors. Methods. Activity data associated with HD provision at a 6-chair suburban satellite HD unit in Victoria in 2011 was collected and converted to a common measurement unit of tonnes of CO2 equivalents (t CO2-eq) via established emissions factors. For electricity and water consumption, emissions factors for other Australian locations were applied to assess the impact of local factors on these footprint contributors. Results. In Victoria, the annual per-patient carbon footprint of satellite HD was calculated to be 10.2 t CO2-eq. The largest contributors were pharmaceuticals (35.7%) and medical equipment (23.4%). Throughout Australia, the emissions percentage attributable to electricity consumption ranged from 5.2% to 18.6%, while the emissions percentage attributable to water use ranged from 4.0% to 11.6%. Conclusions. State-by-state contributions of energy and water use to the carbon footprint of satellite HD appear to vary significantly. Performing emissions planning and target setting at the state level may be more appropriate in the Australian context. What is known about the topic? Healthcare provision carries a significant environmental footprint. In particular, conventional HD uses substantial amounts of electricity and water. In the UK, provision of HD and peritoneal dialysis was found to have an annual per-patient carbon footprint of 7.1 t CO2-eq. What does this paper add? This is the first carbon-footprinting study of HD in Australia. In Victoria, the annual per-patient carbon footprint of satellite conventional HD is 10.2 t CO2-eq. Notably, the contributions of electricity and water consumption to the carbon footprint varies significantly throughout Australia when local factors are taken into account. What are the implications for practitioners? We recommend that healthcare providers consider local factors when planning emissions reduction strategies, and target setting should be performed at the state, as opposed to national, level. There is a need for more comprehensive and current emissions data to enable healthcare providers to do so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental concerns often preclude establishment of a new hydro generating plant. Hydro generators are still the main source of renewable energy that is available on a large scale. They are eminently suitable for peaking duty, which often provides attractive returns to the power utilities in privatised electricity markets. Many power utilities therefore resort to upgrading and uprating their ageing generating plants. The hydro generators designed and built around the middle of last century were generously sized by today's standards, and generally permit significant increases in machine output, when contemporary material technology and engineering designs are utilised. Large electrical machines were never manufactured in Australia, and thus locally based practical engineering design experience was never evolved. Over the last 30 years the author has researched and developed a unique domestically based engineering design knowledge and expertise required to test, analyse, redesign and upgrade/uprate existing Australian hydro generators. This paper outlines the approach and general engineering methodology the author has used to upgrade and uprate numerous hydro generators. The hydro generator life span and life cycle are considered, and the scope of possible upgrading and uprating is outlined. The methodology for hydro generator uprating is described, including generator data collection, pre-uprate generator performance testing, electromagnetic and performance analysis, and contents of the final design output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic discussion continues as to whether a fleet of grid-connected wind farms, widely dispersed across a single grid network, can provide a reliable electricity supply. One opinion is that wide geographical dispersion of wind farms provides sufficient smoothing of the intermittent and highly variable output of individual wind farms enabling the wind farm fleet to provide for base load demand. In an examination of the 5-minute time-averaged wind farm operational data for 21 large wind farms connected to the eastern Australian grid - geographically the largest, most widely dispersed, single interconnected grid in the world (AER, [1]) - this paper challenges that opinion. The findings also suggest that the connection of such a wind farm fleet, even one that is widely dispersed, poses significant security and reliability concerns to the eastern Australian grid. These findings have similar implications for the impact of wind farms on the security of electricity grids worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term load forecasting is an essential instrument in power system planning, operation, and control. Many operating decisions are based on load forecasts, such as dispatch scheduling of generating capacity, reliability analysis, and maintenance planning for the generators. Overestimation of electricity demand will cause a conservative operation, which leads to the start-up of too many units or excessive energy purchase, thereby supplying an unnecessary level of reserve. On the other hand, underestimation may result in a risky operation, with insufficient preparation of spinning reserve, causing the system to operate in a vulnerable region to the disturbance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates what is considered to be carbon tax legislation and defines a carbon tax. It examines the Australian Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (Cth) (REE Act) and concludes that the REE Act is a form of carbon tax. The tax is levied by way of a renewable energy certificates (RECs) system wherein RECs are created by the operators of renewable energy generation installations and sold to the suppliers of fossil fuelled generated electricity. The RECs are used as tokens to pay Australia's carbon tax. The tax system acts to support the burgeoning renewable energy industry in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Australia's east coast gas market has faced transformational shifts in demand with the commencement of three Liquefied Natural Gas facilities in Queensland. Faced with risks of high domestic prices and potential gas shortages, political intervention has been considered as a possible solution. This paper investigates the impact of network interconnectivity on domestic gas prices by employing a long-term planning model underpinned by mathematical optimisation. At optimal system cost, improved network interconnectivity can provide material and sustained price reductions for the gas market with potential flow-on reductions to the electricity market. Increased connectivity is shown to deliver reductions of over $2/GJ in average gas prices across the eastern seaboard, with a subsequent reduction in electricity prices across all mainland National Electricity Market (NEM) regions. The results also highlight the need to unlock new supply as new transmission projects, though having the potential to reduce gas prices through market connectivity, rely on adequate supply to meet long term demand, and sustain market balance. Highlights • Improved network interconnectivity can provide material and sustained price reductions. • Potential reductions of over $2/GJ in average gas prices on the eastern seaboard. • Wallumbilla-Newcastle Gas Pipeline seen to have most value from system and investor perspective. • Flow-on electricity price reductions up to 19% depending on generator bidding behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Australia is a country with a vast amount of natural resources including sun and wind. Australia lies between latitude of 10–45°S and longitude of 112–152°E, with a daily solar exposure of between less than 3MJ/(m2 day) in winter and more than 30MJ/(m2 day) in summer. Global solar radiation in Australia varies between minimum of 3285MJ/(m2 year) in Hobart to 8760MJ/(m2 year) in Northern Territory. As a result of this wide range of radiation level there will be a big difference between costs of solar PV electricity in different locations. A study we have recently conducted on the solar PV electricity price in all states of Australia. For this purpose we have developed an economical model and a computer simulation to determine the accurate unit price of grid-connected roof-top solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity in A$/kWh for all state of Australia. The benefit of this computer simulation is that we can accurately determine the most appropriate feed-in tariff of grid-connected solar PV energy system. The main objective of this paper is to present the results of this study. A further objective of this paper is to present the details of the unit price of solar PV electricity in the state of Victoria in each month and then to compare with electricity price from conventional power systems, which is currently applied to this state. The state Victoria is located south of Australia and in terms of sun radiation is second lowest compared with the other Australian states. The computer simulation developed for this study makes it possible to determine the cost of grid-connected solar PV electricity at any location in any country based on availability of average daily solar exposure of each month as well as economical factors of the country. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper develops new practical rule-based energy management systems (EMSs) for typical grid-connected houses with solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery by considering different rates for purchasing and selling electricity. The EMSs are developed to supply the household's loads and reduce operating costs of the system based on different options of flat and time-of-use (ToU) rates for buying and selling electricity prices. Four different options are evaluated and compared in this study: (1) Flat-Flat, (2) ToU-Flat, (3) Flat-ToU, and (4) ToU-ToU. The operation cost is calculated based on the electricity exchange with the main grid, the equivalent cost of PV generation, as well as the degradation cost of battery storage. The operation of the grid-connected house with rooftop solar PV and battery is evaluated for a sunny week in summer and a cloudy week in winter to investigate the proper performance for high and low generations of PV. While the developed rule-based EMS are generic and can be applied for any case studies, a grid-connected house in Australia is examined. For this purpose, real data of solar radiation, air temperature, electricity consumption, and electricity rates are used. It is found that the ToU-Flat option has the lowest operating cost for the customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we use a single equation model to investigate the relationship between electricity demand and the major determinants, economic activity and price. Compared to an interrelated system of factor demand equations such an approach may appear simplistic but there are good reasons for pursuing research along this track. The assumption of instantaneous adjustment implicit in the factor demand model is difficult to sustain, and to make sense of the results restrictions (e.g. symmetry) which may be rejected by the data have to be imposed. Although the single equation model imposes much stronger restrictions on the substitution possibilities, it does allow us to model the dynamic adjustment process and can be estimated by more robust methods. Both approaches no doubt lead to some bias and it would be difficult to sustain an argument that one approach is better than the other. Instead we suggest that the two are complementary. The factor demand model is rich in its economic implications, while the single equation is potentially superior as a tool for forecasting. However, to realise this advantage it is essential that the model is a good approximation of the data generation process and that the dynamic structure is correctly specified. These aspects are the main concerns in this paper. In this respect we depart from the approaches used by Rushdi (1983), where the dynamics is simply assumed to be a partial adjustment process; and Donnetly and Saddler (1984), whose model is static. It also differs from the approach used by Uri (1977) although we share his concern with forecasting performance. Commenting, as many have, that the structural economic model may yield poor forecasts he seeks to compensate for this by time-series modelling of the residuals. This two stage procedure, however, imposes untested restrictions on the structural dynamics which, if invalid, lead to biased estimates. The plan of the paper is as follows. In the next section we set out the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explicate how smart energy infrastructures embed and enact politics. By advancing the framework of technopolitics, and building on two in-depth case studies of the US and Australia, this paper analyzes the emergence and effects of the smart energy sector. With the aim of economizing electricity, the "modernization" of the energy sector has followed from historical dynamics of deregulation and marketization. Based on interviews and document analysis, we argue that a specific logic, which we call anti-politics, is now being enacted through the creation of policies and technologies that aim to reduce and remove human agency from energy systems. Analyses based on post-politics do not fully capture the extent to which politics—the continual process of disagreement and deliberation—has been purged from the ideologies and institutions that govern energy and society. In addition to the technocratic evolution beyond politics, we are witnessing the neoliberal elimination of politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the factors that contributed to the evolving structure and ownership of the electricity industry in Australia in the inter-war and immediate post-World War II period. It details how the industry developed in the Australian states from the latter part of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century. In examining the industry's transformation, network effects, generation plant scales, and the influence of the conflicting ideologies of socialism versus private ownership are considered. It then provides an assessment of the impact the changes in structure collectively had on the industry's performance during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity load forecasting plays an essential role in improving the management efficiency of power generation systems. A large number of load forecasting models aiming at promoting the forecasting effectiveness have been put forward in the past. However, many traditional models have no consideration for the significance of data preprocessing and the constraints of individual forecasting models. Moreover, most of them only focus on the forecasting accuracy but ignore the forecasting stability, resulting in nonoptimal performance in practical applications. This paper presents a novel hybrid model that combines an advanced data preprocessing strategy, a deep neural network, and an avant-garde multi-objective optimization algorithm, overcoming the defects of traditional models and thus improving the forecasting performance effectively. In order to evaluate the validity of the proposed hybrid model, the electricity load data sampled in 30-min intervals from Queensland, Australia are used as a case to study. The experiments show that the new proposed model is obviously superior to all other traditional models. Furthermore, it provides an effective technical forecasting means for smart grid management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the cost-effectiveness of subsidies (feed-in tariffs and renewable energy credits) paid for by electricity consumers to support the uptake of roof top photovoltaic (PV) systems by households in Australia. We estimate annual payback periods, and then regress these against the actual uptake of household PV and associated emission reductions, creating a relationship not apparent in other research. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the declining cost of PV panels had most impact on PV uptake followed by feed-in tariffs, renewable energy credits and the increasing cost of household electricity tariffs. Our modelling shows that feed-in tariffs were higher than necessary to achieve the resultant levels of PV uptake and that the low cost of PV panels and comparatively high electricity tariffs are likely to result in a continuing strong uptake of household PV in Australia. Our modelling shows that subsidies peaked in 2011 and 2012, with payback periods of three to four years, having since increased to five to six years. Emission reduction costs are expected to reduce from over AU$200 per t CO 2 e in 2013 to between AU$65 and AU$100 per t CO 2 e in 2020. Household PV reduced Australia’s emissions by 3.7 million t CO 2 e in 2013 (1.7% of Australia’s total emissions) and is expected to reach eight million tonnes (3.7% of Australia’s total emissions) by 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the upper and lower bounds for the levelized cost of high-temperature industrial process heat, supplied from electricity generated with solar-photovoltaic (PV) and wind turbines in combination with either thermal or electric battery storage using hourly typical meteorological year (TMY) data, in systems sized to supply between 80% and 100% of continuous thermal demand at a site in the northern part of Western Australia. The system is chosen to supply high-temperature air as the heat transfer media at temperatures of 1000 °C, which is a typical temperature for an alumina or a lime calcination plant. A simplified model of the electrical energy plant has been developed using performance characteristics of real PV and wind systems and TMY data of renewable energy resources. This was used to simulate a large sample of possible system configurations and find the optimal combination of the renewable resources and storage systems, sized to provide renewable shares (RES) of between 80% and 100% of the yearly demand. This allowed the upper and lower bounds to be determined for the cost of heat based on two scenarios in which the excess energy is either dumped (upper bound) or exported to the electricity grid (lower bound) at the average generating cost. The lower bound of the levelized cost of energy ( L C O E L ), which occurs for the system employing thermal storage, was estimated to range from USD 10/GJ to USD 24/GJ for RES from 80 to 100%. The corresponding upper bound (L C O E U ), also estimated for the system using thermal storage, are between USD 16/GJ and USD 31/GJ, for RES between 80% and 100%. The utilization of electric battery storage instead of thermal storage was found to increase the LCOE values by a factor of two to four depending on the share of renewable energy. Compared with current Australian natural gas cost, none of the systems assessed configurations is economical without either a cost for CO2 emissions or a premium for low-carbon products. The estimated cost for CO2 emission that is needed to reach parity with current natural gas prices in Australia is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Australia's extensive solar resource is underexploited especially in the CSP (concentrating solar power) arena because of the high investment and lack of stable investment incentives. CSP hybrid plants provide an option to improve returns from CSP installations because of lower specific investment. This paper investigates the generation potential and most prospective regions for 5–60 MWe CSP hybrids using forestry residues, bagasse, stubble, wood waste and refuse derived fuels in locations with a direct normal irradiance >18 MJ/m2/day. Different plant efficiencies are used to identify the overall electricity potential for single and multiple feedstocks systems. The EfB (energy from biomass) or EfW (energy from waste) components of the hybrid plants considered are assumed to allow base load operation with the CSP components providing additional capacity during the day. The total CSP-EfB & EfW hybrid potential in Australia, within 50 km of existing transmission and distribution infrastructure, is 7000 MWe which would require an investment of AU$ 39.5b to annually generate 33.5 TWh. This is equivalent to 12.8% of all electricity generated in 2008–2009 or 74% of Australia's 2020 renewable energy target. The CO2 abatement potential of CSP-EfB & EfW hybrids is up to 27 Mt or 4.8% of all 2009–10 CO2 emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Household CO2 emissions are a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and consequently climate warming. Despite this, there has been little consideration of how household CO2 emissions may be affected by changes in climate. The aim of the present study has been to investigate the way climate, as well as socio-demographic characteristics, may affect household CO2 emissions produced from energy use. A national online survey was conducted to determine current household CO2 emissions in Australia as well as capture the ownership and use of household appliances and installations. Electricity and gas-based emissions as well as the ownership of a variety of household appliances and installations were found to be strongly associated with temperature. Electricity and gas emissions were found to decrease as annual average temperatures increase. However, as temperatures continue to rise under climate change this pattern may be reversed owing to increased reliance on air conditioners. One option for preventing this from occurring is to encourage houses to adopt more solar-passive installations. Although this may be expensive, households with higher emissions tend to have higher incomes, indicating that they may have the capacity to pay for such installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bottom-up estimation tool to develop electric public transport (EPT) charging loads. • Uses GTFS public data and can be scaled to hundreds of cities/states globally. • EPT could add 17% to critical peak demand on some distribution zone substations. Battery electrified public transit (BEPT), including buses and passenger ferries, is a promising solution to transport-related climate emissions and urban air pollution, but introduces potentially challenging large, coincident demand in the low-voltage distribution network. This paper presents a tool for estimating the energy and charging demand of electrified public transit using public data that is available in over 150 cities/states globally and demonstrates it in two case studies. The tool applies heuristic vehicle scheduling to existing public General Transit Feed Specification data to model the charging profiles and electricity consumption of BEPT for various charging regimes across different geographical scales. For the case study of New South Wales, Australia, the impacts of BEPT are most significant at the low-voltage network, where adding a battery-electric bus depot was found to increase the annual critical peak demand at the local zone substation in Summer by up to 17% while exacerbating demand during the daily evening peak period by 20–30%. Across the entire state of NSW, a full transition to BEPT increases annual electricity consumption by 1.28–1.34% and peak daily demand by 1–3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Australia has considerable hot rock geothermal energy potential. This results from the widespread occurrence of basement rocks (granites in particular) in which heat is generated by natural radioactive decay. There are extensive areas where temperatures are estimated to reach at least 200°C at around 5km depth. In Australia, there is also potential for lower temperature geothermal resources associated with naturally-circulating waters in aquifers deep in a number of sedimentary basins (Hot Sedimentary Aquifer Geothermal). These are potentially suitable for electricity generation and direct use. This paper will focus on the need to improve geothermal energy utilization in Australia, challenges facing it and the future benefits. This study shows, there is a significant potential for energy savings through greater use of geothermal energy in some regions of Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Wave energy is particularly abundant along the Australian southern coastline. Harvesting wave energy using a converter could provide a sustainable alternative for electricity generation for Australia. In this paper, the performance of three different types of wave energy converter (WEC) has been evaluated spatially for Australian coastal regions using Australian Renewable Energy Atlas wave energy data. It was found one of the WECs operated with a capacity factor greater than 54.3% for a large portion of the Tasmanian western coastline, while being located close to transmission infrastructure. The levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for the WECs for these regions was in the order of $78/MWh. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Integration of distributed generation (DG) in a distribution network may introduce adverse effects including control interaction, oscillatory transients and operational conflicts. This paper investigates the operation of multiple voltage regulators such as on-load tap changer (OLTC) and step voltage regulator (SVR), and DG in a medium voltage distribution feeder. Investigations have been carried out using time domain simulation studies conducted using MATLAB-SimPowerSystems. The results are reported for a case study involving radial distribution feeder, derived from New South Wales (NSW) electricity distribution network in Australia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The power industry has been grappling with regulatory uncertainty in relation to carbon since late 2004 when Australian state governments committed to the introduction of an emissions trading scheme. This article estimates the additional cost to electricity users associated with the sub-optimal introduction of new power generating capacity given regulatory delays. We find the costs to be significant; under a business-as-usual electricity demand growth scenario, prices in 2020 would be about $8.60/MWh higher than necessary. We also find that costs to consumers are lower where complementary policies are introduced to encourage energy efficiency and renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]